Obama Speaks to Islam - Part II

The second major issue with Obama’s speech (See the White House http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-at-Cairo-University-6-04-09/) was his over-the-top criticism of Israel. As he did with his discussion of the West’s relationship with Islam (See yesterday’s entry http://anewrepublican.blogspot.com/2009/06/obama-speaks-to-islam-part-i.html), he again pretended to portray the situation as one of two equally culpable sides. Obama used the same format in this discussion. First, he outlined historical grievances, namely the Holocaust, experienced by the Jews. Thankfully, his discussion here was correct and appropriate and took direct aim at Ahmadinejad’s Holocaust denial.

Obama then proceeded to give the Palestinian side of the coin. He spoke of all the suffering the Palestinians experienced at the hands of the Israelis. He said,

On the other hand, it is also undeniable that the Palestinian people -- Muslims and Christians -- have suffered in pursuit of a homeland. For more than 60 years they've endured the pain of dislocation. Many wait in refugee camps in the West Bank, Gaza, and neighboring lands for a life of peace and security that they have never been able to lead. They endure the daily humiliations-- large and small -- that come with occupation. So let there be no doubt: The situation for the Palestinian people is intolerable. And America will not turn our backs on the legitimate Palestinian aspiration for dignity, opportunity, and a state of their own.

This is the hub of a huge disconnect. The display of ‘two-sides of suffering’ compares supposed Palestinian suffering at the hands of Israelis with Jewish/Israeli suffering at the hands of Germans. Only at one point does he mention the constant attacks Israel suffers at the hands of the Palestinians.

While understanding the historical context of Israel and the Holocaust is essential to comprehending the Jewish and Israeli psyche, it is not appropriate to pass it off as the sole story of Jewish/Israeli suffering. This is the story that the anti-Israeli Arabs want the world to believe; a story that the Iranian despot Ahmadinejad all too often tries to tell. This ‘poor me’ story roughly goes along the lines of “Well, the Germans hurt the Jews, so now the Jews hurt the Palestinians. The Palestinians have done nothing wrong!” By structuring his speech as he did, Obama willingly, or unwittingly, lent credence to this false argument. This way of thinking completely misinterprets the Israeli position. The Holocaust is a background story that may help to explain Israeli fear. However, today’s problems with the Palestinians stem from a long history of Arab desire to destroy Israel along with current antagonism and continued attacks. Regrettably, Obama fails to see this as he ignored Israeli suffering at the hands of the Palestinians and reduced the Israeli position to one of historical fear.

In his desire to be the ultimate moral relativist, Obama failed to accurately portray the Israeli side of the story. Perhaps he was just pandering to his Muslim audience. More frighteningly, he is backtracking on years of American support for one of our most staunch allies- and the only free democracy in the Middle East. Whichever it is, it is unfortunately feeding unnecessary fuel to the incessant fire of hatred directed at Israel.

Never Again

Today is Yom Hashoah- Holocaust Remembrance Day. More than possibly any time before, we must be hyper-vigilant to prevent the atrocities of the Holocaust from happening again. Fortunately, much of the world, at least the leaders, holds this belief. The Western world showed a strong show of support for Israel by walking out of the UN Conference on racism (imperfect at best- see my prior post http://anewrepublican.blogspot.com/2009/04/good-job-obama-yeah-right.html).

However, there are still countries and leaders that do not hold this belief. The prime example, of course, is the Iranian lunatic and president, Ahmadinejad, who frequently calls for the destruction of Israel and denies the Holocaust occured. Every possible action must be taken to marginalize and even remove such leaders from the world stage. If given the opportunity Ahmadinejad would surely aim to recreate (or create, since he does not believe in the Holocaust) Hitler’s atrocities.

Simply enough, we are giving far too much credence to the Iranian president. He has far too much clout on the world stage and far too much of a soap box. Obama is making a fatal flaw by dialoguing with Ahmadinejad. This will lead to greater support amongst the Iranian people and likely his reelection in June. Ahmadinejad faces a tough position- stuck between his clerical backers and a young population that favors increased relations with the United States (see http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30329861). An increased dialogue with the US only helps him to appease his youthful voters and to further his aims for reelection. Particularly, since Obama has done most of the work, Ahmadinejad has not had to rile the clerics too much.

Since the election is coming up shortly as much as possible needs to be done to diminish, not increase, his chances of returning to the presidency. Even if Obama’s long term goal is to dialogue with Iran, he is much better off having a more moderate, approachable man on the Iranian end of the table, rather than the current nut-job. Ensuring Ahmadinejad’s downfall over the next few months should be paramount- for the good of America, Israel, and the world.