Posted on November 10, 2008
The march of parochialism started right away. The tears of excitement invoked by
U.S. president-elect Barack Obama's wonderful speech had not yet dried, and back
here people were already delving into the only real question they could think to
ask: Is this good or bad for Israel? One after another, the analysts and
politicians got up - all of them representing one single school of thought, of
course and began prophesizing.
They spoke with the caution that the situation required, gritting their teeth as
though their mouths were full of pebbles, trying to soothe all the fears and
concerns. They searched and found signs in Obama: The promising appointment of
the Israeli ex-patriots' son, whose father belonged to the Irgun, and maybe also
Dennis Ross and Dan Kurtzer and Martin Indyk, who may, God willing, be included
in the new administration.
But in the background, a dark cloud hovered above. Careful, danger. The black
man, who had associated with Palestinian expats, who speaks of human rights, who
favors diplomacy over war, who even wants to engage Iran in dialogue, who will
allocate more funding for America's social needs than to weapons exports. He may
not be the sort of "friend of Israel" that we have come to love in Washington,
the kind of friend we have grown accustomed to.
What's the panic all about? The truth needs to be said: At the base of all of
these fears is the angst that this president will push Israel to end the
occupation and move toward peace.
Well, maybe Obama will not be a "friend of Israel." May the great change he is
promising not omit his country's Mideast policy. May Obama herald not only a new
America, but also a new Middle East.
When we say that someone is a "friend of Israel" we mean a friend of the
occupation, a believer in Israel's self-armament, a fan of its language of
strength and a supporter of all its regional delusions. When we say someone is a
"friend of Israel" we mean someone who will give Israel a carte blanche for any
violent adventure it desires, for rejecting peace and for building in the
territories.
Israel's greatest friend in the White House, outgoing U.S. President George W.
Bush, was someone like that. There is no other country where this man, who
brought a string of disasters down upon his own nation and the world, would
receive any degree of prestige and respect. Only in Israel.
Only in Israel does the prime minister place George Bush's portrait in his den,
in his private home. Only in Israel does the prime minister travel to visit him
in the White House.
That's because Bush was a friend of Israel. Israel's greatest friend. Bush let
it embark on an unnecessary war in Lebanon. He did not prevent the construction
of a single outpost. He may have encouraged Israel, in secret, to bomb Iran. He
did not pressure Israel to move ahead with peace talks, he even held up
negotiations with Syria, and he did not reproach Israel for its policy of
targeted killings.
Bush also supported the siege on Gaza and participated in the boycott of Hamas,
which was elected in a democratic election initiated by his own administration.
That's just how we like U.S. presidents. They give us a green light to do as we
please. They fund, equip and arm us, and sit tight. Such is the classic friend
of Israel, a friend who is an enemy, and enemy of peace and an enemy to Israel.
Let us now hope that Obama will not be like them. That he will reveal himself to
be a true friend of Israel. That he will put his whole weight behind a deep
American involvement in the Middle East, that he will try to solve the Iranian
issue through negotiation - the only effective means. That he will help end the
siege on Gaza and the boycott of Hamas, that he will push Israel and Syria to
make peace, that he will spur Israel and the Palestinians to reach a settlement.
We should hope Obama will help Israel help itself, because that is how
friendship is measured. That he will criticize its policy when he must, because
that, too, is a test of true friendship.
Let him use his clout to end the occupation and dismantle the settlement
project. Let him remember that human and civil rights also apply to the
Palestinians, not only to black Americans. And apropos world peace, he needs to
start with peace in the Middle East, home to the most dangerous of conflicts,
which has been threatening the world for a century now, and is feeding
international terrorism.
A true friend of Israel needs to remember that Israel may be "the only democracy
in the Middle East," but not in its own backyard. That next to Sderot, which he
visited, is Gaza. That "common values" must not include a cruel occupation. That
friendship does not mean blind and automatic support.
Let him speak with Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas, as often as he can and with
whomever is willing to talk. And let him do it before the next war, not after
it. Let him remember that he has the power to do all that.
Changing the Middle East was in the power of each and every U.S. president, who
could have pressured Israel and put an end to the occupation. Most of them kept
their hands off as if it were a hot potato, all in the name of a wonderful
friendship.
So bring us an American president who is not another dreadful "friend of
Israel," an Obama who won't blindly follow the positions of the Jewish lobby and
the Israeli government. You did promise change, did you not?
Related articles:
Gideon Levy / Repackaging America
Gideon Levy / Living forever by bombardment
Gideon Levy / Will I hang the flag?
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