Obama: Pro-Israel talk, anti-Israel walk
Wednesday, March 11, 2009 By: Adam Hasner, FL House Majority Leader
Barely a month into
the presidency of Barack Obama, a profound realization is spreading
among the pro-Israel community: we do not have an ally in the White
House. The growing threat that Israel and the Jewish People now face
demands an immediate acceptance of the "facts on the ground" regarding
President Obama's perspective and agenda, and decisive action to
prevent the frightening reality that he may play a leading role in
creating.
So
how exactly did this get by most Jewish voters during last year's
election? While some, including this author, warned of his dubious
associations and likely course of action regarding Israel, Obama
brilliantly pandered to Jewish crowds around the country with his
scripted and amorphous proclamations of support for Israel, while
utilizing an array of prominent Jewish surrogates in order to avoid any
real accountability.
Under
the new Obama administration, our federal government is now beginning
to comfortably operate within the realm of the anti-Israel perspective
espoused by the likes of Mearsheimer and Walt, who argue that the
political clout of American Jews is used to manipulate U.S. foreign
policy in favor of Israel at the expense of broader American
interests. On one hand, President Obama receives advice on Israel,
Iran and the entire Middle East from advisors such as Zbigniew
Brzezinski, Samantha Power, and Chas Freeman, all of whom possess
strong anti-Israel biases that are well documented. Freeman, whose
nomination to a top intelligence post faces growing criticism, was
quoted as saying "the primary reason America confronts a terrorism
problem today... is the brutal oppression of the Palestinians by an
Israeli occupation." As if that were not bad enough, even Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton is apparently now joining the fray with her
recent remarks intended to unduly pressure Israel.
On
the other hand, there is also a faction of prominent Jewish politicians
who don't seem willing to speak out against the President's judgment or
the actions we are now witnessing. While allowing President Obama to
tout their Jewish identities for political gain, these politicians are
also helping the Administration to confer mainstream status and
legitimacy upon treacherous new Jewish agencies like J-Street, whose
vision for Israel more readily identifies with that of her enemies.
Combined, the forces at work within the Executive branch are helping to
create conditions that will allow President Obama to force dangerous
concessions upon Israel.
The
policies put forth by President Obama during his first 30 days in
office paint a disturbing picture as well. In light of his first
Presidential news interview having been granted to the Al-Arabia
television network, his first head-of-state phone call placed to
Mahmoud Abbas, and his allocation of $20 million dollars of taxpayer
money to resettling Palestinians with ties to Hamas in the United
States, what we have witnessed is a clear pattern of taking the
pressure off terrorist groups, the Islamist regimes that support them
and other tyrants who hate Israel and America in favor of offering them
legitimacy and leniency. The growing danger of the Iranians and their
nuclear weapons program, along with the network of villains they are
organizing and arming, are without a doubt today's greatest threat to
America, Israel and the Western World. As President Obama offers the
Iranians more time, despite plenty of credible evidence that their
nuclear weapons program is speeding ahead, he is also granting a
reprieve to their vicious surrogates. For example, numerous overtures
and contacts are taking place between the Administration and the
Al-Assad regime, less than a year and a half after Israel was forced to
destroy Syria's secret nuclear reactor facility built by the North
Koreans.
Another
Iranian proxy, the Hamas terror organization, is also benefiting from
President Obama's appeasement and accommodation. Special Middle-East
Envoy George Mitchell recently signaled U.S. approval for Hamas to join
in governing the Palestinian Authority. That is in addition to the $900
million in U.S. taxpayer money that will shortly be gifted to
Hamas-controlled Gaza for "aid," which will only help to ensure that
the terrorists need not spend their own money on anything other than
arms and death. Once Hamas is finally legitimized, which now appears to
be likely, one can only imagine how their international acceptance will
adversely impact the prospect of peace.
Anti-Israelism
and other forms of latent anti-Semitism have also received a boost from
President Obama's initial decision to send a delegation to the
negotiation sessions of the upcoming Durban II conference. The U.S.
representatives' silence in the face of repeated attempts to demonize
Israel and vilify Zionism did plenty to gratify the gathering of
wolves, before the President ultimately realized that America's
presence was making things worse rather than better. The damage has
been done however, and while the U.S. has indicated after the fact that
it likely will not participate in the plenary session, many nations
that would have otherwise followed the U.S. in boycotting Durban II
will now be lending their credence. Israel's supporters must
understand that this set of circumstances significantly helps our
enemies' effort to delegitimize Israel's right to exist by harkening
back to the "Zionism is racism" days of U.N. Resolution 3379.
In
looking squarely ahead to the grave challenges we face on the horizon,
it is important to keep in mind that we are still early in the new
President's term, and that there are a variety of ways to demand action
on the promises we were assured of during his campaign. To begin, we
must call upon pro-Israel Congressional leaders and Jewish activists -
those who supported President Obama and those who didn't - to hold him
to his word and protect the America-Israel relationship. We cannot
afford to be passive in performing this task. Where there is inaction
or resistance, we must withhold all support from politicians who won't
stand up to the Administration's harmful policies. The solemn oath of
"Never Again" must not be forgotten in our time.
Florida
State Representative Adam Hasner (R-Boca Raton) is the Majority Leader
of the Florida House of Representatives. He is a member of the RJC Leadership Council.
This article originally appeared on AmericanThinker.com.