I was interviewed by a journalist friend of mine last week who asked why President Barack Obama’s meeting with Jewish leaders had set off an orgy of virulent attacks on the president by right-wing Jewish leaders and commentators, who have decided that Mr. Obama’s performance at the meeting means that he has abandoned Israel.
I could only say that either they were totally misinformed or they were speaking about a different meeting than the one that I attended at the White House on July 13.
At my meeting, the president spoke with deep feeling about his commitment to Israel and his country’s devotion to Israel’s security.
He talked about the Iranian threat to Israel’s well being and about the work of this administration to counter that threat. He referred to Arab concerns about Iranian influence and about the possibility of bringing into being an anti-Iranian coalition that would benefit Israel and the entire region. He mentioned the need to create bridges to the Muslim world and how such bridges might be helpful both to Israel and to America.
The president did not patronize us. He acknowledged that his government had differences with Israel, while noting that he saw these differences as being “in the family.”
And he admitted some of the mistakes of his administration. For example, many American Jews feel that demands are being made of Israel but not of the Arab states and the Palestinian Authority. Recognizing that an impression of imbalance had been created, he promised to remedy this situation. He also promised to make more of an effort to reach out to Israel’s citizens with his message.
The president’s sincere concern for Israel and sophisticated command of the subject impressed those in attendance. Impressive too was the hard-nosed quality of his remarks. He did not preach or moralize. He focused on strategic realities and in particular on the urgency of responding to the Iranian menace.
Why would right-wing Jews find this approach to be problematic?
From what I have seen and read, the answer has little to do with President Obama and much to do with a mindset that sees the world in a particular way and that views any movement in the direction of peace as more of a threat than a benefit, to both Israel and America.
I recognize the danger of generalization, but it seems to me that the president’s critics believe that the entire Muslim world is unalterably hostile to Israel and the West; that the Arab states oppose reconciliation with Israel under any and all circumstances; and that there is no element of the Palestinian population that truly wants a peace with Israel.
The president’s detractors are entitled to think this way, but most Americans do not believe that these principles should be the basis of American foreign policy. Neither do most American Jews.
I should emphasize that I write as one who remains suspicious of Arab intentions and skeptical of Palestinian goodwill. There is little in recent history to make us optimistic about the near-term possibilities of a secure peace between Israel and her neighbors.
Yet it is precisely these difficulties that make me supportive of what President Obama is attempting to do. Given the dangers that Israel faces and the high cost of the status quo, I want my president to do everything that he can to strengthen moderate elements of the Palestinian leadership and to encourage those Arab states that may be open to some accommodation with Israel.
Given that Sunni Arab states fear the Iranians almost as much as Israel does, I want my government to seize this opportunity to create new alignments in the Middle East. And ranting about Muslim extremism is not a policy, it is a prejudice. The Muslim world is huge and diverse, and I welcome the president’s attempt to increase American influence there.
I do not know if President Obama will succeed. And I certainly don’t agree with him on everything. But what I heard in the White House on July 13 was a president with a true concern for Israel’s welfare who wants to do everything possible to move the Middle East in the direction of an Arab-Israeli peace. In these efforts, he deserves the support of all Americans, including American Jews.
Rabbi Eric Yoffie is president of the Union for Reform Judaism. He wrote this piece for j.