In a world of dog-whistle politics, the recent dueling speeches by President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netan-yahu elicited more howling than usual.
It began last week with Obama’s comprehensive Middle East speech, which covered everything from Iran to the Arab revolutions. However, the headline was the president’s insistence that a Middle East peace deal would require Israel’s return to the 1967 borders, along with negotiated land swaps.
Previous presidents have suggested as much, including George W. Bush, who referred to the “1949 armistice lines” as part of a final status agreement in his public statement in Jerusalem three years ago.
Still, Obama’s utterance sent a chill down the spines of Israelis and their friends.
Netanyahu blasted the comment, stating that the 1967 borders, which left Israel nine miles wide at its narrowest point, are “indefensible.” And as we have seen in wars both before and after 1967, to defend itself adequately, Israel cannot go back to its old borders.
The chess game continued when Obama, speaking at AIPAC, walked back from his earlier declaration, assuring that the ’67 borders are merely a starting point of discussion.
Almost forgotten was Obama’s tough stance on Hamas, and the unacceptability of that terror organization playing a role in peace talks. This put the Palestinians on the defensive.
Basically, Obama dealt out enough non-starters to make everyone unhappy.
The disequilibrium was on display during Netanyahu’s address to Congress, which elicited more cheers than a presidential State of the Union address.
The message Congress sent with that warm reception was simple: While the United States will play honest broker in any Middle East peace deal, this country stands shoulder to shoulder with its closest ally in the region, Israel.
Obama should get credit for his strong defense of Israel in his AIPAC speech. He stressed Israel’s non-negotiable security concerns, and for the first time in public he referred to Israel as “the Jewish state.” Words matter, and those words mattered a lot.
Where does this leave things? Many predict the stalemate between Israel and the Palestinians will deepen, and that the Palestinian Authority will push aggressively for a U.N. declaration of statehood in September.
The United States will, of course, issue a veto in the Security Council, should a statehood motion pass the General Assembly.
The Jewish people do not take orders, not even from the president of the United States. Peace remains the goal, but Israel will do what’s best for Israel.