Prof. Barry Rubin, known for his Middle East strategies work at the GLORIA Center at the IDC in Herzliya, Israel, is also Middle East Editor for PJ Media.
What to Say When You’re Handed the Obama-Is-Good-for-Israel Talking Points
[Jews for Obama boast that] "Obama just gave Israeli President Shimon Peres a presidential medal
of freedom." Well, he also has just helped give Israel a second Muslim Brotherhood-dominated regime next door and insists that this is a good thing.
Question: [Jews for Obama claim that] U.S.-Israel bilateral relations are good especially with regard to military aid.
Rubin: That’s true, but only a
small part of that relates to Obama’s benevolence. Why?
a. Congress supports Israel. There was more pushback against Obama from Democratic members on this issue than on any other, foreign or domestic. Thus, Israel is the only “target” of Obama whose constituency has vocal defenders within his own party that raise the cost of his actions against it, at least during his first term. (Note that last phrase.)
b. The same applies to public opinion, which is strongly pro-Israel. This factor also inhibits Obama, at least during his first term. (Note that last phrase.)
c. Regarding military relations, the U.S. armed forces are generally quite pro-Israel and want these programs. Many of them are based on previous commitments, which Obama merely continues.
An especially important reason why Obama’s administration hasn’t been far more hostile to Israel in practice is that the Arabs and Iran shafted his policy. Remember that Obama offered to support the
Palestinians, pressure Israel, and accelerate talks if only the Arab states and Palestinian Authority showed some flexibility. They repeatedly rejected his efforts—refusing even to talk–giving him no
opportunity or incentive to press Israel for concessions. Note too, though, that the repeated humiliations handed him by the Arabs never made him criticize them publicly, change his general line, or back Israel more enthusiastically.
The same point applies to Iran. While Obama has intensified sanctions on Iran, he:
- Did so only after a long delay.
- Did less than Congress wanted/
- Exempted in effect China, Russia, and Turkey from observing the sanctions.
Obama has been visibly eager to make a deal with Tehran, even on bad terms. Only Iran’s hard line has prevented some kind of arrangement that favored Iran. Instead, though, Tehran has used Obama’s slowness and desire for some compromise in order to buy time for its nuclear program to progress.
Finally, there’s the most important factor of all. The main damage Obama has done to Israeli security is neither so much in the area of bilateral relations nor regarding the Israel-Palestinian conflict but
as a result of his regional policy in the Middle East. This includes his:
- Soft line toward antisemitic, anti-Israel, and also anti-American Islamism.
- Support for overturning the Mubarak regime and encouragement for a
Muslim Brotherhood takeover there. During the 2011 crisis, Obama never
even consulted Israel. The outspoken antisemitism, calls for genocide
against Israel’s citizens, and support for anti-Israel terrorism by the
Muslim Brotherhood have had no effect on Obama’s policy and brought no
criticism by the U.S. government of that movement.
This point must be underlined. Do not forget for one moment that the Brotherhood is an explicitly antisemitic movement that calls for genocide against Jews in and often outside of Israel. It has never to the tiniest degree criticized or repented for its strong support for Nazi Germany. It is in fact
the most important antisemitic movement in the world today. Anyone who claims that this movement is in fact
moderate (denying its antisemitism and genocidal intentions) and helps it to achieve power, is
acting profoundly against the interests of Israel and of the Jewish people. Period.
Read Prof. Rubin's full points
In his "Global View" column on Monday, Stephens -- a prominent conservative, who announced in May that he was backing Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton because "the stain of a [Republican presidential nominee Donald] Trump administration would cripple the conservative cause for a generation" -- turned a parody of a speech that The Donald supposedly would be delivering in Arizona into a powerful argument in favor of the candidate.
