Five positive points in Obama’s Jerusalem speech

[azurnoir]

Those statements, ideas and words, in list form:

(1) He said the words “Independent Palestine” twice.

(2) He called the IDF a “Foreign Army” in terms of its actions in Palestine.

(3) He condemned settler violence and the failure to punish it. He also spoke out against destruction of farmers’ land, restriction of students’ movement and the eviction of families.

(4) He gave credit to and noted the many young Palestinians who have rejected violence.

(5) And he said the words (a) “Occupation” (which was a pleasant surprise and made it such that he passed my Haiku Test) and (b) “Expulsion” (which was actually sort of a shock).

http://972mag.com/five-positive-points-in-obamas-jerusalem-speech/68050/

[azurnoir]

1. Obama encouraged Israelis to rebel

Try to imagine for a moment what would happen if Prime Minister Netanyahu would speak before American students at Columbia University and call on them to rise up and demand that their politicians block any gun control legislation or encourage the students to act determinedly against President Obama's health care law. What an uproar such an act would have caused in the US and the world over – and justifiably so. The prime minister of Israel, the headlines would say, is intervening in the most sensitive issues of American politics.

Obama took off his gloves during his speech in Jerusalem. In front of a captive and adoring audience, he called on young Israelis to wake up, stop being indifferent and take their future into their own hands. He urged them to prod their politicians into action and push them toward achieving peace with the Palestinians while not ignoring the facts related to demographics, security and the occupation. The call was perfectly packaged in thousands of beautiful words that evoked a sense of security and calm in every Israeli – mainly because they were spoken by the president of the United States.

But the truth cannot be ignored: In his speech, Barack Obama encouraged the Israeli public to rebel; to rebel against the concept that has existed here for the past 20 years; rebel against the narrative of PM Netanyahu and the Right; rebel against the Barak-Sharon-Netanyahu legacy, according to which there is no one to talk to on the other side, Mahmoud Abbas is no different from Ismail Haniyeh and settlement construction must continue. Despite the expressions of fondness toward Netanyahu, the American president does not believe the Israeli leader. He does not believe his statements and does not trust his intentions vis-a-vis the Palestinian issue. Four years were enough for him to understand who he is dealing with. Even the appointment of Tzipi Livni as the head of the negotiations with the Palestinians was not enough to convince Obama that Netanyahu's position had changed.

This is why Obama bypassed Netanyahu in his speech and spoke directly to the Israeli people, right over the prime minister's head. This is who I am, Obama said, this is what I believe: I will protect and help you, but I will not cut you any slack with regards to the Palestinian issue. You, the Israelis, already have a state, and they, the Palestinians, are being smothered under the occupation. I am familiar with the excuse, Obama said between the lines. I've heard it all and I can recite the list of all the threats, disappointments and frustrations that have been accumulated over the years. But excuses are not a plan. A Palestinian state, on the other hand, is, so get moving.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4360129,00.html

[Jefferson23]

2. In another thread I commented that although there was much more Obama should

have said imo, but I was pleasantly surprised at what he did say...on Bibi's turf.

I'm sure for Bibi the entire trip was a thrill a minute.


K&R

[azurnoir]

3. oddly though we are not seeing the chest thumping proclamations

as to Obama's being a Zionist here, wonder if some minds have changed or quite what ?

[King_David]

4. this says it all

“More than 3,000 years ago, the Jewish people lived here, tended the land here, prayed to God here,” Obama said. “And after centuries of exile and persecution, unparalleled in the history of man, the founding of the Jewish State of Israel was a rebirth, a redemption unlike any in history. Today, the sons of Abraham and the daughters of Sarah are fulfilling the dream of the ages -- to be ‘masters of their own fate’ in ‘their own sovereign state.’ “


http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-74932090/

[Jefferson23]

5. You better hope that says it all.

But then there is always the possibility of the Hague and the international community support.

After all, you're King David.

[oberliner]

6. And you're Thomas Jefferson?

Is that where your screen name comes from?

[Jefferson23]

7. He died, he was a US president a long time ago. n/t

[oberliner]

9. So did King David

I was just wondering if your screen name was in his honor.

[Jefferson23]

10. I'm well aware of both...thanks. n/t

[oberliner]

22. So is your screen name a reference to Thomas Jefferson or something else?

Thanks in advance.

[azurnoir]

16. a guess a sound byte will do for some but myself I prefer the entire thing

gives a better feel for what is really being said

[Violet_Crumble]

8. I think it's more likely they're incapable of comprehending that there's no disconnect...

Some of the things Obama said in the speech about the occupations, settlements and the Palestinians is exactly the same stuff that gets some of us labelled as haters, antizionist or 'anti-Israel' here in this group. What they don't see is that there's nothing unnatural or conflicting in believing that there should be close ties with Israel and believing that Israel has as much right to exist as any other country, and admiring Israel as a country, while being critical of it for the occupation and the treatment of the Palestinian people. Those two things should go hand in hand, as the occupation is something rotten that will end up eating away at Israel all on its own, something that it's predominately American 'supporters' don't have the smarts to see...

[King_David]

11. Nobody labels anyone an antiZionist

However we do have a poster here on DU believe it or not who labels herself an antiZionist and says the most awful hateful things about what she calls "Zionists"

[Violet_Crumble]

12. A few of you do it all the time...

I've been falsely called one quite a few times, as have others.

Also, seeing as how you defend the person who says the most hateful and awful thing about pro-Palestinians I think yr a bit selective about what bothers you....

[oberliner]

14. Of course there are anti-Zionists here

I am quite confident that there are posters who would embrace that label without hesitation.

[Violet_Crumble]

15. But you and others go round accusing people, including myself, of being antizionists...

If people see themselves as antizionists, I'll take their word for it. But what I don't like is when you and others fly round this forum accusing people of being antizionists, in some cases like mine, after being told that the person they're accusing isn't an antizionist...

[oberliner]

21. Not so

At least not for me.

[King_David]

18. Any links or examples to where

Violet Crumble has been accused of being an antiZionist.

Just asking because I think it would be a horrible thing to be falsely accused of and I would hope it's not something that happens here on DU.

[Violet_Crumble]

19. Yep, I've got one that's happened repeatedly...

There's one person in this group who has repeatedly accused me of being antizionist. I remember responding to every accusation telling them I'm not, only to have them come back and repeat the accusation, and I will dig up the links if you need them, but I'll need a day or two due to work committments and DU having a crappy search engine. I've pretty much alway said that I'm not an anything when it comes to Zionist or antizionist. There are so many strains of Zionism that I relate to bits of some and recoil from others. I can also relate to some of what antizionism's about (especially when people say it's the same as postzionism), but if I was pinned to a wall and forced to say one or the other, I'd have to say I'd grudgingly identify as Zionist without the nationalistic anti-Palestinian crap I detest....

I've been accused of supporting Hamas by the same person, even though I'm an atheist and a bit of an uneducated feminist who abhores the sexism and homophobia or those sorts of religious extremists

[oberliner]

13. Did you like what Obama had to say in that speech?

Would you give it high marks on the whole?

[Violet_Crumble]

17. I think he did better than I thought he was going to. He attempted to strike a balance there...

There was reassurance that Israel is an ally, which I think is vitally important to keep on stressing, given Israel's fears, some of which are understandable. Then it was balanced out by asking Israelis to put themselves in the shoes of a Palestinian and that Palestinians have to have their own state. I didn't watch the speech, but I read the transcript, and if he was as good a public speaker as he was when he spoke here in Australia*, he did really really well as far as I'm concerned...

What did you think of it?

* I don't often react to politicians giving speeches, but I found myself grinning stupidly at the telly and a lot of my inbuilt distrust of any US politician vanished when he spoke. Such a stark contrast from Bush...

[oberliner]

20. I thought it was a very good speech

He is indeed a strong public speaker.