Listening to President Obama describe the challenges and problems of the Middle East last Thursday, addressing the "problem" of Jewish residence in their ancient land right along with repression of millions; governments that shoot their own citizens; rampant poverty, illiteracy and repression; Sunni-Shiite fighting, and so on, I can only think of Borat's song, "Throw the Jew down the well":
For every problem, there is a simple solution, as there has always been - Throw the Jew down the well, then have a party.
Having now read CNN's positive summary and reivew of the president's Sunday speech at AIPAC, as well as the JTA's takeaways, I do understand his explanation: That he believes this is in Israel's long-term, global interests, and that he wants to see mutually agreed-upon land swaps.
Nonetheless: In making this verbal move, he has given such major diplomatic support to Israel's antagonists that all I hear is this:
In the Middle East there is a problem
And that problem is the Kings
They take all the people’s freedom
And they never give it back
Throw the Jew down the well
So Middle East can be free
If we can make the Middle East judenrein
Then we’ll have a big party
In the Middle East there is a problem
And that problem is Sunni-Shiite war
They blow up each other’s mosques
And supermarkets and schools too
Throw the Jew down the well
So Shiites and Sunnis will make peace
Iran will give up on their nukes
Then we’ll have a big party
In the Middle East there is a problem
And that problem is poverty
Oil money goes to kings and emirs
Whose people are illiterate and broke
Throw the Jew down the well
Kuwait will fund mass literacy
Saudi Arabia will bankroll job growth
Then we’ll have a big party
In the Middle East there is a problem
And that problem is human rights
They block the Net and shut down Twitter
Allow honor killings and slavery
Throw the Jew down the well
So Arab citizens will be free
Muslim countries will tolerate dissent
Then we’ll have a big party
Feel free to add your own verses in the comments... I only wish the Republican Party would put up a decent opposition candidate.
I have continued to reserve judgment on whether he is antisemitic, but I have no doubt that he is naive.
ReplyDeleteIt feels good and sounds good to say that hard decisions are necessary and that he is providing tough love for Israel's benefit.
But it so ignorant, reckless and foolish on his part. Apparently he thinks that the way the Arab world treats their own is no different from how they would treat Israel.
Ask Lara Logan what can happen in the crowd. Ask those who were murdered by Assad because they dared to speak up what happens.
Or maybe look what Bill Clinton did when he worried about his legacy and ignored reality.
Maybe he'll send his family and friends to live in Sderot to prove that there is nothing to worry about.
If you want a lesson in hearing what you want to hear - compare today's lead Israel/Obama stories in the NY Times and the WS Journal
ReplyDeleteKT
Joel Rich
rabbi, i don't have too much sympathy for you and the jews, considering that 78% voted for obama; what didn't you understand, that he was raised in a muslim country and attended an anti-semitic church? you couldn't get pass sarah palin seeing russia from her house. thank g-d netanyahu has the eloquence to handle he who read a good speech at a national convention and become president four years later.
ReplyDelete"Apparently he thinks that the way the Arab world treats their own is different from how they would treat Israel."
ReplyDeleteEvery group of people on earth is capable of producing dictators or courageous dissidents.
To suggest that Obama condemn all Arabs, whether in Libya, Syria or in the West Bank, to an eternity of expected tyranny, is outrageous.
Of course the United States should support democratic revolution in the Arab world.
Of course the United States, Israel's strongest ally--not for any reason, by the way, except for shared values and sympathy--cannot be made to seem indifferent to Arab demands for freedom in the West Bank, if it chooses to support democracy for other Arabs.
Of course the United States has a right to mention the Arab-Israeli Conflict in a major foreign policy speech about the Middle East.
The self-determination of Palestinian Arabs is an appropriate subject for such a discussion, regardless of whether it is the key to any other developments in that part of the world.
The US supports Palestinian self-determination because it cannot support attempts at freedom elsewhere in the Middle East without supporting freedom everywhere in the Middle East.
Furthermore, why should Obama demand any less from Israel than Bush? Why should he expect negotiations to resume anywhere but where they left off in 2006?
Finally, no American president, Republican or Democrat, living or dead, would ever have given a comprehensive speech like that and not mentioned his vision for peace between Israel and the Palestinians via a two-state solution.
nameless one 12:30, it's not unexpected for the president to support a two state solution, but it is inappropriate for him to say where the negotiation must start for israel. bear in mind the palestinian chant is from the river to the sea which means one state with no jews.
ReplyDeleteback to the rabbi, although obama threw us down the well, you still hope for a acceptable republican candidate? which suggests you could vote again for obama. i would not be surprised if he still gets a jewish majority
Anonymous 12:30 AM-
ReplyDeleteThere were many Middle East-related and Democracy-related topics that didn't get real attention in that "comprehensive" speech. Examples: How the sectarian fighting in Iraq will be handled. How the threat of Iran's nuclear weapons will be handled. How the US will become independent of OPEC's oil.
Those topics were not mentioned, because the focus was the "Arab Spring" revolt. And Israel also should not have been a focus. It was there only because the Arab countries wanted to hear the US step up pressure, and because he wanted payback for the Israeli housing announcement during Biden's visit.
Michael-
It's not my vote I was talking about.
rabbi, my apology for any offense taken to the personal nature of my comments, but how ironic that biden was the chosen one, palin was scorned, but it was biden who was offended by israel's right of self-determination on his famous trip i'm not as diplomatic as i used to be. on that note, please see my post entitled barack and bibi
ReplyDeletehttp://www.molovinskyonallentown.blogspot.com/
i'm a liberal, i'm a liberal
ReplyDeletethat's what I do,
I'm a liberal, before i'm a jew
when they put israel behind the
eight ball, what will i do
i'll keep voting liberal, because that's what i do
Obama knows exactly what he is doing.
ReplyDeleteHis goal is to have a palestnian state.-and for Israel to surrender and ultimately commit suicide.
For those wearing blinkers,you have complete denial of reality