"What Obama Is Up Against" As Regards Chances for Peace In the Middle East

I don't often enter the fray of Middle Eastern politics anymore as I'm a holder of many less than regular ugly American opinions; however, there comes a time to cover the salient issues and today presents one of them. (And please, don't miss Maru's Son of a Bitch either!) Max Blumenthal assaults us with the truth about Obama's international reception from a certain Jewish perspective. Read it, view the video and become enlightened. (Emphasis marks were added - Ed.)

On the eve of President Barack Obama’s address to the Muslim world from Cairo, Egypt, I stepped out onto the streets of Jerusalem with my friend Joseph Dana to interview young Israelis and American Jews about their reaction to the speech. We encountered rowdy groups of beer sodden twenty-somethings, many from the United States, and all eager to vent their visceral, even violent hatred of Barack Obama and his policies towards Israel.

Usually I offer a brief commentary on my video reports, but this one requires no comment at all. Quite simply, it contains some of the most shocking footage I have ever filmed. Watch it and see if you agree. (Warning: this video contains profanity and material offensive to just about anyone.)

Joseph Dana had these comments that fleshed out the essay quite a bit.

Max and I went on to the streets of Jerusalem at ten o’clock on a Wednesday to ascertain the feelings of the young population about Obama’s upcoming speech in Cairo. As is often the case, the streets of central Jerusalem were not filled with native Israelis but American Jews. Doubtlessly anyone who has visited Jerusalem has encountered the droves of American Jewish kids that are sent to Israel to study for a period of time from Teaneck or Westchester. We asked people a simple question, “What do you think of Obama and Israel?” Most of the people that we talked to were dual American Israeli citizens. The answers in this video reflect the education and worrisome perspectives that many American Jews harbor towards Israeli politics. The sense of entitlement that the American Jewish community has when it comes to Israeli policy is on full raw display in the words of these young adults. Based on our interviews these people were from high socioeconomic backgrounds and had developed thoughts about current Israeli politics. The question is why more journalists are not covering this story. All you have to do is walk the streets of Jerusalem and you will find dozens of people that harbor the same beliefs. As a resident of Jerusalem, I can say that the people represented in this video are not members of a fringe group or simply drunk college kids. These people reflect the sentiments shared by many people in this country and this city. These people and their families are the core of the opposition to meaningful peace between Israel and her neighbors. This is what Obama is up against.

Good times on the streets of Jerusalem. Would that this were just bad propaganda. Or that the Israeli foreign aid budget were in any danger of being cut. The Nazi/history talk is particularly disturbing from these supposedly educated young people. Robert Wexler inadvertently answers Greg Sargent's telling question here:

In an interview with me, Dem Rep Robert Wexler, a leading voice in Congress on Israeli-Arab affairs, made a fascinating point, arguing that one of the most important lines in Obama’s Cairo speech was this one: “America will align our policies with those who pursue peace, and we will say in public what we say in private to Israelis and Palestinians and Arabs.” Wexler told me he thinks that Obama’s promise to “say in public what we say in private” to all parties was “one of the critical lines in the speech, even though casual observers may gloss over it.” Wexler explained that this one line concealed far more significance for his audience than many would appreciate. He said Obama was reassuring Arabs that America would no longer give wink-wink-nudge-nudge private support for Israeli military actions, a vow that will have great resonance in the Arab world. He was saying that “it is no longer acceptable to say in private, `Go Israelis, take on Hezbollah,’ or `Go Israelis, take on Iran,’” Wexler said. “He has called out all of the parties, including ourselves, to step up to the plate as adults and make difficult political decisions.” Food for thought.

Don't miss the update that Wexler issued later that changed everything. Move along. Nothing happening here. Suzan ______________