The West Bank

Progressive Thoughts On The Middle East
JULY 29, 2009 2:42PM

Indyk: Israel got a "blank check of love".

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Interesting piece out of The Daily Beast today: a short article from Benjamin Sarlin who interviews former US ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk about how Obama can get “back on track” with Israel. At no point in the article does anyone really question if Obama is off track with Israel at all. It’s taken as a self evident truth that because Netanyahu is in a huff about Obama’s pressure over settlements, something must be done on the American end to soothe his hurt feelings.

Indyk argues that because the Israelis “love to be loved” and received “a blank check of love” during the Bush years, they’ll need to be reassured that they are still in favor in Washington. Haaretz reported that a lot of these hurt feelings grew out of Obama’s much celebrated Cairo speech in June in which he extended an olive branch to the Arab and Muslim worlds. Apparently peaceful rhetoric towards the Arab and Muslim worlds, and being an ally to Israel, is mutually exclusive.  

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israel, us foreign policy, obama, netanyahu

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Great point. And of course, Obama, for all of his good intentions, will knuckle under to political reality. On behalf of those who are actually affected, he will settle for some more half-measures and cosmetic adjustments over there. I read something else from Ha'aretz a while ago, making the point that Israelis are stuck in "victim mode." Real progress toward peace and security for both themselves and the Palestinians will never come until they "get over it." ...But what about the rest of the world, standing by while the Occupation continues, borders are kept locked shut, the Wall nears completion. The world stands by. The world is a spectator to apartheid. Is it because the rest of us can't shake off a sense of being in debt to Israel? Will we FOREVER be paying them off for the Shoa?
Screen Name Unavailable
July 29, 2009 02:59 PM
I think it would be hard to keep Netanyahu non-huffinated without supporting nearly all of his policies - he seems pretty black and white. By Obama making any overtures to changing US policy it suggests grey areas that don't necessarily fit with Netanyahu's hard line stances.
scott w. gray
August 03, 2009 05:21 PM