A New Day

Does the Obama Administration wake up every morning and think that the world was just created again? Do they think that they can organize the world as they believe it ought to be? We could discuss this on just about every important issue facing the United States today, but I want to focus on the issue that I have been following for most of my adult life. The issue today is Israel and the Palestinians.

Last week, Israel announced that it would allow construction of 1600 housing units in the eastern part of Jerusalem in a Jewish neighborhood while Vice President Joe Biden was visiting the country. Current United States policy is against any construction in territory that Israel conquered in the Six Day War in 1967. This announcement embarrassed the Vice President. Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, immediately apologized for the announcement coming as it did and embarrassing the Vice President. The Vice President formally accepted the Prime Minister’s apology.

Obviously, the Vice President forgot to check in with the President and the Secretary of State before accepting the apology. Upon his return home, Ms. Clinton after meeting with the President, called Prime Minister Netanyahu and dressed him down for the announcement. She said that he was insincere in attempting to hold negotiations with the Palestinians. She demanded that he cancel the construction project and wanted to know what other concessions he would give to the Palestinians to get them to the negotiating table.

Did they just wake up to a new day? Is history unimportant? Since his election as Prime Minister, Mr. Netanyahu has been calling for negotiations with the Palestinians. The Palestinian Authority has used many excuses not to come to the table. Why has this administration not held their feet to the fire to negotiate? Now I know that this is probably way too long ago for this administration to remember but in 2000 then Prime Minister Ehud Barak offered the Palestinians a peace deal that was considered overly generous. Even President Clinton condemned Palestinian Chairman Arafat from walking away from the proposal. Chairman Arafat did not make a counter proposal. He just walked away. I guess that is too long ago for the Secretary of State to remember. Israel has formally made offers even before 2000 to solve this conflict but has never had a willing partner.

What have the Palestinians done? How far back does one need to go? Just this week in Ramallah, the current seat of the Palestinian Authority, they renamed a square in honor of a terrorist who was directly responsible in the cold blooded murder of 38 Israelis including 13 children. I do not recall seeing a condemnation of the Palestinians. I could talk about how they call for the destruction of Israel in their mosques and call Jews pigs and monkeys who deserve to be destroyed. I could talk about the celebrations in the past when suicide bombers murdered innocent Israelis in their terror attacks. Remembering these events is just unimportant, I guess. History does not matter.

Well it is a new day. If those damn Israelis would just give up a piece here and there. We are not asking for anything really important.  They can always count on the United States to come to their aid. We always do what we say. Our word is golden. Who does Israel think it is by not doing these little things for us?

Well tomorrow is another day. Maybe the Administration will see this issue in a new light. Maybe we will remember who our friends are. Or maybe some other issue will be important.