Obama continues to ignore reality - Prof. Ron Breiman

by Prof. Ron Breiman

Obama's statements are a good indicator of the likely pressure Israel will face regarding the fate of its own land during Obama's remaining time in the White House.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu raised a legitimate demand during the talks between the Western powers and Iran -- that Iran should recognize Israel as a Jewish state and stop threatening to destroy it. U.S. President Barack Obama rejected the demand, saying that there was no relation between Iran's view of Israel and the nuclear talks, ignoring the fact that Israel would be the country most threatened by Iran if it did get nuclear weapons. Statements made by Iranian leaders in Tehran only strengthen that claim.

Obama's response should set off alarms for Israeli policymakers. His position could also extend to Netanyahu's legitimate call on Palestinian and Arab leaders to recognize Israel as a Jewish state. Calling for the formation of a Palestinian state to the west of Jordan requires "two states for two peoples," not just two states. Obama's statements are a good indicator of the likely pressure Israel will face regarding the fate of its own land during Obama's remaining time in the White House.
Sadly, Obama's performance on all the issues he has tackled gives the impression that the cockpit of the White House, and by extension the whole world, is being flown by a pilot (not unlike the Germanwings pilot) who has decided to put an end to the age of the U.S. leading the world as a powerful, rational, responsible and democratic superpower.

For those who have forgotten, here is a partial list of the many theaters in which Obama's actions have been controversial: dealing with the dangerous storm known as the Arab Spring; supporting the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt which toppled Hosni Mubarak; his handling of the Syrian-Russian deception regarding the removal of Syria's chemical weapons stockpile; his handling of Iran as it continues to press for time and develops its nuclear weapons; his take on the recent developments in Yemen, including Iranian involvement there and in other places; his response to the fighting in Ukraine; siding with the Palestinian terrorist Authority and its leader Mahmoud Abbas -- the twin brother of Hamas.

Another thing about Obama and Iran: The U.S. president declared that during his term, there would be no nuclear Iran. That means that he will work so that until January 20, 2017 there will be no Iranian nuclear weapon and thus all talks about Iran not having nuclear capability for 10 or 13 years are pointless. The reality "after the storm" will be left to Obama's successors to deal with.

In a similar vein is Netanyahu's election-time declaration that he would not allow the formation of a Palestinian state in his next term, i.e., not in the next four years. Even the most extreme leftists know that the "Palestinian bomb" (a Palestinian state in the land of Israel west of the Jordan River) cannot not be formed so quickly.

Leaders are expected to look beyond their terms in office. This is also true for Obama, who must demand that Iran be prevented from making nuclear weapons forever and not just the next two years, and for Netanyahu, who only recently was voted in by the public to work to prevent the formation of a Palestinian state in the land of Israel west of the Jordan River.

Professor Ron Breiman is the former chairman of Professors for a Strong Israel.

Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=12243

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