The author's opinion about the difference between President Obama's and Prime Minister Nethanyahu's interpretation of the so-called crisis.
Is Obama’s Interference for Peace, a Trap?

Is Obama’s Interference for Peace, a Trap?
4/6/2010 10:10:08 AM

Many papers were written these days, since the Obama Administration declared war on Israel, with a ridiculous excuse, as if the interests of the United States were in danger, because Israel is building 1600 apartments.

Did Obama ask the Israelis, whom these apartments are destined for? If Obama wants to impose his will on the Jews now, he didn’t have to come up with such a ridiculous excuse, which can only diminish his already damaged prestige. He is making a great mistake in his presidency. He couldn’t manage the crisis with Iran and now with Afghanistan but he wants to destroy our single honest ally, Israel. He should remember, even those Jews who helped him to be elected, can today turn against him. Even his best friends, the Democrats and the black community will turn against him too. He will find himself alone.

Until now, Abou Mazen the chairman of the PLO was talking with Israel, prior to Obama entering the fray with a radical policy, different from that of all prior Presidents. Why should the Americans and the Israelis trust him, while knowing that he is new in the business of negotiating with the Arabs, where everyone had failed before? Can the Jewish people trust a new and inexperienced American president after all what happened in Europe? The American Jews are naïve to believe that Netanyahu is wrong with his policy. Maybe he was wrong, coming to the United States for the AIPAC conference, without evaluating the appropriate timing to see Obama. He fell into a trap. In my view, Obama too made a tactical, diplomatic and cultural error. I can only refer to an Arab proverb witch says: “The one who enters your house is bigger than your father” This means, if someone enters your house, treat him with more respect than you would treat your father. Obama should know that when it comes to Jerusalem, no Jew can decide lightly, and particularly the Prime Minister. No Jew will accept his demand and those who accept his demand cannot call themselves children of the people of the Bible. Obama’s demand can only be interpreted as a call for war between Israel and its neighbors. No one wants to make any strategic mistake like this, after tree thousand years in exile. After all, it was Israel’s right party with Menahem Begin, who signed the peace treaty with Egypt.

Since when do the Arabs want peace with Israel? As far as I know, the Qur’an interdicts such a move. I don’t believe it. Since 1948 Israel’s Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion announced that his hand was stretched out for peace, but the Arabs always said “no”. No Arab can decide about such a move, as no one would like to be killed like Anwar El Sadat. As palestinefacts.org explains, “the initiative was far from universally popular in Egypt and the Arab world in general, particularly among Muslim fundamentalists. The Arabs believed that only a unified Arab stance and the threat of force would persuade Israel to negotiate a settlement of the Palestinian issue that would satisfy Palestinian demands for a homeland.” Even now, that two Arab states have signed a peace treaty with Israel, the threat from extremists is still lingering on the Arab leader who would dare sign another treaty.

No one can doubt Israel’s willingness to make peace. Israel has already proven it, with Egypt and with Jordan, but to make peace with a surrogate? Do you know why Jordan relinquished Judea and Samaria to the population now called Palestinians? The King of Jordan didn’t want to deal with the population of the West Bank, as he knew that he didn’t have any legitimacy for the West Bank or for Jerusalem, and that sooner or later the Jews would put in their claim.

Every time a Jew wants to build a house in Jerusalem, he has to get the approval of the Obama Administration? At least the Israelis are building and creating work, better than here, where our builders are out of work. Let them first build, after all they are employing Arab workers and their economy is working and growing.

Any peace negotiation should start between the concerned leaders, without any intermediary, and without any precondition.

Copyright 2010 Emile Tubiana