Opinion
Words aren't enough
Orly Azoulay
Published: 04.08.09, 23:42
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32 Talkbacks for this article
1. say or listen
sozana ,   jerusalem   (08.05.09)
yesterday my friend told a story that his boss was ispecting his work . the friend speake too much about someproblem the boss do not listen and he said that he had a headech and said that god give us one toung but two ears .. my friend said that i want to tell that the mind is the boss of the three and that the boss has no mind .. but he said at last he knew that iam correct and what i said is the logic .. without telling that the mind is the best to say or to listen
2. Words
0Doug ,   US   (08.05.09)
Just having a "plan" is not enough. Fatah has a plan as does hamas. The Saudi Plan does not help either.
3. Thats a shame because words are all thats on offer
Danny   (08.05.09)
that and more rockets and suicide bombers and dead Israelis. PS He was elected against a deeply unpopular incumbent party in the midst of a financial meltdown with a "no questions asked" media support and billions of dollars to spend which the other side didn't. If the democrats had put an actual donkey up as candidate it still would have got elected.
4. Enough already
david   (08.05.09)
Obama is an ignorant moron who doesn't know anything about the Middle East. It's time to stop taking each of his stupid pronouncements as an oracle.
5. words aren't enough
debbie ,   israel   (08.05.09)
TO SOZANA OF JERUSALEM: And your point is?????????? Didn't understand a single word you wrote. Did you?
6. Pleasant voice?
Ronald S. ,   Holland   (08.05.09)
The voice was not so pleasant either.
7. obama
sas ,   israel   (08.05.09)
has NO message to present. he has no idea what he wants. has no experience and is still talking about "change"........What change - NUCLEAR change???????? He is blind as to what is happening in this area of the world. The people surrounding him are not much better - or perhaps worse and /or dumber.
8. maybe I can get creadit for this article cause...
ghostq   (08.05.09)
I TOLD YOU SO, that is what I am saying since his election, the obvious, every time he mess up he run to the press to sweet talk his way out of it well soon people will fead up from his pointless drivels. what has he done until now beside taking the creadit of bill clinton last night and others, I tell you beside making more excuses to colect more taxes from the American citizens he did nnnnnnnnnnooooooooooothing.
9. Rubbish. Obama is not the "man with the plan".
Raymond in DC ,   Washington, DC USA   (08.05.09)
Azoulay wants "an orderly plan accompanied by a timetable - as if settling the conflict, much less remaking the region, is some project. We've seen such "plans" - Oslo, the Road Map. Remember them? Such nonsense is related to the presumption that "everyone knows what the solution looks like". But apparently not. It's true that Israelis don't want to be played for suckers ("freiers"); it's also true that they've BEEN played for suckers, and they're done with that. "Fool me once, shame on you," we say in the US. "Fool me twice, shame on me." Get real. Obama thinks he gets it, but clearly doesn't. It's not just that he doesn't understand Israelis (Cairo made that plain); he doesn't appreciate the new Israeli consensus. Reciprocity is the name of the game now. Israel has gone as far as it can and gotten essentially nothing for it. It's treated as a doormat and as a pariah while its neighbors sit on the sidelines expecting the US to "deliver" Israel as a token of the US "outreach" to the Arab world. Not gonna' happen.
10. A Losing Hand
Rafael ,   Yerushalayim, Israel   (08.05.09)
The two-state "solution" remains a rcipe for disaster, and all the eloquence and pretty packaging won't change that.
11. I guess that means that
Shmuel ,   Maale Adumim   (08.05.09)
Israelis are not as dumb as Americans!!!
12. "..he spent his summer vacations on the beach in Tel Aviv.."
Atilla Karagözoğlu   (08.05.09)
"Obama's Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, boasts that he spent his summer vacations on the beach in Tel Aviv. Yet even he cannot explain to his boss the essence of Israeliness: When you push Israelis into a corner, their response is reflected by two constitutive statements: "I won't be a sucker" on the one hand, and "I'll show you who's the boss" on the other hand. " *** SOME PEOPLE YOU CAN BUY, SOME PEOPLE YOU CANT. AND ITS NOT NICE TO BUY PEOPLE. *** "Obama is a gifted poker player: He spent his teenage years playing cards in Hawaii, and upgraded his poker skills during college by playing with his classmates and professors. His friends from that period claim that he had a "winning hand," but a poker game in the Middle East is a dangerous gamble: If Obama is keeping his cards close to his chest, he will not be bale to stimulate a sweeping popular movement in a region replete with disappointments, mirages, and empty promises." *** EVEN OBAMA DOESNT KNOW WHAT TO DO. AND YOU STILL DONT GET THIS. *** "Obama needs to present the outline of a solution for the core issues, such as borders, Jerusalem, and refugees." *** TWO STATES INDEPENDANT JERUSALEM. ALL PALESTINIAN REFUGEES MUST BE BACK
13. One wonders at times, #11
Cameron ,   USA   (08.05.09)
14. Middle East
Israel Israeli ,   Tel Aviv   (08.05.09)
Orly Azoulay does not understand the Middle East. The Arabs are not swept away because they do not need to be. If the Arabs accepted what Obama says now, they would get no more concessions and might be asked to give something. Instead, they will always declare that they have not received enough. That way, Obama will force Israel to do what they want and the Arabs don't have to negotiate at all. That is how it works in the Middle East.
15. Obama's message is not vague
Sarah B ,   New York City, USA   (08.05.09)
He has devoted his attention and expressed sympathies for the Islamic world generally, and the Palestinians particularly. He spouts a lot of placating nonsensical verbiage intended to assuage Jews. But it isn't real. And it hasn't fooled this -- or any other intelligent and politically aware -- Jew. Obama is a fool who may (or possibly not, depending on his private agenda, which is increasingly evident and deplorable) be deluded enough to believe that Israel buys his load of bunk. It doesn't. Down the road, that will present a problem, but not an insurmountable one. Not for Israel, anyway. No one's invading Israel anytime soon, and if they do, they will be handed their lunch in short order. But do not lose sight of the fact that "comprehensive peace" is a term first coined by Yasir Arafat (may his name be cursed throughout eternity) and is diplomatic (I use the term quite loosely) shorthand for "Israel gives up everything, including its existence; the Palestinians give up nothing." I have said this before: Obama is a perfect storm. He lacks both the vision and the ability to be president of the leading nation of the western world. Frankly, he and his clowns could not govern themselves out of a brown paper bag. Jews -- we are an old nation and quite wise. We aren't falling for his shtick. While I hope it does not come to pass, Obama may well learn JUST how wise we are and just how militarily capable we are the hard way. No -- trust me on this: impeachment is the wiser course. Any other course will cost far too many lives.
16. Obama is playing a high stakes game against radical Muslims
Bloodyscot ,   Dallas, USA   (08.05.09)
Obama was more worried about Muslim reactions because the US has troops fighting in two Muslim countries and killing people in a third. He didn't think there would be as big a problem with Israel stopping the settlements for afew months since Israel had backed the Roadmap in the past. Muslims are weakened right now but that may not last forever, as in the past they just need the right leaders.
17. Sarah B. #15: Well done.
Steve   (08.05.09)
18. #16, muslims haven't been a power in nearly 400 years
Danny   (08.05.09)
when Spain and Hungary were the other dominant powers. Obama just doesn't have the toughness to deal with the really nasty people out there and pressuring Israel is a risk-free route for him. After all how many planes are Israelis going to fly into US buildings if they disagree with his policies?
19. Obama's Talk
M. Hartley ,   Atlanta, US   (08.05.09)
You guys better thank God if or that you only get words. We're hoping like hell to survive the next 3+ years of his deeds.
20. All this guy knows to do is campaign.He has NO idea how to
implement what he ,   campaigns on.   (08.05.09)
21. Obama will end up being on of America's biggest embaressment
&worst pres. next to ,   Al Jimmal Carter.   (08.05.09)
22. That's right, words aren't enuff
Robert ,   Germany   (08.05.09)
Now deeds must follow. Israel has to stop and dismantle ALL of these illegal settlements as a first step to peace. Obama and the world know that already. Some criminal settlers however still hope they can get away with their land theft. They can't.
23. Blah, blah, blah
J.Langston ,   NY, NY   (08.05.09)
We here in the United States love and support our presidents...we're tired of pouring our tax dollars into a nation that refuses to move toward a solution. It's time for you Jews to fend for yourselves.
24. To: Robert at No. 22
Sarah B ,   New York City, USA   (08.05.09)
Whatever on earth makes you think that the settlements are illegal? They are quite legal. You see, sir, under the Hague Second and Third Conventions, a country which acquires territory while fighting a defensive war -- as Israel did in 1967 (keep in mind that Jordan initiated the shooting war) -- is not only fully entitled to retain the territory acquired, but entitled to settle it as well. You want to stay away from making grand pronouncements on the illegality of things when they are so clearly based soley on your personal prejudices. Particularly if you are issuing forth on legal matters and you are not a lawyer. It tends to make you appear stupid and uninformed. (By the way -- if you are a lawyer (doubtful), ask that your tuition money be refunded. The Hague Second and Third Conventions are pretty basic law, taught in even the least prestigious of law schools.)
25. To: No. 23
Sarah B ,   New York City, USA   (08.05.09)
You are quite wrong. For one thing, the Palestine Authority has long (about 20 years) supplanted Israel as the chief recipient of United States aid. All of which is received in cash and promptly goes to acquire weapons for terrorist groups and to line the pockets of Palestinian "leadership." For another thing, U.S. aid to Israel has always taken the form of modest cash aid (which has always been repaid; Israel is one of only two countries that has always repaid cash loans -- and they are loans, not gifts -- the other one being Finland), military credits and joint venture investment capital. The military credits must be spent in the United States, which means people in the defense industries keep their jobs, and the joint venture capital has benefited the United States enormously, to wit: the CAT scan was invented via such venture capital; so was the MRI and the pacemaker, to name but a few. You should make an effort to acquaint yourself a little bit with the facts before writing such nonsensical posts. And -- while I am at it -- the American people do not always love and support their presidents. Let's see -- Andrew Johnson was impeached, as was William Jefferson Clinton. Richard Nixon was forced to resign following the Watergate scandal. Gerald Ford was derided for being clumsy. Grover Cleveland appalled people because he fathered a child out of wedlock. Herbert Hoover was despised for not doing enough during the Great Depression. Andrew Jackson was voted out of office largely because of his "kitchen cabinet" practices (subsequently emulated by Lyndon Johnson). Speaking of Lyndon Johnson -- his popularity rating because of the Vietnam War was so poor, he declined to run in 1968. The foregoing is a modest example of the American people's "love and support" for their presidents. I'm sure there are more, but this is off the top of my very clever head. Finally -- Israel has always fended for itself. How many tax dollars do you think the United States has spent trying to bring democracy to Iraq and Afghanistan? How much American blood has been spilled in that pointless pursuit?
26. #23If it means never hearing from the likes of you again,
then we will fend ,   for ourselves!!!!!   (08.05.09)
27. to 12
suzana ,   jerusalem   (08.06.09)
once i was on TA shorei did not think only with myselfe .. i think the talavivian are always on this shore
28. to 24 sara
sozana ,   jerusalem   (08.06.09)
god of israil know that they are not fare and they are on the land of others done by force .....
29. to Sarah B. # 24
Andrea ,   Austria   (08.06.09)
Hi Sarah, the settlements are illegal under international law. Just check out the fourth geneva convention.
30. To: Andrea at No. 29
Sarah B ,   New York City, USA   (08.06.09)
Israel is not a signatory to the Fourth Geneva Protocol (it's not a Convention, darling). Therefore, it does NOT apply to Israel. That said ..... the Fourth Geneva Protocol does not even discuss territories acquired through war. It deals simply with the question of treatment of prisoners of war. Try again, sweetheart. I am way smarter than you, so TRY HARD!
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