US President Barack Obama. One of the friendliest administrations Israel has ever worked with
Photo: AFP
Jeremy Ben-Ami
Photo: J Street
Obama’s policy bolsters Israel
Op-ed: Under a Clinton administration Israeli citizens could have hoped for an active US administration, like Obama's, which does not sit and watch the sides quarrel but tries to make them stop quarreling and start talking.
“President Obama is a danger to settlements,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told representatives of settlers from Ofra and Amona. This statement is nothing more than part of the ongoing attempts to turn the Obama administration into a sort of demon haunting Israel, which reemerges every time Netanyahu feels he has an internal political interest which justifies attacking the Obama administration—one of the friendliest administrations Israel has ever known.
Some may click their tongues at the statement that the Obama administration is friendly towards Israel, but this is something that is repeated time and again by the prime minister himself. Netanyahu, who takes pride in the aid agreement, “the greatest military aid package the United States has ever given any country,’ is the same Netanyahu who on other occasions doesn’t miss an opportunity to attack that same “most generous administration ever.”
Obama and Hillary Clinton. An administration which really and truly has Israel’s interest at heart (Photo: AFP)
But the truth is that we are really talking about an administration led by people who care about Israel, an administration which really and truly has Israel’s interest at heart. But this administration does not see Israel’s best interest as the Netanyahu government’s policy—the continuation of the occupation and controlling another people, turning Israel into a country which practices a different system of rights for different people, a country which invests huge sums in sustaining isolated settlements in the heart of a Palestinian population.
The United States has a clear stance that the settlements represent an obstacle to peace and that Israel and the Palestinians must pursue a diplomatic agreement based on the two-states concept. This stance, which is shared by the majority of the Israeli public, outlines the American administration’s policy and prompts it to try to get the parties to return to the negotiating table. This policy does not endanger, harm or weaken Israel. On the contrary, this policy will eventually strengthen the State of Israel and turn it into a country which does not have to constantly fight for its position, which can outline a moral and ethical path.
Our job, as the Jewish and Zionist public in the United States, is to strengthen those who want to help Israel and the Palestinians make progress towards a diplomatic solution, to strengthen those interested in peace and calm, rather than those who sell themselves as “Israel supporters” but are actually dragging the country deeper into the conflict, instead of looking for a way out of it together with Israel.
In his attacks on the American administration, Netanyahu is trying to get US Jews to choose between supporting President Obama and supporting Israel. But the Jewish public does not have to enter the corner Netanyahu is trying to lead it to, as the American administration led by President Obama has proved its commitment to Israel, to its security and to its prosperity, even if the way it believes in is not the Netanyahu government’s way.
The entire public, both in the United States and in Israel, should be able to read beyond the simplistic slogans with which it is fed, and realize that real concern for the State of Israel is not just reciting the slogans expounded by thos on the Israeli right.
Israel’s citizens should not be afraid of the Obama administration’s initiatives, but hope for them. Hope for an active administration, which does not sit and watch the sides quarrel, but tries to make them stop quarreling and start talking. This was the Obama administration’s policy, and would likely have continued if, as the polls predicted, Hillary Clinton had won the elections.
Jeremy Ben-Ami is the founder and president of J Street.
