The wealthy Jewish philantropist Edgar Bronfman, Sr. recently created a stir by posting a piece on Huffington Post entitled "Israel's interest is a morally strong America." I haven't provided a link, but you should go take a look at it. In a nutshell, he argues that Israel will benefit from having a US president that is much better liked around the world than George W. Bush and who is not seen as being too one-sided in the conflict between Israel and her neighbors.
We on both sides of the Presidential candidate divide have been engaging in various rationalizations. We McCain supporters have certainly struggled to rationalize his pick of Sarah Palin, and why he remains the better choice despite it. But I'd say that American Jewish supporters of Israel, including Edgar Bronfman, are probably struggling to rationalize their support of Obama with their support for a strong Israel. Clearly, Bronfman has become caught up in the Obama mystique; the seventh paragraph of his piece reads like it was excerpted verbatim from Obama's web page. I really doubt Israel has been the major factor in his decision to support Obama rather than McCain.
I am surprised and a bit disappointed that Bronfman's piece expresses a point of view about Israel and America that reflects the perspective of the outside world, rather than that of America and Israel. He says that Israelis have "felt besieged," as if that were a symptom of paranoia rather than a description of the actual facts. He blames America for all of the hatred and war in the middle east, and seems to believe that America needs redemption because of its evil ways.
There is a feeling around that Obama is good for our foreign policy because he will restore the affection of the world toward the US that George W. Bush alienated; Bronfman echoes this point of view and seems to believe further that it will inure to Israel's benefit. Well, recall that the Arab street rejoiced on September 11, 2001, less than 10 months after Bill Clinton left the White House, and the Europeans' sense of affinity for the US only lasted for around the first 30 days of mourning after the attacks.
Yes, the Bush administration adopted a stridency in its rhetoric and may have believed for a period of time excessively in the viability of an entirely unilateral foreign policy, and I believe that a President McCain or a President Obama will take advantage of a limited opportunity to forge fresh relationships abroad and set a better tone. But in either case we will soon see a remarkable degree of continuity of policies and priorities in foreign affairs: Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan, not to mention Iran, will still be just where they were in the previous Administration, and the Arab world will continue to publicly disparage Israel and the US, even as it privately seeks our help in preventing the hegemony of Iran. Neither they, nor Russia and China, will be the least bit influenced by the multicultural background of our new president. Indeed, as Joe Biden so forcefully stated, they are more likely to put Obama to a significant test, perhaps on a large scale. That's good; we need another foreign policy crisis.
Bronfman does seem to acknowledge that perhaps Obama does not have as deep a connection to Israel as we may like, but says, "Whether an American president is prepared to preside over another handshake--one that could build lasting peace--should not be measured by his professed love for one side or the other, but by his judgment." Bronfman comes right out and says that peace between Israel and its neighbors requires an "honest broker that will push both sides," which means a US not perceived as too wholeheartedly siding with Israel in the conflict. We have yet to see a US president who was truly able to push anybody but the Israelis since, after all, what leverage do we have with the other side.
Any American president will be confronted with foreign leaders and domestic foreign policy advisers arguing for a softer pro-Israel stand - not outright abandonment, but a greater degree of acquiescence to the forces seeking to weaken Israel's security. For me, it is all the difference in the world to know that the person sitting in the oval office believes in his gut in Israel's survival, believes in the fundamental goodness of Israel and the necessity of its strength. I think we had that with Reagan and with Bush 43, not with Bush 41. And I think we did OK with Clinton. There's no reason to think that Obama cares much about Israel, and we know that some of his advisers regard it as a net liability for the US and speak with disdain about the Jewish lobby. I'm getting reconciled to Obama becoming our next president, and plan to make the best of it from a pro-Israel perspective. But I think that pro-Israel advocates, and supporters in Congress will have their work cut out for them in an Obama administration.
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