In the NY Times lead story on the Kerry speech, writer David Sanger says Obama has distanced himself from Middle East peace negotiations, which he “doubted would succeed.” This is false and a jab at Kerry. The policy was Obama’s, and set in place with the Cairo speech of 2009.
John Kerry’s closing act as secretary of state is a 72-minute speech devoted to a problem, Israeli settlements, that was removed from the Democratic Party platform just five months before. The bitter failure of the Obama administration to take on Netanyahu untill the last minute is proof of the power of the Israel lobby inside American liberalism. The Democratic Party will support justice in the Middle East only if it takes on the forces of intolerance in its own ranks. That means the Israel lobby. You can’t defeat an enemy if you can’t name it.
John Kerry’s speech on Israel/Palestine today was a eulogy for the two state solution, some commenters said; while others said he laid down new criticisms of Israel with statement about “separate but not equal” residents of West Bank and saying “The settler agenda” is defining Israel’s future.
“Stay strong Israel, January 20th is fast approaching!” Donald Trump tweeted today in anticipation of Secretary of State John Kerry’s much-ballyhooed speech on Middle East peace this morning. But Steny Hoyer joins forces with Trump in telling the Obama administration to leave Israel alone.
In extensive coverage of the UN Security Council resolution against settlements, the New York Times has quoted only four Palestinians. One article was headlined that the focus is now “back on Palestinians,” but quoted numerous Americans and Israeli voices, but only one Palestinian.
President Obama’s decision to allow passage of a UN Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlements as illegal has done more to change the shape of the conflict than any other action in the last ten years, even than Israel’s massacres in Gaza. Israel supporters always said that the country would not move toward peace if the U.S. was tough on it. But the UN Security Council resolution against settlements shows the opposite to be true: a little distance is already causing huge positive developments, isolating the country in world opinion and licensing criticism of PM Netanyahu. Obama has nudged Israel, and the media, toward recognition of the country’s new status, as a rogue state.
The New York Times commits journalistic malpractice, suggesting the US abstention at the UN was due to personal animosity between Obama and Netanyahu. Obama is dead serious about a two state solution, Netanyahu about holding on to power
The good news of Trump’s nomination of an extremist to be the US ambassador to Israel is that the American Jewish monolith in favor of Israel will shatter publicly and liberal Zionists will have to throw in the towel on the failed dream of partitioning the land so as to preserve a “Jewish democracy.”
Donald Trump was “wise” when he said that he refused to demonize Putin and wouldn’t it be great if Russia and the US could cooperate not fight, Stephen Cohen says on WNYC. And Paul Krugman slurs Trump as a Kremlin agent and thereby stigmatizes dissenting views of the new Cold War.
Less than four months after he went to Jerusalem for the New York Times, Peter Baker is going back to the White House. He says it’s the “Trump effect.” The big story is in D.C.