Author: AJDS

Barack Obama: Israel’s true friend

Gideon Levy Open Democracy

Gideon Levy is a journalist with the Israeli newspaper, Ha’aretz

The United States president’s meeting with Israel’s prime minister offers Israel a future it must grasp, says Gideon Levy. 25 – 05 – 2009 It’s already clear: the United States president is a great friend of Israel. If Barack Obama continues what he started in his meeting with Binyamin Netanyahu on 18 May 2009, he might prove to be the friendliest president to Israel ever. Richard M Nixon saved Israel from the Arab states in 1973, and Obama is about to save Israel from itself.

Nixon sent Israel arms and ammunition at a critical time, and Obama is sending – at a time no less critical – the substance of a complete peace plan, a plan that would save Israel. All that remains is whether Obama stays determined and decisive as he was in the White House summit. In one moment he changed Washington’s madness and the attitude toward the Israeli occupation. Now it will be seen if he succeeds in altering the same madness in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

Barack Obama: Israel’s true friend

Gideon Levy Open Democracy

Gideon Levy is a journalist with the Israeli newspaper, Ha’aretz

The United States president’s meeting with Israel’s prime minister offers Israel a future it must grasp, says Gideon Levy. 25 – 05 – 2009 It’s already clear: the United States president is a great friend of Israel. If Barack Obama continues what he started in his meeting with Binyamin Netanyahu on 18 May 2009, he might prove to be the friendliest president to Israel ever. Richard M Nixon saved Israel from the Arab states in 1973, and Obama is about to save Israel from itself.

Nixon sent Israel arms and ammunition at a critical time, and Obama is sending – at a time no less critical – the substance of a complete peace plan, a plan that would save Israel. All that remains is whether Obama stays determined and decisive as he was in the White House summit. In one moment he changed Washington’s madness and the attitude toward the Israeli occupation. Now it will be seen if he succeeds in altering the same madness in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

The following statement has been issued by the Australian Jewish Democratic Society: We write as supporters of the State of Israel and align ourselves with those who seek a negotiated two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Though the current hostilities in Gaza and Lebanon are but another round in this long-standing conflict, we have no hesitation in unreservedly condemning those, chiefly in Hamas and Hezbollah, who have triggered the current escalation of hostilities.

This was published as an opinion piece in the Australian Jewish News (2 April 2009) The AJDS is puzzled that the Australian Jewish News (26 March 2009) regards as front-page news an Anti-Defamation Commission report by Dr Phillip Mendes about events that took place nearly a decade ago.

Debate within our community on Arab-Jewish dialogue is always important, but a particular person’s anecdotal experience with a now defunct academic organisation in which two out of three of his adversaries were Jewish, provides no basis to conclude that dialogue is worthless.