Rethinking Obama

I’m not a pollster, but I’m willing to bet that if Jewish Americans were polled, the economy would be the number one issue they will be concerned about when voting for president in November. Israel might be a strong second or even third issue on Jews minds. I don’t necessarily think that is a bad thing. Frankly, Israel despite all her enemies and perpetual state of conflict manages to fend for herself quite well. Furthermore, her relationship with the United States has matured to a point of co-dependence. Perhaps I am naive, but I find it highly unlikely that any president has the capacity, political or strategic, to do major harm to the bond between these two great nations. 

Much has been made about the chilly relationship that President Obama has with Prime Minister Netanyahu and that causes supporters of Israel to paint Obama as less than sympathetic to the Jewish State. President Obama’s insistence early in his term that Israel freeze settlement building as a pre-condition to negotiations definitely put Israel in a weakened bargaining position in future talks. His outreach to the Muslim world without balancing it by reaching out to Israel stung the Jewish community. And Obama’s mentioning the 67’ borders with mutually agreed land swaps as a basis for a peace agreement with the Palestinians did not give the impression of the role of steadfast ally the U.S. traditionally plays. The president’s critics feel he is not taking the nuclear threat from Iran seriously enough and his talks with the Taliban in Afghanistan and the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt seem naïve and possibly harmful to many.  

On the flipside, while President Obama’s outreach to the Muslim world may not have paid diplomatic dividends, he can be credited with encouraging and supporting the Arab Spring. Aid to Israel in his administration has never been threatened or used as a club like George H.W. Bush and even Ronald Reagan did. His call for the 67’ borders with land swaps is not much different from various agreements proposed by Prime Ministers Barak and Olmert. Intelligence cooperation between the two countries according to Israeli sources has never been stronger and the “bunker busting” bombs denied by George W Bush’s administration to Israel were sold to her by the Obama administration. Let us not forget the many pro Israel Supporters and Jews in his administration including newly named Chief of Staff Jack Lew, an Orthodox Jew and staunch supporter of Israel.

For those whose memory is short, George W Bush, possibly the best friend Israel ever had in the White House, denied Israel’s request to attack Iran’s nuclear facility. The current group of republican presidential candidates save Ron Paul, are strong supporters of Israel, but is it useful for one to call Palestinians already recognized by Netanyahu and almost all Israelis, “a made up nation?” Is it really better for Israel if the guy in the White House only follows the Likud line?

I think it’s important that voters who care about Israel keep an open mind and evaluate the overall picture of the candidates rather than make decisions based on exaggerated criticism of one’s Israel policy. Despite the repeated promises of candidates for president, when they finally got into office, none ever moved the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The reason of course is because reality trumps politics every time. Say what you will about Obama’s Israel policy, but overall the relationship is as strong as ever and the president owes no apologies for how he treats Israel. While I prefer a warmer relationship between the president and Prime Minister Netanyahu I’m willing to guess that whatever chill emanating from their contacts stems from both sides, after all they are ideological opposites. Oh yeah, the open mike incident where Obama was less than kind in his personal assessment of Netanyahu to President Sarkozy of France illustrates his frustration. While that doesn’t make it right it was a conversation between two allies and should be evaluated in that context.

While a candidate’s stance on Israel is very important to me, my ultimate decision will be based on who can help get us out of the economic mess we find ourselves in. Obama may have inherited a bad economy but it remains to be seen if any of his policies have helped. While the Republicans have not selected a candidate yet, the three likely finalists have to convince me and others that they can do better. Thus I look forward to a spirited campaign and an open debate about where we need to go from here. While economically, our choices might be between bad and worse, as far as Israel policy goes I’ll sleep just fine if Obama gets another four years. I plan on voting with my pocket book, either way Israel will be just fine.