Points to watch for in Netanyahu’s speech‏

Gerald M. Steinberg

1) Highlighting areas of agreement with Obama’s Cairo speech. Dangers
of Moslem extremists, the importance of democracy, women’s rights,
education, freedom of expression, etc. Unlike Obama, Netanyahu will speak of
“terror”.

2) Emphasis on the dangers of Iran, acquisition of nuclear weapons,
support for Hamas and Hezbollah. (Obama did not devote much attention to
Iran.) If Admadinejad loses in first round of election, perhaps an attempt
to reach out to Iranian people, dialogue, diplomatic relations, end to
threat of destruction.

3) On Israeli-Palestinian and Israeli-American relations, welcome
Obama’s reiteration of the unbreakable bonds, support for Israel’s survival,
and for promoting peace.

4) Will correct the historical record from Obama’s speech, which
reflected the Arab narrative. Will stress Israel as Jewish homeland, the
right to sovereign equality and self-determination, and the history of Arab
rejection and violence since 1947, long before 1967 war. Holocaust and
antisemitism helped to gain international support for Zionist objectives,
but are not the core of Israeli legitimacy as a Jewish state.

5) Peace begins with acceptance of Israel as Jewish state, no “right of
return” for Palestinians, and no change in the status of Jerusalem that
would prevent Jews from exercising rights (as occurred from 1948 to 1967
during occupation). Need to end fabricated images of Palestinian
victimization and Israeli demonization, and to halt various UN and other
conferences and events based on these themes. Arab states cannot claim to
pursue a peace initiative while using terms like "apartheid" and "war crimes" to attack Israel, and the same is true for European governments that fund NGOs involved in demonization.

6) General agreement on the hopes for a two state solution, when this
becomes feasible. Emphasis on the obstacles to a Palestinian state now
(Hamas, internal violence) and the steps that Israel is taking to promote
economic development in West Bank, as the basis for stability and peace. On
settlements, will talk about negotiating with the US regarding possible
measures, beyond current Israeli commitments (“no new settlements”), and on
the Bush-Sharon understandings.

7) End with a strong reiteration of the importance of US-Israel
cooperation.

Prof. Gerald M. Steinberg
Executive Director, NGO Monitor and
Chair, Political Studies, Bar Ilan Universit