Arlene Kushner
There are American voters, in
particular American Jewish voters, who have persisted in their
belief that Obama is a friend of Israel. It's not too late for
them to see the truth. For the president has exposed that truth
himself more blatantly than ever now and it's mighty hard to
miss.
I wrote yesterday about the
decision of the Democratic Party to drop certain planks that had
traditionally been part of the Democratic platform. But I wrote at the end
of my post, when the news had just broken. And perhaps the full import of this
information was lost because there was so much in that post.
And so I return to it today
because it is of huge importance. Do not believe Democratic Party
spokespersons who are now backpedaling and saying that this is no big deal at
all. It is a VERY big deal: It provides a very strong indication of
where the Obama administration would go in a second term. And anyone
who truly cares about Israel should be deeply unsettled by this
indication.
~~~~~~~~~~
There were actually a number of
statements that have traditionally been part of the Democratic platform that
were dropped. Each instance represents a nod to an Palestinian Arab
position.
There is Hamas, which is not
mentioned at all in the 2012 platform. Previously the Democratic
platform said: "The United States and its Quartet partners should continue
to isolate Hamas until it renounces terrorism, recognizes Israel’s right to
exist, and abides by past
agreements."
Someone who worked on the platform
said "final status items" had been dropped "because it's silly to
get into these in a party platform," especially the platform of the governing
party. As an excuse this is a crock in any event. But I ask you:
Is the question of isolating Hamas until it renounces terror, recognizes
Israel, etc. a "final status" issue?
~~~~~~~~~~
Then there is the question
of the US promising to maintain Israel’s "qualitative military edge"
in the region. The 2008 Democratic platform, for example, spoke of a
"commitment which requires us to ensure that Israel retains a qualitative
edge for its national security and its right to self-defense." This
has now been dropped.
Even more clearly, this has
nothing to do with "final status" negotiations because this is a matter between
the US and Israel. What it does have to do with is Obama's promise to
Israel that he has our back.
~~~~~~~~~~
What might -- theoretically -- be
a "final status" issue is the question of what happens to so-called
Palestinian refugees. But only theoretically. Previous platforms specified
that they must be settled in a Palestinian state and not in Israel. That
has now been dropped.
This has not received much
attention, but it's big because this is an implicit, quiet nod towards the
"right of return" -- the claim that some 4.5 million "Palestinian refugees" have
a right to settle in Israel. There actually is no such right in
international law, and it is never, ever going to be permitted by Israel because
this would be to commit national suicide. The Democratic party couldn't
even stand strong on this?
~~~~~~~~~~
And then, Jerusalem: The item that
has made the most news and the one that the Democratic representative was surely
referring to as "final status." The Obama administration refuses to
acknowledge that Jerusalem is Israel's capital -- this has been made clear in a
variety of contexts, not just now. But Jerusalem IS Israel's capital,
whether the Arabs are pleased with this fact or not. This year's
Democratic platform dropped the clause that was in previous platforms:
"Jerusalem is and will remain the capital of Israel…It should remain an
undivided city accessible to people of all faiths."
~~~~~~~~~~
Among those decidedly unhappy
about the current Democratic platform is AIPAC -- the American Israel Public Affairs Committee,
which has actually been promoting Obama. According to the Democratic
National Committee, representatives of AIPAC saw a draft of the platform and
"loved it."
There has been a denial by someone
speaking for AIPAC of the fact that AIPAC officials had reviewed the platform in
its current formulation. In fact, AIPAC had submitted a recommendation to
the platform committee that included "Jerusalem as the Capital of
Israel."
~~~~~~~~~~
Harvard law professor Alan
Dershowitz finds the Democratic platform "deeply troubling" --"particularly
the omission about the Palestinian refugee issue and Hamas are, I think, deeply
troubling,” he said.
This is particularly worth noting
because Dershowitz has been a staunch Obama supporter.
According to the Daily Caller:
~~~~~~~~~~
As I write, news has just come in that the Democrats have reversed themselves and added a statement about Jerusalem as the capital of Israel to their 2012 platform, as it had read in the 2008 platform. But I'm going to let this post go out as written. My response here is simple:
This is in the interests of winning the election and nothing
more. It is not a reflection of Obama's position, be certain. The
Democrats had simply decided they didn't like the negative press they were
getting. As AP said, they were "embarrassed by Republicans." Can't let
that happen.
Do not be taken in. The platform before this
adjustment reflected Obama positions.
And keep in mind that -- as far as I can see -- there has been no
adjustment in the other items, including those -- on Hamas and "refugees" --
that most unsettled Dershowitz.
~~~~~~~~~~
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Arlene Kushner. This material is produced by Arlene Kushner,
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