Obama's War Against Israel

Give the Obama administration points for chutzpah.

Speaker of the House John Boehner invited Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to address both houses of the American Congress. He did it without consulting with the White House.

Undoubtedly, he knew that if he had done so, Obama would have vetoed the idea.

Given that the president has shown only minimal respect for Congress or for Israel, Boehner’s action was a political masterstroke.

Presumably, the Obama people were outraged at the breach of protocol. It’s nice to see that an administration that flouts its ability to circumvent the Constitution should have discovered the virtue of protocol.

Speaking for the president, unnamed sources said that it was a slap in the face and that it would undermine America’s relations with Israel and sabotage the ongoing negotiations with Iran.

The administration did not call Netanyahu “chickenshit” again, but surely its tantrum was more worthy of a child than of a diplomat. After all, it could have said that it welcomed the speech but regretted that it could not meet with the prime minister in person.

That it preferred to heap scorn on the prime minister speaks volumes.

If you had ever had any doubt about the extent of Obama’s hatred of Israel and of its prime minister these statements should have dispelled it. If anyone else had acted this way the world would quickly have recognized anti-Semitism.

Besides, as has been widely reported Obama political operatives are in Israel working to defeat the Netanyahu government in the upcoming elections.

To say that the relationship between America and Israel is going to be damaged by the Netanyahu speech is absurd. The relationship is already damaged by the work of Barack Obama.

To say that the negotiations with Iran are going to be undermined fails to recognize that the negotiations are a farce and that Obama’s “darker purpose” is to find a way for Iran to acquire nuclear weapons.

The only person who will be damaged by the Netanyahu speech is Barack Obama. Anyone who opposes the speech is acquiescing to Obama's policy in the Middle East.

Republicans who want to occupy the moral high ground do not understand that the Democratic Party has never hesitated to undermine the foreign policy of Republican presidents. The reason is: Democrats understand politics and many Republicans prefer being holier-than-thou.

Note well: while the Obama administration was excoriating and cursing the prime minister of Israel, thus revealing its true feelings, its state department was hosting an Egyptian delegation that included members of the Muslim Brotherhood.

At a time when the new president of Egypt, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has declared war on the Muslim Brotherhood and Islamist terrorism, thus being the most important Arab leader to fight the jihadis, Barack Obama decides that it’s time to show some respect for the outlawed terrorist organization, the godfather of Hamas.

The Washington Free Beacon reports what followed:

The Muslim Brotherhood called for “a long, uncompromising jihad” in Egypt just days after a delegation of the Islamist group’s key leaders and allies met with the State Department, according to an official statement released this week.

Just days after a delegation that included two top Brotherhood leaders was hosted at the State Department, the organization released an official statement calling on its supporters to “prepare” for jihad, according to an independent translation of the statement first posted on Tuesday.

The statement also was issued just two days before a major terror attack Thursday in Egypt’s lawless Sinai region that killed at least 25.

“It is incumbent upon everyone to be aware that we are in the process of a new phase, where we summon what is latent in our strength, where we recall the meanings of jihad and prepare ourselves, our wives, our sons, our daughters, and whoever marched on our path to a long, uncompromising jihad, and during this stage we ask for martyrdom,” it states.

Preparation for jihad is a key theme of the Brotherhood’s latest call for jihad.

One notes that Obama reserves his venom for Israel. Do you recall a time when he even spoke ill of the Iranian mullahs, the Palestinian terrorist organizations or the Islamist extremists of the Muslim Brotherhood?

As of now, Democrat senators have been rallying to support Obama. They understand that he and they will be the major losers when Netanyahu speaks before Congress.

Sometimes all you need to know is which side you are on.

[Addendum: Peter Wehner explains the Obama attitude toward Israel well on the Commentary site. Happily, his views converge with those I have expressed on this blog:

No world leader has been treated by President Obama and his administration with the contempt they have shown Prime Minister Netanyahu–from this snub in 2010 to being called a “coward” and “chickens*** prime minister” by senior administration officials.

But the problem goes much deeper than a personality clash. President Obama is, quite simply, anti-Israel. In every conceivable situation and circumstance, the president and his aides give the benefit of the doubt not to Israel but to its enemies. This despite the fact that Israel is among America’s longest and best allies, democratic, lawful, takes exquisite steps to prevent civilian deaths in nations committed to destroying it, and has made extraordinary sacrifices for peace. No matter; the pressure that’s applied is always applied most against Israel–even when, as in last year’s conflict with Hamas, Israel was the victim of lethal attacks.

This is morally shameful. In a world filled with despotic leaders and sadistic and ruthless regimes–North Korea, Iran, Syria, Cuba, Eritrea, Sudan, Somalia, and on and on–which nation alone does Mr. Obama become “enraged” at? Which is the object of his disdain? Which provokes his white-hot anger?

Answer: Israel. Has it struck you, as it has struck me, that with every other nation, including the most repressive and anti-American on earth, Mr. Obama is careful never to give offense, to always extend the olive branch, and to treat their leaders with unusual deference and respect? Except for the Jewish State of Israel. It always seems to be in the Obama crosshair….

Perhaps given President Obama’s history–including his intimate, 20-year relationship with the anti-Semitic minister Jeremiah Wright–this shouldn’t come as a surprise. But that doesn’t make it any less disturbing.]