Obama’s two terms showed us that he was a sore winner. Israel’s election showed us that he is even more of sore loser. Ever since Netanyahu survived an election that he was supposed to lose, Obama has been throwing a floor-pounding, siren-shrieking and high-kicking tantrum over the Jewish State.
Its latest kick and shriek had White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough sidling into the toxic atmosphere at the D.C. conference for the anti-Israel lobby J-Street to berate Netanyahu.
In attendance at the conference were such luminaries as Saeb Erakat, the PLO negotiator who had called Netanyahu a “filthy war criminal” and claimed that Hamas is “a political, not a terrorist movement.”
Also featured was Nabila Espanioly of Hadash, formerly the Israeli Communist Party. Nabila, a former Communist activist who had accused Israel of “State Terrorism”, told J Street about the need to fight “against fascism and against racism inside Israel.”
Other notables included Maha Mehanna, who had called Israel’s war against Hamas a “crime against humanity”, Peter Beinart, who wanted Obama to punish Israel and freeze the assets of its Minister of the Economy, and Matt Duss, who once compared Israel’s blockade of Hamas in Gaza to “segregation in the American South.”
Finally there was James Baker, the former Secretary of State and senior partner for the law firm the Saudis hired to defend themselves against lawsuits from 9/11 victims, who had famously said, “F___ the Jews. They don’t vote for us anyway.”
Denis McDonough’s appearance at the J Street hatefest could be taken as, “F___ the Jews, they’ll vote for us anyway.”
The dead-eyed McDonough threw the rabid anti-Israel audience its red meat by warning that, “An occupation that has lasted for almost 50 years must end.”
He continued the administration’s pretense of being offended by Netanyahu’s election rhetoric about the absence of any partner for peace to create a Palestinian state with, insisting that “We cannot simply pretend that those comments were never made, or that they don’t raise questions about the Prime Minister’s commitment to achieving peace through direct negotiations.”
Netanyahu made his commitment to peace clear when he agreed to release 104 terrorists, some of whom had murdered children, as a precondition demanded by PLO leader Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas sabotaged the Kerry attempt to start negotiations anyway and Kerry predictably blamed Israel. But that’s part of the administration’s consistent position that Israel is always wrong.
Obama’s people are still complaining about Netanyahu’s election comments and his breach of protocol in addressing Congress. But what are Israelis supposed to make of Obama’s Chief of Staff addressing a conference that featured apologists for Hamas and supporters of boycotting Israel?
What message does it send when the White House Chief of Staff attacks the Prime Minister of Israel at an event featuring enemies of Israel? Barack Obama is certainly no stickler for integrity in election rhetoric.
When he first ran for the White House, he appeared at AIPAC and vowed that, “Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel, and it must remain undivided.”
Once in office, Obama berated Israel for building “settlements” in Jerusalem, one of the oldest cities in the world. Last year his spokesman claimed that building in Jerusalem would distance Israel from “even its closest allies.”
At AIPAC he had told the audience that, “There is no greater threat to Israel — or to the peace and stability of the region — than Iran. Now this audience is made up of both Republicans and Democrats, and the enemies of Israel should have no doubt that, regardless of party, Americans stand shoulder to shoulder in our commitment to Israel's security.”
Then he went on to push a deal that would let Iran go nuclear while his propagandists denounced Republicans opposed to the sellout as “traitors”. Most recently he had Iran delisted as a terror threat.
Obama’s double standard has been to hold Netanyahu to the most extreme interpretation of his remarks while giving himself a pass. That same pass is also good for Iran and the PLO.
The liberal line on the PLO’s Palestinian Authority and the Iranian regime has been to ignore their rhetoric. No matter how many times the PLO celebrates the murder of Jews and calls for the destruction of Israel; Obama never warns that he is “reassessing” his relationship with the terrorist group.
Iran’s Supreme Leader just said, “Death to America”, but that won’t impact the negotiations. The White House explained that was “intended for a domestic political audience”. When Netanyahu says something during an election that the White House doesn’t like, the fact that it was intended for a domestic audience doesn’t matter. But when Iran’s leader calls for “Death to America”, we can just ignore that because it surely doesn’t reflect his deeper feelings on destroying America.
Terrorist regimes are treated as untrustworthy when it comes to their rhetoric, but absolutely reliable when they negotiate. The same Ayatollah who calls for “Death to America” is supposedly lying to his own people, but his representatives will be absolutely honest when they pledge not to build a bomb. The Palestinian Authority shouldn’t be paid attention to when it calls for destroying Israel, but should be relied on when it signs on the dotted line no matter how many agreements it broke in the past.
Iran and the PLO benefit from the same double standard that Obama does. We’re not supposed to believe what they say in public, but we’re meant to have faith that they are honest in private.
Netanyahu however gets whacked with the other side of that standard. The same political hack who shamelessly told AIPAC that he supports a united Jerusalem and then even more shamelessly took it back, pretends to be morally outraged that Netanyahu would slam a PLO state during an election.
Either an uncharacteristically modest Obama thinks that Netanyahu is better than him, or he’s being a shameless hypocrite. Given his sordid history, hypocrite is the safest bet.
Obama’s international doubletalk has gotten so bad that John Kerry actually had to tell the Russians to ignore Obama’s public statements about Russia. While Obama can’t “pretend” that Netanyahu’s “comments were never made”, the Russians are supposed to pretend that his comments were never made. The Israelis are supposed to pretend that Obama never said anything about a united Jerusalem. So which comments does Obama really mean? Who knows.
Maybe he could color code them to indicate which of his comments he doesn’t mean, which of his comments he really doesn’t mean and which of his comments he only heard about from the media.
Israel isn’t the barrier to a Palestinian state. The PLO and Hamas can’t even get along long enough to form a state or hold an election. Blaming Netanyahu for actually addressing these facts is the height of cynicism from an administration that until recently avoided investing its energies in peace negotiations because it knew that was a dead end.
Obama doesn’t really believe in a Palestinian state. He’s throwing a two state tantrum because it gives him a convenient angle of attack against Netanyahu. The Israeli election was about either forcing out Netanyahu or isolating him. Having failed at the first, Obama is defaulting back to the second.
This isn’t about peace. It’s about fighting and winning a political war against Netanyahu in order to free Obama to secure his nuclear deal with Iran.
Obama claims that Netanyahu has shown that he is untrustworthy when it comes to peace. Instead he urges us to trust our lives to an Ayatollah who calls for “Death to America”, but doesn’t ‘really’ mean it.
Arbitrary, capricious, arrogant, self-absorbed, pretentious adolescent....he is acting like he belongs on Glee then at 1600 Pennsylvania.....Everything that he has touched in the last 6 years has turned to ashes. When will the media tell the truth about this clown or will they remain irrelevant forever and let the net spread the word? I bet that is why the FCC is fixing to stop the free flow of information.
If I lived in Israel I would vote for Netanyahu no matter what I thought of him. Better to go down fighting than begging.
Why does Obama have such animosity towards Bibi ? Pondering this in the most simplistic terms, a few conclusions come to mind. Bibi is smarter, a war hero, and an intellectual, a true leader. Everything O is not.
Bibi has earned his place in history with honor and dignity. O is a screwball who will be only a footnote, and only for his mixed race background.
In all of O's mumblings about 'two states' he shows his lack of knowledge of history, and doesn't get the fact that he is talking about people who are mostly Jordanian, let them ask Jordan for a 'state' of their own.
Obama doesn't just hate Netanyahu. He hates Israel, in fact he hates all of America's traditional allies. That is why he said he wanted Mubarak gone "yesterday" but he bends over backwards to help Assad and the Iranians and Castro. This is why he treat Putin with kid gloves He views America's traditional allies as "colonialist bullies" and he wants to empower the anti-American forces in the world. He wants Iran to get a nuclear weapon because it isn't "fair" in his worldview that the US and possibly Israel have it but not a radical Muslim state.
If Herzog had been elected, he would have attempted to be an obedient lapdog to Obama, but he would have been treated with at least as much contempt as Netanyahu who stand up to Obama, if not more. An Israeli leader who grovels, as is typical of the Israeli Left, would be really be kicked around.
No surprises here, have come to expect this from Obama, he believes he should be an Emperor, and exalted above all even Christ
When he speaks he expects everyone to to do exactly as he tells them, he can't tolerate people with the Maturity and courage of the likes of Bibi
As an avid follower and supporter of all things to do with Muslims, it is no wonder he hates everything about Israel, let alone a much respected leader like Netanyahu, he is a spoilt brat that needs a good kick in the pants and told to grow up. How this poor excuse of a Man ever got to be President is still amazing to some of us, it was clear as day he was not the type to lead a Country like the US, more suited to an African Nation where the ruler is brutal and a coward
Israel has better watch out, there is no love at all in the WH, with the likes of Jarret, Kerry etc all standing behind Obama, expect nothing but treachery
Because he knows that Bibi will never go back to the borders of before '76. Would it not be a feather in Obozo's cap to give the "Palestinians" a state, force Israel to go back to the indefensible Auschwitz-borders and then proclaim that he has brought peace to the Middle East? Would the muzzies promise to hold off their next attack on Israel till he has left office so as not to damage his "legacy"? And then he would happily look on as Israel is destroyed in a massive attack, made possible by him. That scenario will never play out as long as Bibi is there to prevent it.
No wonder he throws his little tantrums, and damages Israel wherever he can, for instance by de-classifying their nuclear information.
It is going to take a long, long time for this country to recover, even partly, from Obama's irrational, intentionally self-destructive policies and behavior. The man is a creature driven by nihilism and destruction for destruction's sake. He has been working to destroy this country as well as Israel since his first day in office. We will all sigh with a breath of relief when he departs the White House.
But doesn't it concern you that the American people TWICE fell for his medicine show fraud? The American people can't say they didn't know what there were getting in 2012 when he ran for re-eleciton. What's to say another charlatan like him (Hillary?) won't come along and push America, further down the road to perdition?
"He wants Iran to get a nuclear weapon because it isn't "fair" in his worldview that the US and possibly Israel have it but not a radical Muslim state."
But a radical Muslim state already has a nuclear bomb - Pakistan, which they bought from the Chinese with US tax payer aid money to fight terrorists.
It should even be clear to the lying deceitful and senile GOP members of congress --- sultan Barry's statements and acts have indicated he is out to take the US down quite a few pegs (he is succeeding, alas!) and the Little Satan is also on his hit list. Surely, his comments and action s show he is "in cahoots" with iran, the jihadists, the caliphate supremacists and islam in general. But the total lack of opposition from the GOP clears him to do as he pleases --- and that is exactly what he is doing now. This will be more of an alliance with iran, not a hindering of iran's nuke program!
If the GOP continues its slumber, sultan Barry will replace the Constitution with sharia law. Then he will never have to leave the WH.
While focusing on Obama's treatment of Netanyahu and Israel, we ignore a more pungent odor - that of treason against America. That our own president should support, provide "aid and comfort" to a foreign government which has sworn any number of times to destroy America, is clear-cut treason. Of all the things he has - or hasn't - done, this is the most egregious behavior Obama has displayed yet indicating he is unfit for the office he inhabits.
And our castrated, transgendered Congress refuses to call him on this treasonous act, and allows him to provide over 400 BILLION dollars a month to Iran. Yes, it _may_ be money that was frozen in their own accounts as part of the sanctions when it became obvious they were actively seeing to build nuclear weapons, but even if that is the case, Obama is _still_ aiding them in completing the enrichment that will provide them with the weapons grade material they need to finish manufacturing their own weapons.
That we have seen this traitor commit so many crimes for which any Republican President would have immediately been impeached is something to remember when the current members of Congress seek re-election. Although Obama deserves to be introduced to both a lamppost and a short piece of rope for his treason, so do the members of Congress who have let him - or even aided him as Boehner has done.
Justice no longer exists in America. And while the lampposts of D.C. remain bereft of the decorations that so deserve to be displayed there, we will continue to suffer from the damage the Obama administration and Congress have visited upon us and our once great nation.
First this man in our white house is a Muslim and Marxist , couple that with narcisium the makes for a very "dark" brew. He is a puppet, and "they" follow the hatered evil. Read what this guy in our white house holds to with transformatio to our Republic, America! Pray for the true peace of Israel and the protection we are going to need to get through these days of great evil and darkness that will soon over take the world.
Reg T, I think most of us agree with you and are very aware of the treachery Obama commits daily. This article was more an exploration of the impetuousness with which Obama handles himself and the double standards the administration sets forth.
Fascinating that Jarrett/Obama are confident enough in their own scheming to work to remove Hillary from presidential contention, in the open, nonetheless. Will Obama give up power? I assume so for appearances sake, but if Hillary is passe for the media, what greater evil awaits us?
Nothing Obama says or does regarding Israel or BB surprises me. Obama's first international visit following his first term election surprises me. Obama was in Israel and at 3 am went to the Kotel and placed a note in one of the cracks. Hours later that note mysteriously disappeared from the wall. Doubtful anyone in Israel did it.
Self serving comment and Obama claimed that Israel should remain indivisible. Forty-eight hours later he reversed him--after Hamas complained. Nothing has changed. Absolutely nothing.
His next trip after Yerushalayim was Berlin where he states, "People of Berlin people of the world, this is our moment."
His agenda and clear symbolism of his words and action...Berlin, Germany? He chose Germany to make these comments? Or should we call them proclamations?
Hillary's e-mail debacle will be interesting. Will the Democrats be hungry for another victory and pick someone else to run or support a quasi Obama clone?
This might be another election I abstain from, unless the Republicans use every ounce of their critical thinking skills and all in choosing a candidate to run against the Democrat.
"Would it not be a feather in Obozo's cap to give the "Palestinians" a state, force Israel to go back to the indefensible Auschwitz-borders and then proclaim that he has brought peace to the Middle East? Would the muzzies promise to hold off their next attack on Israel till he has left office so as not to damage his "legacy"? "
Auschwitz-borders...interesting term. Reminds me of how a once quaint little Bavarian village is better known as Dachau.
It all makes sense if Obama's behavior is considered to be consistent with someone who is working towards the extinction of Israel i.e. O is a muslim - even Muslim Brotherhood.
Forgotten in Greenfield's column is that Obama, while a US Senator, traveled to Kenya and participated actively in the election campaign of his cousin, Raila Odinga in 2006-2007 in violation of the Logan Act. That he has "scruples" about "foreign interference in elections" is ridiculous.