Last week, President Obama gave a speech to the UN. In it, he spoke about keeping nuclear weapons from Iran and working with the Israelis and the Palestinians to reach peace through negotiations, not through half-measures and paperwork filed at the UN.
He came out hard against Palestinian recognition of statehood in the UN General Assembly. This followed his decision to guarantee a veto in the UNSC should Abbas decide to begin his bid with the powerful inner circle of the UN.
Needless to say, Palestinians did not love his speech. They felt that he abandoned their cause, a cause whose origins many be credited to a speech that the President made in front of the same podium roughly one year ago, when he called for the creation of a Palestinian state.
Now this was not a speech where he was going to be able to make both sides happy, but it was certainly a speech that left the possibility of angering both sides equally. Presumably, this was something to avoid in the midst of what is starting to feel like an election year (Presidential elections will not take place this November?). So he pulled hard and threw his allegiances with the Israelis. And surprisingly, it paid off (assuming that Israelis vote and determine American Presidential elections).
A new poll coming out of Israel has shown that (Jewish) Israelis believe that the President has their interests at heart. In May, only 12% of Israelis believed that US foreign policy to Israel, under President Obama, was “pro-Israel.” Forty percent saw it as “pro-Palestinian.” Today, a mere four months later, the former number—those who believe that Obama’s policy is favorable to Israel—has risen to 54% and the latter number—those who think he is pulling for the Palestinians—has fallen to 19%.
That is quite a remarkable shift in perspective from one speech. Especially since that one speech was given at a place that many Israelis do not even recognize as a legitimate organization. One need go no further that Benyamin Netanyahu’s speech, just a few days later, for a list of grievances, both legitimate and less so, against this most all encompassing of world bodies. (Then again, that speech as well was offered at the same podium in the heart of NYC.)
The question that must really be asked at this point is if this will put an end to the Republican talking point that President Obama has “thrown Israel under the bus.” Presumably not, at least as long as it remains an election year.
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