Issues

Talking Points

Obama, Netanyahu and the Israeli Election

CUFI is a bipartisan organization. We have gone out of our way to acknowledge President Obama when he has stood by Israel. But now we must note that President Obama has crossed the line. His disrespect of the Israeli people and the leader they just reelected by a wide margin are simply unacceptable. The fact that he blasts Israel while embracing and forgiving Iran only ads salt to the wound.

The Israeli people have spoken. In this time of enormous danger in the Middle East, they want a pragmatic leader who does not conjure peace partners out of thin air or base their security on a foundation of shifting sands. Meanwhile, President Obama continues to live in a fairytale world where there could be peace and security tomorrow if only Israel left the West Bank. To believe in this nice story, the President must ignore all of the Israeli peace offers that the Palestinians have rejected. He must likewise turn a blind eye to the likelihood that Hamas would seize these strategic territories in short order. And he must pretend that ISIS would not take over in the long term.

It seem that President Obama’s fantasies regarding the Palestinians are similar to those he believes regarding Iran. But ignoring danger does not make it go away. President Obama may prefer to belittle Prime Minister Netanyahu for recognizing these realities. But we would all be better off if President Obama looked past Bibi and saw these dangers for himself.