President Barack Obama may be facing a political fire storm.  He could be called anti-semitic.  This is a common tactic used by Jews to confront opposition to Israeli government position on any issue. 

The President could be put in this situation because the new prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, are both opposed to a Palestinian state.  Netanyahu has discussed the idea of a self governing Palestinian region that would control its internal affairs but has not acknowledged the idea of that region becoming fully independent.  Lieberman is part of a conservative religious group that believes that Old Testament definitions of Israel boundaries apply to the 21^st century.

The rejection of a two state solution to the Israeli Palestinian conflict has been reported in the Los Angeles Times, by BBC News and other reliable sources.  The new “right wing” conservative Israeli government seems to be unanimous in their position as all leading ministers have stated almost the same views on peace with Palestinians. 

There are American Jewish groups that do believe that a two state solution is the right thing to do.  Commnetarymagazine.com has reported on four groups.  J Street, Americans for Peace Now, Brit Tzedek v’Shalom, and even the well-funded Israel Policy Forum, have all previously jousted with the pro-Israel establishment.

A Jewish homeland ensures there is at least one place in this world where many Jews can feel safe.  I feel safe in the United States but so did the Jews of Germany.  The existence of Israel does not negate the existence of a Palestinian state as long as it lives in peace with its Jewish neighbors.

The road to peace between the United States and Muslim countries is through Jerusalem.  The United States has been Israel’s staunchest ally.  Israel needs American support to survive.  Without that support Israel would have been destroyed by its neighbors decades ago.  It is time for Israel to help the United States win the war against terrorism.  That goal can be achieved by an Israeli Palestinian peace accord.  Once that accord has become reality the Arab terrorists will lack a major battle cry that is now used to recruit terrorists.  That peace accord will enable Israel to focus its energies on other things besides the defense of its borders.  That accord will afford the opportunity for the United States to show Muslim nations that America does care about their values and beliefs.

Benjamin Netanyahu, leader of the Likud party in Israel, is now the man likely to become Israel’s next prime minister.  He has the reputation of a “conservative” leader and is known to oppose a treaty with Palestinians that creates a two nation solution.  It has also been written that he wants to draw out (or drag out) any negotiations as a delaying tactic to signing any kind of peace accord with the Palestinians.  I can understand why he has taken this position.  There are doubts among Jews everywhere about the reliability of any treaty.

Palestinians are divided on a course of action towards Israel.  There is no single unifying group or committee that speaks for most of them. The three leading groups that would like to lead all Palestinians are Hamas, Hezbollah, and Fatah.  Under current conditions George Mitchell, the American diplomat looking for a solution, will be hard put to bring real negotiations to a table before all Palestinian groups agree on their objectives.

Mr. Netanyahu couldn’t be happier with the current in-fighting among Palestinians.  If his plan is to delay negotiations, the Palestinians have aided him in that objective.

Both Jews and Arabs are very sensitive to the treatment they receive by the American government.  That appears to be the major stumbling block that has deterred every U.S. administration from taking the needed actions that will bring peace to the area.  At this time the Obama administration does not appear to be any more willing to force its vision on the parties than any previous administration.  Sending George Mitchell to the Middle East as an American representative only showed that President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton understand that the situation is both complex and delicate.

The United States needs to look out for its interests first.  To accomplish the U.S. objectives the American government should insist that all parties involved participate in negotiations that will lead to permanent peace and stability.  That objective can be accomplished by using a “carrot and stick” approach.  Time lines need to be established to end this open ended confrontation.  The carrot is help to those to those nations and groups who participate.  The stick is isolation and containment for those refusing to participate.  Egypt apparently agrees with this approach as that country blocked entry and movement into Gaza during the recent Israeli attacks.  Similarly there was a noticeable lack of support for Hamas in Gaza during those Israeli attacks.  Unfortunately Israel killed and harmed too many innocent civilians.  The isolation needs to be sustained indefinitely if Hamas refuses to participate in peace negotiations.  Israel should be treated equally if it refuses to negotiate.         

American Jews and Arabs may be unhappy with the Obama administration but the time has come to end the stalemate.

Charles Freeman, a veteran diplomat slated to become the top U.S. intelligence analyst, withdrew from consideration on Tuesday, March 10. He released a statement denouncing the “Israel Lobby” for “character assassination.”  He appeared on Fareed Zakaria’s GPS on March 15 and issued the same charges.  Mr. Freeman charged “they have a hammer lock on public policy.”  He blamed right wing Jews in America and Israel for his withdrawl from the nomination.

Hugh Hewitt, a conservative radio talk show host, had a group of guests on his program to discuss the Charles Freeman withdrawl.  There were both defenders and opposers to Freeman on the show.  Apparently Mr. Freeman is a strong supporter of Arabs and Saudi Arabia.  He also was a strong supporter of China’s crackdown in Tiananmen Square (although he denies the accusation). 

From Commentary Magazine:

Congressman Frank Wolf is afforded space in the opinion pages of the Washington Post — where one needs to go for reported facts — to explain why he was instrumental in provoking the withdrawal of Chas Freeman. It wasn’t the Jewish blogosphere or AIPAC, as the Post’s Walter Pincus seemed to believe, (without ever actually investigating). And it wasn’t the “Israel-centric fanatics” the category in which  Glenn Greenwald places Chief of Staff in Rahm Emanuel. 

Wolf explains:

For almost four years, Freeman served on the advisory board of the China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC), receiving $10,000 a year for his service. The communist government of China, along with other state-owned companies, are majority stakeholders in CNOOC. Yet Freeman claims that he never received money from a foreign government. The connection may not be direct, but it is certainly there. The same can be said of the paycheck he received from the Middle East Policy Council, which received ample funding from the kingdom of Saudi Arabia — whose regime is responsible for funding madrassas around the globe that have given rise to Islamic fundamentalists such as Mohammad Omar, leader of the Taliban.

Fareed Zakaria asked his viewers their opinion at the end of the broadcast.  I waited for the results of that question to learn what most responding viewers thought.  I am disappointed to learn that a majority do think that there is a pro-Israel lobby in Washington that does have the super power to influence U.S. policy related to the Middle East.

There are 5 million Jews in the United States. That number equals 1.66% of the whole population.  Jews only have influence because they are mostly well educated and do contribute to political parties.  To believe that Jews can impact American policy is not reasonable given their small population.  After all who cares what they want?  They are too small a group to influence the outcome of anything.  I will attest they are mostly smart.  Some are brilliant.  Still, they are just too small a group to influence the U.S. policy.  Right wing Jews in America would be a minority within a minority.  American Jews are notoriously supporters of liberal causes.