Did Bibi Win the Midterms?

But that was then. Barack Obama is not Bill Clinton -- at least not in Israel. "I think the Obama folks have underestimated the problem," says Daniel Levy, a Middle East expert and a founder of the liberal Jewish organization J Street. "You almost have to count Bibi among Obama's domestic adversaries."

How, then, should Obama react? After a previous such episode in March, when Vice President Joe Biden spoke in Israel of America's unshakeable bond with the Jewish state only to be blindsided by Netanyahu's announcement of new settlement construction, Obama remonstrated and Netanyahu apologized. But then the Netanyahu government refused to extend the building freeze and the White House backed off. In late September, the U.S. administration offered Tel Aviv a lavish list of inducements, including promises of military hardware, in exchange for just a 60-day freeze. Netanyahu declined. The administration might once again choose accommodation. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), in Israel this week, has already suggested that the Palestinians can be lured back to negotiations with other concessions.

Or, Levy asks, "Do you put a choice in front of him?" Obama could call Netanyahu's bluff by presenting both sides with a map indicating a proposed territorial solution, an idea which has begun to gain currency. Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas would then have to decide whether to accept such a map as a starting point and thus put an end to the wrangling over settlements. Abbas would almost certainly agree. Netanyahu's right-wing allies would denounce the idea, but Israel's Labor Party, also a member of his coalition, would embrace it. Would Netanyahu again risk the survival of his government? "If you do it smartly," says Levy, "you can repeat '98-9" -- that is, Wye.

Likud's Republican allies in the United States would be quick to give Netanyahu cover should he reject such an offer; you can only imagine what Cantor would tell Imus this time around. But would that be politically wise? After all, Gen. David Petraeus has openly stated that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict contributes to anger at the United States in the Islamic world -- not exactly a startling insight, but certainly proof that American security interests are not synonymous with Israel's. Both Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have taken up this theme. Are Americans really going to choose Netanyahu and Likud over their civilian and military leaders? At what point does allegiance to an intransigent ally look like special pleading, or like the subordination of national security to partisan politics? Is it possible, in other words, that not only Netanyahu but his Republican die-hards are playing a dangerous game?

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BUDAHH

7:46 PM ET

November 12, 2010

again silly American journalists focusing on the wrong things

in the middle east and the relations between the countries.

provocation? I don't know about that, do you expect Israel to stop building in it's capital? never going to happen

Netanyahoo did not slap Obama in the face, let me remind the writer that there was never a settlement freeze in Jerusalem and east jerusalem and the building announcement is for Ramot , you can call all of jerusalem east jerusalem if you want but it just shows your lack of knowledge or bias. Obama chose to make a big deal out of it from foolishness and lack of experience and now we don't have direct talks after 15 years of direct talks.

netanyahoo is not responsible for the construction in jerusalem it is a city matter, he has a lot more important things in his life. Yes Israel has friends in the republican party but the last thing the prime minister wants to do is to offend or hurt the relationship with america or the president.

Let me explain something to you james, the building is not what keeps this conflict going it is an ideological one and that is why Israel is important to america we will be the first symbol of the west to go and guess who will be next.

Do you have evidence that bibi's staff makes the public not like obama, no so please don't make things up, there is a very free press in Israel and the opinion of Obama is purely based on his treatment and approach to the issue, poeple don't like obama here because he has created a stuation which can lead to war more than help the issue' why did he put the settlements as the main issue.

AVILLA

8:08 PM ET

I can't tell if this is sarcasm or not.

In the unfortunate case that it is not:

His name is "Netanyahu", not "Netanyahoo".

Israel's internationally-recognized capital is Tel Aviv, by every country on earth other than itself. Certain Israelis *claim* that its capital is Jerusalem, but this is equivalent to an American declaring Ottawa the capital of the United States.

Israel is not "the West", by any measure. It is not geographically West. It is not linguistically or historically "West". "The West" refers to nations descended from the Western Roman Empire (Britain, for example, and its colonies and former colonies by proxy). If you mean that Israelis are "Western" because they eat hamburgers and wear ironic hipster t-shirts, then China is also part of the West.

Obama has made no more of an issue of the settlements than any preceding president. In fact, GWB made *more* of an issue out of them. Hell, even the neocon's hero, Reagan, said and I quote "the immediate adoption of a settlement freeze by Israel, more than any other action, could create the confidence needed for wider participation in these talks".

9:13 PM ET

Avilla

I don't know if you have read the bible or looked at the old testiment, but jerusalem is mentioned there a bunch of times, I don't think it is mentioned in the koran that much, yes it is the capital of the jewish people, there have been jewish kings in Jerusalem, and the holiest places for jews. Congress recognized jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and even if it wasn't it still doesn't change the fact that it is inside of Israel and there will be no freeze.

Lets say that if the arabs didn't have oil than everyone would move their embassies to Jerusalem the next day, some kind of a huge lie that arabs have made up and started believing in themselves. Like the temple mount is a really significant place for Islam, completely untrue .

Israel is in the west because of what it represents culturally spiritually morally etc..Democracy. obviously we are not in Europe but pretty close, the chinese are getting better yet they are not quite there yet.
Israel did adopt a settlement freeze for 10 months and got more preconditions out of it but thanks for the advice.

BETZ55

9:46 AM ET

November 13, 2010

You've got it wrong

His name is Nuttinyahoo and if he doesn't settle for peace his zionist vision will come to nothing through simple population demographics. A coward and fool if there ever was one. He was a mess the first time around and he is a mess the second time around.

6:40 PM ET

Budahh.

The Bible/Old Testament is religious dogma from a Bronze Age tribe. Virtually all of it has been proved false by archaeology and science. To use such a thing as "evidence" for why one certain group should get to take over a random piece of land--and yes, that goes for Muslims, Christians, whoever else as well--is preposterous. And being democratic does not make one "Western". Japan is a democracy. Turkey is a democracy. Neither self-identify as Western nor are they. And in the "settlement freeze", construction was merely decreased by 10%. The number of settlers colonizing Palestinian land continued to increase during that time.

OHREALLY

10:29 AM ET

settlements, etc

The building of apartments within Jerusalem's municipal boundaries as they were reconstituted following the 1967 war, was never an issue between Israeli governments and the PLO/PA until the Obama administration made it one. It had been agreed at Oslo that the status of Jewish settlements in the territories taken during the 1967 war would be a part of final status negotiations between Israel and the PA - that is, until the Obama administration decided that it should not be a subject for negotiations, but a precondition to them.

Obama incorrectly calculated that if he gave the Israeli public a choice between the support of his administration and the Netanyahu government, they would choose the former. That almost every political faction in Israel united behind Netanyahu is the diplomatic curveball that Obama never counted on seeing. The Netanyahu government would fall if it extended the moratorium, but strangely enough, there is little call, even from its staunchest adversaries within Israel, for it to do so.

The result is that the Obama administration has all but doomed its Middle East policy to failure. Obama can't back off from his position on settlements without risking extensive damage to still fragile relations with the Arab world and he has found that no amount of pressure on Israel has caused them to back down on the issue.

The real truth is that no matter what course he pursued, any kind of permanent agreement between the two parties is all but impossible at this point. For one thing, given the divisions in Palestinian leadership, whatever concessions Abbas makes to the Israelis would face determined opposition, not only from a hostile Hamas, but from factions within Abbas' own Fatah organization as well. Compromises by Abbas on key issues like the so-called 'Rgiht of Return' and Jerusalem would almost certainly end in his fall from power and might even endanger his own well being and that of his family.

In my opinion, the road to a permanent peace between the two sides lies in achievements behind the scenes, rather than in the limelight of the negotiating table. There are already signs that this approach can work. Cooperation between Israeli and PA security forces has resulted in the removal of checkpoints and a reduction of Israeli military presence. This in turn has helped in the recent explosive growth of the Palestinian economy and the building of an effective physical and governmental Palestinian infrastructure ( all of this also being assisted by a more professional and far less corrupt PA bureaucracy).

What else needs to be done? I don't have nearly the space to include even most of what is necessary, but suffice it to say that for the Israelis it's key that an understanding between Livni and Netanyahu be reached so that Kadima can enter the government and Lieberman, Shas, et al can be relegated to the sidelines. For the Palestinians, they need to end officially sponsored incitement against Israel and finally recognize the permanence of Israel as a Jewish state .

BATAMI

11:45 AM ET

Mr. Traub has a record as J Street's mouthpiece

a reminder: after Traub's paean to J Street in the NYTimes magazine last year, the Times had to issue an apology for the piece's one-sided nature that he didn't even bother to interview a spokesperson from AIPAC.

BENIYYAR

2:28 PM ET

Is this serious?

I cannot believe that an individual like Mr. Traub can write for a serious journal and yet be so misinformed and misguided regarding the real reason for the failure of the Israeli Palestinian peace negotiations to bear fruit.
By now every serious foreign observer knows that the Palestinians have no intention of settling peacefully with Israel. In fact every serious international observer realizes that the Palestinians have never and will never negotiate seriously in good faith with Israel. All the Palestinian talk of building freezes, the confiscation of land, the oppression of the Palestinians, demands from the US and the UN to "impose a settlement", or better yet, recognize a Palestinian state without any settlement with Israel are simply ways for them to avoid any negotiations or compromises with Israel. If Obama really wants to achieve a signed peace settlement between Israel and the Palestinians he and Ms. Clinton must publicly tell the Palestinians to cease the anti Israel rhetoric, publicly disavow their mad dream of destroying Israel, and get down to offering their own compromises at the negotiating table.
I will tell you something even more important and serious, Mr. Traub and some of the more extreme anti Semitic commentors to this article. That is , that you are doing no one any favors, least of all the Palestinians whom you claim to sympathize with and support, with your biased, untrue, and fabricated attacks on Israel. Indeed all you accomplish is to support the Palestinians in the hope that if they hold out long enough, remain steadfast long enough, that Israel will either disappear or cave in to their silly and unrealistic demands. For example, do you anti Semites and Mr. Traub really believe that Israel, supposedly governed by a bunch of wily and cynical Jews, will ever agree to take in millions of Palestinian refugees under the Palestinian deman of the "right of return" and thus destroy our own country?
If you really support and sympathize with the Palestinians, then it is up to you to demand that they offer some compromises of their own. But that really is the problem, most of you don't care a flip about the Palestinians or their supposed suffering, what you care about is giving vent to your deep and abiding hatred and loathing for the Jewish People and Israel, even you my dear Mr. Traub.

4:12 PM ET

Yadda, yadda, apartheid!

You seem unable to actually answer a single point I raised, other than make unfounded and even silly references to apartheid or ad hominem attacks. By the way, you are entirely mistaken about one very simple fact, that is, until 2004 Yassir Arafat was the chief Palestinian negotiator, not Abbas. This is a matter of real concern, because if you cannot even process a simple and obvious historical fact like that, then I must suggest that the rest of the nonsense you write is just a figment of your overheated and hate riddled imagination. I might also add that Abba is no longer and has not been for over a year, the President of the Palestinian Authority, (he refused to hold elections in the Disputed Territories of Judea and Samaria because he knew that like in Gaza Hamas would win them)indeed, in point of legal fact, Abbas has no authority at all.
But rather than just point out the stupid and apparent flaws in your memory and your coarse and loathesome characterizations of Israel, I will make it really simple for you. Why would Israel ever accede to the Palestinian's non negotiable demand for the return of millions of Palestinian refugees to Israel? Even a mentally challenged individual like you can figure that one out? Or can you?

4:33 PM ET

PTR

Please define for me exactly what are "historic Palestinian lands" and how you arrived at your conclusions.

If you are referring to the land bounded by Lebanon and syria on the north, the Jordan River/Dead Sea/Wadi arava on the east, theRed Sea/Sinai Peninsula on the south and the Mediterranean Sea on the west (also known as the former British Mandate of Palestine), I can tell you that this "historical Palestine" did not exist before 1922. Before that time local Arab residents preferred to be known as Syrians, Arabs, or simply as subjects of the Ottoman Empire. As a matter of fact, after WWI a group of local Arab notables went before the King-Crane fact finding commission established by US president Woodrow Wilson. Their presentation called for the inclusion of what later became the British mandate (plus most of what is now Jordan and part of Lebanon) in a future Syrian state. The truth of the matter is that the idea of Palestine as an Arab state did not gain any real traction until the establishment of the Arab Higher Committee in the 1930's.

I can also tell you that the notion of most Israelis being born outside the Middle East is also a fiction. According toIisrael's Central Bueau of Statistics, the overwhelming majority (over two thirds) were born in the Middle East. Indeed, as far back as the 1850's, Jews constituted the largest single group of Jerusalem's residents.

12:07 AM ET

November 14, 2010

I asked you what yuo thought were the boundaries of 'historic Paledtine' and, not surprisingly, you totally ignored my question.

You did say that the First Aliyah, which started in the 1880's was "... the largest transfer of population in the history of the Palestine". You obviously forgot the migration of Jews from the Arab world, which was equally large, if not larger than the migration from Europe (over 800,000 souls) and you also forgot the Arab migration into mandatory Palestine, which took place during the interwar years. During that time the mandate's Arab population grew at a rate 150% greater than the next fastest growing Arab country, Egypt. This was also triple the growth rate that took place in the 20 years previous (source: http://mideastweb.org/). Given the high Arab infant mortality rates of the time, it's highly unlikely that this rapid growth was due solely to high birth rates. It also gives lie to your statement that the Arab and Christian populations were subject to massive ethnic cleansing between 1917-1948. Significant Arab flight from the mandate did not begin until after the partition vote in 1947 and even then was caused to a large extent by a combination of the urgings of the Arab leadershio, unsubstantiated rumors and the panic those rumors generated. Even Benny Morris, one of the first 'revisionist' historians in Israel found that no more than 2% of the Arabs who left did so as the result of direct military action by the IDF or its predecessor, the Haganah.

Maybe it's just me, but your screed sounds like you lifted it straight from someone's website.

XPAPARAZZI

4:53 AM ET

November 15, 2010

Take a deep breath!

BENIYYAR, please take a deep breath before replying to these comments as I am going to ask questions that I'm sure will annoy you but in order for me to get a better understanding of the situation I need to get both sides of this Palestine / Israeli issue; my apologies in advance. (Anyone else can help me here also :-)

1. By now every serious foreign observer knows that the Palestinians have no intention of settling peacefully with Israel- I'm afraid that this is an incorrect statement. As a retired Fleet Street journalist I am serious plus foreign and I can tell you that the only countries that show measurable support to Israel at the moment seem to be the US, Canada (might as well be the US) and the UK (with some reservations)...I can't think of any more?
The reason for so few, well, in the eyes of the world Israel is a Nuclear armed, US backed bully with modern tanks and fighter jets against improvised rockets and suicide bombs (what other way can Palestinians defend themselves?).
2. If you really support and sympathize with the Palestinians, then it is up to you to demand that they offer some compromises of their own- Israel has invaded land they have lived on for centuries, how are they supposed to compromise? From what I can tell, before WWII, Jews and other religions lived in relative peace together in the disputed lands before the US and UK made promises for a Jewish homeland that they could not keep.
3. Why is it that those posters that object to the violence Israel is committing against the Palestinians are Anti-Semitic? My personal objections to Israeli violence would not stop me from giving aid to anyone in need if I found them lying injured in the gutter be they Jew, Muslim, Christian....etc, the very idea of hating one over the other is abhorrent and insulting!
4. From what I can tell from Jews I talk to ( I used to live in a Jewish area of LA where I met some wonderful people and I'm friends with a 80+ year old Holocaust survivor who likens the US/Zionist governments to the Nazi's)) feel that Israel is doing irreparable harm to the Jewish people around the world.
5. Please explain the difference between Zionists and Jews. I have recently read that the wealthy Zionists in Germany during WWII sold out a large number of Jews in exchange for special treatment/safe relocation from Germany? How can this be? (These are questions that Gentiles ask). In the same vein, what is the division between the two? From what I can see and I might be wrong, Zionists seem to be a minority of Jewish extremists the like of which exist in any religion. There are 1.3 Billion Muslims in the world and it is reasonable to think that they have extremists as well as Ahmadiyya, Muslim Pacifists. Muslims love their children also and most deplore violence like any decent person does.
6. Israel seems to have a problem with telling porkies. All governments and nations do this but most don't get caught that often. Israel has been caught so many times that no one believes them any more ( for example; trying to sell Nuclear arms to Apartheid South Africa and the Aid Flotilla debacle), on any subject! In fact, sadly, this lying is even putting the Holocaust in to question as many people in the world can not believe that Israel is treating the Palestinians in exactly the same way that the Germans treated the Jews so this is an obvious question to ask.
7. -what you care about is giving vent to your deep and abiding hatred and loathing for the Jewish People and Israel- (WOW! what a statement, do you really believe this?), why do you think so many people hate Jews? Please explain. By the way you put foreword your points I think the hatred is not limited to Gentiles and I personally find this statement plus it's delivery to be antithetical to your cause.

My personal advice would be to stop all forms of violence and let your God guide your actions along peaceful means. Correct me if I'm wrong but what God would condone the destruction of his divine creations? Did God put Muslims on the face of the Earth to fight Jews? I think not. God put us here to overcome difficulties through peaceful means as challenging as this might be. How can Israel build a loving, lasting society on such a violent foundation?
If Israel stopped committing acts of violence it might be surprised at how much more support it would get from the rest of the world. If your cause is just your God will stand by you and guide your actions. If you get there by peaceful means your foundation will be strong. Just an idea.
Namaste

P.S. I'm a pacifist by the way. Violence of any sort is an inexcusable lapse of a compassionate person's judgment.

BLARGH

8:45 AM ET

@XPAPARAZZI

My apologies if this post is impossibly long:
1." By now every serious foreign observer knows that the Palestinians have no intention of settling peacefully with Israel- I'm afraid that this is an incorrect statement. "- If that is your opinion, than that is your opinion. I disagree- I think that a serious foreign observer, who has followed the utter mess of Oslo, who has watched Israeli society tear themselves apart over the Disengagement, who has seen rockets fired into Israel from the same place they left, such a foreign observer would understand that the Palestinians have no intention of settling peacefully. The question is, where all these events noticed?

2. "y offer some compromises of their own- Israel has invaded land they have lived on for centuries, how are they supposed to compromise? From what I can tell, before WWII, Jews and other religions lived in relative peace together in the disputed lands before the US and UK made promises for a Jewish homeland that they could not keep." If that is a myth you are intent on debunking, I do not understand the myth. In the recent negotiations, Israel put everything on the table, asking for no pre-conditions. The Palestinians demanded pre-conditions for Israel, and Israel, unwillingly, accepted the pre-conditions. Does this sound like equal partners in peace, or one side acting like a spoiled toddler and another side, foolishly, giving in?

3. I do not understand comment three. Please rephrase

4. "...feel that Israel is doing irreparable harm to the Jewish people around the world." If anything, Israel helps Jews around the world. First off, the capability to flee to a place of refuge cannot be underestimated (just today, the Israeli cabinet approved a plan to allow 8,000 Ethiopians of Jewish descent into Israel). There is a strong connection between Diaspora Jews and Israel that is very positive, and this connection spans the religious spectrum, from unaffiliated to ultra-religious. The technology that Israel produces helps people worldwide (think cellphones), not just Jews.

5. Zionists vs Jews- There are Jewish Zionists, there are Christian Zionists. Though I do not know if they exist, there can also be Muslim and Atheist Zionists. Zionism is the desire to see the Jewish people return to Zion, or Israel. It does not demand an extremist or religious bent.

6. Israel, lies, and the Holocaust- In terms of Israel collaborating with apartheid South Africa over nuclear weapons: 1. That’s an allegation that has never been proved. If you have proof, I would be very interested in seeing it. 2. If you could prove that Israel did collaborate with South Africa, the US was involved in the Contra Affair- countries do it. Don’t single out Israel for such a crime (though, once again, it is only an allegation- the Iranian Contra Affair is a fact)
In terms of the ‘Freedom Flotilla’ I would be interested in seeing how Israel lied over this. Don’t forget that the ‘humanitarian workers’ were carrying knives, weapons, and were later photographed with terrorists and carrying guns.
I also don’t think that it brings the Holocaust into question. Holocaust denial is a crime in many European countries. Also, Holocaust and blockade of Gaza is uncomparable. When Nick Kristof says there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza, then there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/04/opinion/04kristof.html)

7. Why are Jews hated? I don’t know. All that I can appeal to is Mark Twain:
“
If the statistics are right, the Jews constitute but one quarter of one percent of the human race. It suggests a nebulous puff of star dust lost in the blaze of the Milky Way. Properly, the Jew ought hardly to be heard of, but he is heard of, has always been heard of. He is as prominent on the planet as any other people, and his importance is extravagantly out of proportion to the smallness of his bulk.
His contributions to the world’s list of great names in literature, science, art, music, finance, medicine and abstruse learning are also very out of proportion to the weakness of his numbers. He has made a marvelous fight in this world in all ages; and has done it with his hands tied behind him. He could be vain of himself and be excused for it. The Egyptians, the Babylonians and the Persians rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor, then faded to dream-stuff and passed away; the Greeks and Romans followed and made a vast noise, and they were gone; other people have sprung up and held their torch high for a time but it burned out, and they sit in twilight now, and have vanished.
The Jew saw them all, survived them all, and is now what he always was, exhibiting no decadence, no infirmaties, of age, no weakening of his parts, no slowing of his energies, no dulling of his alert but aggressive mind. All things are mortal but the Jews; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality?
”

"If Israel stopped committing acts of violence it might be surprised at how much more support it would get from the rest of the world. If your cause is just your God will stand by you and guide your actions. If you get there by peaceful means your foundation will be strong. Just an idea." Israel would love to build a world of peace. It's just afraid that, in the process of this building, it will be undone by some entity who does not want peace as much as it does.

AUGUST WEST

4:20 PM ET

Where's the American flag, Cantor?

Nice photo. But where's Old Glory?

Shows where Cantor's loyalties really lay. Israel Uber Alles.

FSAFS06

9:56 PM ET

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SIDKOF

2:34 AM ET

Up here in Canada, Prime

Up here in Canada, Prime Minister Harper is a compliant and cowardly Zionist puppet. His Conservative Party has only 29% support, but it still rules on behalf of Israel. Our main opposition party, the Liberals offer no counterweight and they also support Israel. What to do when its all his country scraps and paid for elected officials representing a foreign nation whose interests are adverse, if not poisonous to you? I hope the Americans find a solution to this problem soon, because God knows that in the absence of revolution and a guillotine, we can not know what to do here.

HANSJ

10:26 AM ET

You Are Surprised?

Very simply, Cantor's allegiance is to Israel. The United States is simply a powerful tool in advancing the cause of Zionism in the face of worldwide condemnation. AIPAC gives legitimacy to the false notion that Zionist pressure is external to the direct levers of government.

Having said that, it is more troubling that the American people and their true representatives are willing to bow down in order to sacrifice US strategic interests. Until Americans stand up for their interesting in the Middle East, they will be tools of this nefarious behavior.