Wednesday November 10, 2010

I've Been Thinking:

From far away in the Far East President Obama articulated a serious critique of Israel's decision to build in Jerusalem. And yet from that same place, the president was silent on Iran.

Obama and his administration have been critical and even over critical of Israel ever since assuming office.

They have acquiesced to Iran and have been neither as strident nor as aggressive as they should have been against Iran.

It is a lopsided and unfair standard. It works because Israel is flexible and the rest of the Middle East is intransigent. Iran will not give in. The US knows that.
The Palestinians will not budge. The US knows that.

The United States pressures Israel because the US knows that Israel will give in --- and that fact is what best epitomizes the relationship between Israel and the US vis a vis the peace discussions.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=halpern%2C+micah