Joseph Addresses Obama Naysayers in JPost

David Streeter — December 10, 2010 – 10:49 am | Barack Obama | Israel | Stop the Smears Comments (0) Add a comment

Israel Policy Forum President and NJDC Board member Peter Joseph recently responded to Daniel Gordis’ flawed assessment of President Barack Obama’s Israel policies. Joseph wrote in The Jerusalem Post:

Hailing Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper for his recent comments in support of Israel and against anti-Semitism, Gordis then argues that the Obama administration has not done enough in this regard. ‘All that talk about Washington’s ironclad commitment to Israel’s security has been just that,’ he writes, and he charges that under President Barack Obama the US is in danger of ‘turn[ing] its back on the Jewish people.’

Gordis is just the latest voice in a misleading chorus against President Obama.

Consider the following:

In addition to significantly expanding trade with Israel, Obama played an important behind the- scenes role in bringing it into the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a long sought-after goal.

According to The Wall Street Journal, ‘US military aid to Israel has increased markedly this year,’ from the result of policy directives the White House gave the Pentagon early in Obama’s presidency to “deepen and expand the quantity and intensity of cooperation to the fullest extent.”

Obama raised the amount of US military aid to Israel, making it the single largest expense of the 2010 foreign aid budget. He also authorized $205 million to enable the completion the Iron Dome missile defense.

The Obama administration has also significantly increased the level of strategic dialogue and the depth of intelligence coordination, particularly regarding Iran, and has successfully led international efforts to intensify pressure against the Iranian regime over its nuclear program.

In September, Obama went before the UN General Assembly and challenged the international community to support Arab-Israeli peace. He declared, ‘Israel’s existence must not be a subject for debate,’ and assured the world that ‘efforts to chip away at Israel’s legitimacy will only be met by the unshakable opposition of the United States.’

Considering these facts, I do not see how anyone can seriously conclude that the Obama administration is treating Israel’s legitimacy as a bargaining chip. If anything, the opposite is true: Obama has been more action than talk when it comes to Israel’s security and his administration has maintained and enhanced the special relationship. Furthermore, it has done so in the face of intense hostility among Arab and Muslim publics, at a time when US efforts to withdraw from Iraq and stabilize the region greatly depend on their support. Contrary to Gordis’s claims, the US is sticking to its principles, even if it is not expedient to do so.

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