More optimism, hope than a year ago (The Jerusalem Post, May 25, 2009)
Posted by middleeast on June 5th, 2009
Sir, – The respective victories and summit of Barack Obama and Binyamin Netanyahu represent an exhilarating sea change over last year. Consider:
• America’s dynamic president, who combines the best of America’s heartland, the best of the important Third World, and Kennedy’s idealism; who also has an honest broker’s ability to help bring Israel peace and security, and who is helping America – and the 80 percent of Jewish America that supports him – “rejoin the world.”
• The president of Israel tells AIPAC: “A tsunami of hope is rolling across the globe; its center is right here in America… I am convinced… (Obama) has the capacity to turn the crises into opportunity. May I say to President Obama – you are young enough to offer hope to the world and great enough to bring it to life.”
• Israel’s dynamic premier, whom Israelis want to succeed, as Americans do Obama.
• Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who does not spook me (and I don’t know why he spooks the far Left). He will trade territories and, since the Right trusts him, can deliver.
• Netanyahu videos AIPAC not only that “I respect President Obama,” but “I believe that with the cooperation of President Obama and President Abbas, we can defy the skeptics. We can surprise the world.”
How much better off we are now with Obama and Netanyahu, who are popular, effective, realistic and have the will and strength to cooperate and deliver.
The defective Saudi peace plan is not cast in stone – consider how far the Arabs have come since Khartoum’s Three Noes. Nor is time cast in stone.
The world changes, time is sometimes actually on our side, and – whether or not it is this time – how much more optimism and hope there is than just a year ago! (”Netanyahu: US to present new plan,” May 18).
JAMES ADLER