President Obama and Israeli officials at Israel's national
memorial to the Holocaust, YadVashem, March 22.
Obama in
Israel: Small Miracles Do Happen (Die Welt, Germany)
"No Western politician has shown more concern for Israel in recent years. The world's leading power has shown empathy and equality to this tiny country forever encircled by enemies. ... Obama's words were benevolent and comforting, especially when he spoke to Israeli youth. Yes, comforting for a society whose every deed and action is determined by a self-righteous global public that sets too high a bar. ... And then Obama pulled off a coup, bringing Netanyahu to issue an apology to Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan."
Obama did not come to
Israel with peace plan in hand. Instead, he pulled off a diplomatic coup,
resulting in an apology from Netanyahu to Erdogan for
the deaths aboard the Gaza aid flotilla
No, Barack Obama didn't come to Israel this week with a
peace plan in hand. And that's just as well. Because many before him have tried
and all failed miserably.
America's relationship with the Jewish state is more
sensitive than ever, and the relationship between Netanyahu and Obama has
effectively broken down. Besides, the United States hardly has the desire to
actively assert itself internationally, considering national restoration to be
the central goal.
The visit of the American president was prepared in such a
way as to lower expectations - which did much to highlight his charismatic nature.
He, whose Cairo speech to the world's Muslims had been lost in a Nirvana of
ignorance, said and did incredible things.
Obama Visits YadVashem; Birthplace of Jesus
As soon as he landed, he emphasized the special relationship
between the two countries and called their bond "eternal." He not
only visited the grave of assassinated Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin,
but also that of the man behind political Zionism, Theodor Herzl. It was a
significant acknowledgment.
President Obama lays a wreath at Israel's national
memorial to the Holocaust, YadVashem, March 22.
His stay at the YadVashem Memorial [Israel's Holocaust memorial] was
marked by profound symbolic significance. Obama knelt for a long time before his
wreath, deep in thought. No Western politician has shown more concern for
Israel in recent years. The world's leading power has shown empathy and equality
to this tiny country forever encircled by enemies.
Hungarian writer and journalist Theodore Herzl: Frustrated by the treatment of Jews in Europe, Hertl wrote a book in 1896 arguing for the creation of a modern Jewish state, launching the Zionist movement that resulted in the founding of the state of Israel.
Obama's words were benevolent and comforting, especially
when he spoke to Israeli youth. Yes, comforting for a society whose every deed
and action is determined by a self-righteous global public that sets too high a
bar.
And then Obama pulled off a coup, bringing Netanyahu to
issue an apology to Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan. The Israeli army had commandeered a pro-Palestinian
ship sailing from Turkey [to Gaza], killing nine Turkish soldiers in the
process.
This apology, which Erdogan was quick to accept, brings the
two Middle East powers back toward normality, which is critical to overcoming
the existential threats posed by Egypt, Iran and Syria.
Obama may have no master plan, but he has sensitivity and compassion.
