December 27, 2016

Obama Flips Off Israel at the U.N. and Assumes the Jimmy Carter Mantle as Israel’s “Friendliest” Worst Enemy

Dear Friend of FLAME:

Are you excited about Donald Trump’s upcoming presidency . . . or depressed? Did you love Barack Obama or hate him? When it comes to Israel, it shouldn’t matter.

Following last week’s FLAME Hotline, in which we welcomed the stated positions of Donald Trump’s presumptive new U.S. ambassador to Israel, we received letters of outrage, decrying FLAME’s (alleged) support of President-elect Donald Trump.

Just for the record—because it’s critically important—let me declare FLAME’s position on elected officials one more time for all our supporters.

FLAME is a non-partisan organization—our board members and staff come from both major parties, and they presumably voted for their party’s respective candidate.  In this sense, FLAME as an organization doesn’t care who the President is, and we don’t make blanket judgments about any President.

What we care about is that the President do the right thing for Israel.  Of course, FLAME has many opinions about U.S. policy toward Israel. We were happy to praise Mr. Obama for the generous funding he approved for Israel during his terms, as well as vetoes of certain U.N. resolutions; but we condemn him for his Iran deal and his assertion that settlements are the key obstacle to an Israeli-Palestinian peace.

As for Mr. Trump, we don’t know what his actions will be, but so far we approve of many of the positions he’s stated.  Despite FLAME’s neutrality with regard to Americans’ choice for President, many of our supporters take it personally if we praise or criticize their party’s candidate. But our position is principled.  We believe support of Israel must remain bipartisan, and we’re sticking to that policy.

In other words, we call ‘em as we see ‘em—based on how each policy supports U.S. and Israeli interests—regardless of political affiliation. In other words, please check your party credentials at the door—and focus with us on what’s best for Israel and the United States.

Which brings us to the momentous U.N. drama this past week. The short version: Last Thursday, Egypt brings to the U.N. Security Council a resolution condemning Israel for its “settlement” activity and calling construction outside the so-called 1967 “borders” illegal. Under pressure from Donald Trump, who doesn’t want his relationship with Israel or the Palestinians tainted by such a one-sided resolution, Egypt withdraws the resolution.

However, on Friday four other nations resuscitate the resolution and present it. Despite the opinion of most Americans, who oppose such unilateral pronouncements against Israel, plus specific, overwhelming opposition in both houses of Congress, U.N. Ambassador Samantha Powers issues a statement supporting the resolution, and the U.S. abstains—which allows the resolution to pass.

In response, many Democrats, like Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer and House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, and Republicans, like Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham, expressed outrage at President Obama’s U.N. action. Nearly every American Israel advocacy group (except the infamous J Street) issued statements of dismay. In Israel, politicians from all corners of the political spectrum, including Prime Minister Netanyahu, accused the President of betraying the Jewish state.

FLAME hereby adds its voice condemning Mr. Obama for disobeying the will of the American people and Congress, attempting to poison the U.S.-Israel relationship and damaging chances for an Israeli-Palestinian peace.

In these final days, we see a President, who, despite claims of his unshakeable support of Israel, finally reveals himself as a worthy heir to the throne of chief Israel detractor, now possessed by former President Jimmy Carter.

Even worse, President Obama’s justifications for allowing the U.N. resolution to pass are based on patently flimsy ideological, rather than factual, premises. Specifically, the settlements are not the obstacle to peace, but rather it is the Palestinians’ refusal to accept the Jewish state, plus their intractable demand that up to five million (faux) Palestinian “refugees” be allowed to emigrate to Israel (thus swamping the Jewish nation with Arab Muslims).

Mr. Obama would have been smarter—and fairer—to support a U.N. resolution demanding a realistic commitment from the Palestinians to peace (like renunciation of their goal of destroying Israel), rather than censuring the Jewish state, which has made numerous offers and gestures of peace to the Palestinians, all snubbed.

This week’s FLAME Hotline-featured article, by renowned Harvard emeritus law professor, political liberal and tireless defender of Israel, Alan M. Dershowitz, who decries Mr. Obama’s hypocritical, undemocratic and ultimately futile gesture to secure a foreign policy legacy. Dershowitz pulls no punches as he deconstructs the misbegotten U.N. resolution and the damage it does to the U.S., Israel, his own party and the Palestinians themselves by the President’s malicious parting shot.

You’ll find this short article useful as you explain to friends and colleagues why Mr. Obama has been one of the worst Presidents for Israel and why we must continue working hard to ensure that Mr. Trump—despite a promising early indicators—doesn’t make his own set of mistakes in the Middle East.

Finally, I hope you’ll also quickly review the P.S. immediately below, which describes FLAME’s current hasbarah campaign to expose the Palestinians’ funding of Islamic terrorists using U.S. taxpayer dollars.

Best regards,

Jim Sinkinson
President, Facts and Logic About the Middle East (FLAME)