Israel Faces a Hard Sell in Bid to Shift Policy

[azurnoir]

JERUSALEM — The new government of Israel is seeking to reorient the country’s foreign policy, arguing that to rely purely on the formulas of trading land for peace and promising a Palestinian state fails to grasp what it views as the deeper issues: Muslim rejection of a Jewish state and the rising hegemonic appetite of Iran.

“President Obama views the region as a whole, and trying to isolate each problem does not reflect reality,” said a senior American official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the American policy was still in formation. “It will be a lot easier to build a coalition to deal with Iran if the peace process is moving forward.”

Israel dislikes that formulation, arguing that the two issues need to be addressed separately. If they are linked, it is in the opposite way from what the West says. In other words, Israel says the occupation can be ended most easily once Iran is put in its place because then there will be much less risk of Iranian weapons being used against Israel from neighboring territory. Meanwhile, Israel says it cannot be expected to freeze settlement growth entirely.

When a senior American official was told that the Israelis did not view the Iranian and Palestinian problems as linked, he replied simply, “Well, we do.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/04/world/middleeast/04israel.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

[IndianaGreen]

1. Of course Israel dislikes Obama's formulation of the big picture

Anything that detracts from more settlements and more land expropriations to pacify the Zionist heretical gods is to be condemned by Israel and her zombies in America.

Well, Obama is not Bush, and he is not Clinton either.

[LeftishBrit]

2. I support Obama's pressures on Israel here; but your post is bizarre

'Zionist heretical gods'? 'Israel's zombies in America'? Sounds like a quotation from some Christian Right group.

[azurnoir]

3. Really I thought the article interesting because

of this thread

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=124&topic_id=273055&

[LeftishBrit]

4. That thread seems to be deleted - I couldn't link to it.

It is an interesting article anyway; we shall see what happens.

[azurnoir]

5. no faulty link my bad

and actually it is two threads that relate to this I included titles this time

Abbas says won't recognize Israel as Jewish state

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=124x273055

Emanuel Says Obama Insists On Implementing Two State Solution, No Ifs, Ands, or Buts

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=124x271426