Summary of Editorials from the Hebrew Press

Yediot Aharonot believes that „There is no doubt that the global reality does not allow Israel the luxury


Yediot Aharonot believes that „There is no doubt that the global reality does not allow Israel the luxury of a sharp conflict with the American President and therefore, every effort must be made to avoid such a conflict. There is also no doubt that the Israeli Government and Prime Minister would do well to initiate brave diplomatic moves and not become stuck in reactions to outside initiatives.”  The author asserts that despite the foregoing, „Obama’s call for the establishment of a demilitarized Palestinian state the size of which will be the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and whose borders will be those of 1949-1967, is not acceptable to any Palestinian element, neither to the PLO, nor its leader, nor Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and certainly not to Hamas.”

Ma’ariv contends that „Most of the American Jewish public is not engaged in detailed analyses either of the President’s diplomatic positions or the minutiae of Israel’s interests.  Most of the Jewish public needs to know in a general way that the American President is Israel’s friend and that it is possible to continue supporting him with a tranquil heart.  Obama supplied the goods in his [22.5.11 AIPAC] speech.”  The author avers that most of the AIPAC delegates accepted the President’s speech „without excessive quibbling, not because they agree with him regarding the 1967 lines and not because they were necessarily convinced that his diplomatic path is better than Netanyahu’s, not because they considered every word.”  The paper claims that „Obama did not offer much but even so, he offered a lot: The possibility of going back to a world in which the AIPAC delegates do not have to be torn between America and Israel.”

Yisrael Hayom suggests that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be walking a tightrope in his speech to Congress later today and says that „He must leave an opening to cooperation with Obama, but he must also meet the expectations of the Republican majority.”  The author adds that the Prime Minister must also, „Preserve the American opposition to the unilateral establishment of Palestine in September and keep his coalition intact,” and admits that, „This will be no easy feat.”

The Jerusalem Post discusses continued Palestinian intransigence and remarks that due to this, President Obama’s “admirable goal of encouraging another attempt at Israeli-Palestinian reconciliation has a very slim prospect of success.” The editor points out that “In a climate where Palestinians persist in their hostility, refuse to recognize Israel’s legitimacy and support violent terror, most Israelis feel they dare not support painful concessions that will inevitably fuel internal strife and infighting,” and declares: “Israelis are desperate for peace and willing to take risks for its achievement, but only if they are given reason to believe in a genuine accommodation.”

Haaretz calls on U.S. Jews to support Obama’s Mideast vision, and states: “Between loyalty to Obama’s way and loyalty to Netanyahu’s way, American Jews must choose loyalty to the future of the State of Israel.”

 

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