Obama And The UN Vote (I)
December 23, 2016 (23 Kislev 5777) is a date that will live forever in Jewish infamy. In abstaining from vetoing a grossly one-sided UN Security Council resolution, President Obama spitefully stabbed Israel in the back.
That action broke a nearly half-century U.S. commitment, under Democrat and Republican presidents alike, not to abandon Israel to the UN jackals. Obama has now gratuitously handed a potent sword to Israel’s enemies.
The forceful words of Israel’s late UN ambassador Chaim Herzog when he condemned, and then tore up, UNGA 3379 (“Zionism is Racism”), apply today:
“For us, the Jewish people, this resolution, based on hatred, falsehood, and arrogance, is devoid of any moral or legal value.”
Richard D. Wilkins
Syracuse, NY
Obama And The UN Vote (II)
There is no one happier than the peanut farmer from Georgia as he can step aside and make room for the new king of blunders, Barack Obama, the man who has led our great nation to a state of disunity and chaos. Throughout his presidency he was oblivious of who were our friends and who were our enemies.
Barack Obama proclaimed on many occasions that he would always have Israel’s back. True to his habit of making false promises, he meant he would cover Israel’s back until he had a chance to stick a knife in it.
This will take its place among the many missteps and blunders that comprise Obama’s dismal legacy.
Joseph Ceder
Far Rockaway, NY
Obama And The UN Vote (III)
It is entirely acceptable for the United States to (fervently) disagree and remonstrate with Israel’s settlement policy. This has been the approach of the past three administrations.
However, to abandon Israel to the tender mercies of the United Nations is unconscionable. We should not punish or extort with threats or otherwise actively interfere with our ally’s internal affairs.
Israel, like the U.S., a sovereign state with a democratically elected government.
Jerrold Terdiman, MD
Woodcliff Lake, NJ
Federations Criticize Administration On UN Resolution
I feel compelled to forward this message the Jewish Federation of North America released last week:
Jewish Federations across North America are deeply disappointed that the United States abstained from today’s vote on the one-sided, anti-Israel resolution that was passed by the UN Security Council today.
The Administration’s decision undermined a core principle of American foreign policy that has been embraced by Democratic and Republican Administrations for decades: that the only route to a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is through direct negotiations between the parties.
It also upended its own principled stance against UN resolutions that isolate Israel. Just two years ago when the U.S. vetoed a similar resolution, UN Ambassador Samantha Power stated “We voted against it because we know what everyone here knows, as well – peace will come from hard choices and compromises that must be made at the negotiating table.”
And the Obama Administration ignored the advice of 88 Members of the U.S. Senate who urged the President in September to reject such resolutions.
President Obama has consistently supported Israel’s right to self-defense and affirmed that America has an “iron clad commitment to make sure Israel is secure.” Several weeks ago the U.S. and Israel signed an unprecedented $38 billion military aid package.
It is tragic that the Administration chose to mar its legacy of support for the Jewish state and set back the prospects for Israeli-Palestinian peace.
Yesterday, I sent out a link to the AIPAC website that gave people who wanted to a chance to send a message to their representatives. I appreciated the fact that AIPAC gave us an easy way to show our frustration with the current administration. However, I think their phrasing was not what I would have liked.
We need to make our representatives and friends understand that Americans support Israel. Anti-Israel groups, which are unfortunately led by some of our community leaders, do not speak for the majority.
My son, Daniel, who lives in Israel, poses one simple question to differentiate the anti-Israel groups from those that support Israel: If the vast majority of Israelis across the political spectrum reject an initiative, why do Americans think they know better and can impose existential conditions on Israelis?
That simple statement demonstrates why groups that support the United Nations resolution and, before that, the Iranian accord, cannot be considered pro-Israel by any objective criteria.
We need to remain united as a community and I welcome the support of the Federations.
Steven Rosenberg
Raleigh, NC