May 25, 2011 01:02 AM UTC

Why Is The American Right Bashing Obama Over Israel?

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• by: Aristotle

Ordinarily, I’d say this isn’t a topic for Colorado Pols, but since Craig Silverman’s opinions about this have made their way here, I feel that it’s worthy of discussion.

To recap: Last week, President Obama stated in a speech that Israel / Palestine peace talks need to go forward, with the “1967 borders” as a starting point. As most of you recall, this made the American right flip out. (Not just the right; Harry Reid got in on the act, too.)

There’s a good reason why this might rub some the wrong way. Up til 1967, Israel was extremely narrow at points, as slender as 7 miles from border to Mediterranean at one point. Several important towns and cities, including Tel Aviv, were mere miles from the frontier, and the lines even divided Jerusalem down the middle. The Six Days War, launched by Israel as Egypt, Syria and Jordan were massing troops, pushed these lines far away and gave Israel some much needed breathing room. Given the fact that Israel remains in a state of war with Syria, has no peace agreement with Lebanon (which is still under Syria’s sway), not to mention Iran and their influence in the region, I can understand why Israelis might be nervous about this.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/…

So why did Benjamin Netanyahu, in a statement issued a mere six months ago, agree that the 1967 borders were, in fact, the place to begin discussions?

http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Gove…

From a joint statement issued by Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and American Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, November 11, 2010:

The Prime Minister and the Secretary agreed on the importance of continuing direct negotiations to achieve our goals. The Secretary reiterated that “the United States believes that through good-faith negotiations, the parties can mutually agree on an outcome which ends the conflict and reconciles the Palestinian goal of an independent and viable state, based on the 1967 lines, with agreed swaps, and the Israeli goal of a Jewish state with secure and recognized borders that reflect subsequent developments and meet Israeli security requirements.” Those requirements will be fully taken into account in any future peace agreement. H/T toAndrew Sullivan.

I’m not an expert in foreign affairs, let alone the complex relationship the USA has with Israel. But I do know that Obama’s recent statement accurately reflects what Netanyahu and Clinton said here. I also know that there was no uproar at the time.

So why is there one now?