... With the peace process in the Middle East at a stalemate and Palestinians taking their case for statehood directly to the United Nations, Republicans are stepping up their efforts to peel off Jewish voters. ... NYT report
The New York Times -- long a solid supporter of Israel-no-matter-what -- has mellowed. In an editorial about President Obama's speech to the UN, the support is evident but not knee-jerk.
Mr. Obama had no choice but to stand by Israel, this country’s historic ally. And we agree that a negotiated deal is the only way to ensure the creation of a viable Palestinian state, guarantee Israel’s security and build a lasting peace. But there should be no illusions about the high cost both Israel and this country will pay if this stalemate is allowed to drag on any longer.
There is plenty of blame to go around....
...President Obama and his aides have misplayed the diplomacy from the start; they promised “confidence building” measures they couldn’t deliver and lost sight of the bigger deal.
Still, Netanuyahu and the Likkud are the ones who get most of the blame these days...
The main responsibility right now belongs to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel who refuses to make any serious compromises for peace. He appears far more concerned about his own political survival than his country’s increasing isolation or the threat of renewed violence in the West Bank and all around Israel’s borders.
In other words, if America and Israel are going to stick together in this, negotiations needs to be resumed within a strict framework and with America, frankly, doing an end run around Netanyahu and the Likkud.
The United States and its partners should put a map and a deal on the table, with a timeline for concluding negotiations and a formal United Nations statehood vote. The proposal must be bold and fair and backed by the Security Council and the Arab League. And they need to help sell it to the Israeli and Palestinian people — not just politicians.
And fast. For two reasons. First, the reaction of the Palestinians, for whom the UN/statehood route is very popular, could get mad. And second, because Obama's performance at the UN has made a lot of Israel-supporting, Netanyahu-hating, Americas -- Jews and non-Jews -- furious. Fortunately, the Republicans are not succeeding in drawing Jewish voters away from the Democratic Party.
While this constituency is clearly in play, a new Gallup poll shows that Jews are no more disillusioned than other Americans are with Mr. Obama. According to the poll, his Jewish support has declined since the election in 2008 — but at a rate no different from that of Americans as a whole. Even with that drop-off, 54 percent of Jewish voters told Gallup in August and September that they approved of the job the president was doing (compared with 41 percent of American voters over all). In fact, Jews continue to be far more enthusiastic about Mr. Obama than other Americans — a 13-point difference that has remained sizable throughout the president’s term.
But Republicans will continue to stir up trouble. America's radical right is closer to Israel's rightwing extremists than either group is to the interests of its own country.
