Israeli Likud Party Member: ‘The Obama Administration Is An Enemy Of The Jews’
Israeli Likud Party Member: ‘The Obama Administration Is An Enemy Of The Jews’
Part of the Obama administration’s plan to get the Israelis and the Palestinians to the negotiating table has been to call on the Israeli government to freeze all settlement building and expansion throughout the occupied West Bank.
Yet despite agreeing to freeze all settlement activity in the 2003 Road Map, the Israelis have continued expansion in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. However, last week, Israeli government ministers approved a measure calling for a 10-month freeze on new building permits and construction of new residential buildings in the West Bank (but exempts East Jerusalem), a move top U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell said “falls short of a full settlement freeze, but it is more than any Israeli government has done before, and can help move toward agreement between the parties.”
This weekend, members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party attacked President Obama for the Israeli settlement decision:
[Member of the Knesset] Dani Danon organized the meeting after Culture and Sports Minister Limor Livnat (Likud) launched a verbal attack over the matter on U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration, which she branded “terrible.” [...]
While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately distanced himself from her comments, the activists at Saturday’s conference leveled further criticism at Obama over the moratorium, which Israel undertook to carry out in the wake of tremendous U.S. pressure.
“The Obama administration is an enemy of the Jews and the worst regime there ever was for the State of Israel,” said Yossi Naim, the head of the Beit Aryeh regional council, at the Ra’ana meeting. “I announce to Obama: You won’t be able to stop us.”
Ron Nahman, mayor of the West Bank settlement of Ariel, applauded Livnat’s comments. “You had the public courage to say what most of the public feels ever since Obama came to power,” he said, repeatedly referring to the U.S. President as “Hussein Obama.”
The New York Times argued in a recent editorial that, despite the settlement dispute and mishaps, Obama should continue to move forward:
The president has no choice but to keep trying. At some point extremists will try to provoke another war…and the absence of a dialogue will only make things worse. Advancing his own final-status plan for a two-state solution is one high-risk way forward that we think is worth the gamble. Stalemate is unsustainable.
The Wonk Room’s Matt Duss notes that Netanyahu’s refusal to comply with a full settlement freeze “is a huge part of the problem here” and that the Obama administration may have to “stop pretending that Netanyahu is a partner for peace.”
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“The Obama administration is an enemy of the Jews and the worst regime there ever was for the State of Israel,” said Yossi Naim, the head of the Beit Aryeh regional council, at the Ra’ana meeting. “I announce to Obama: You won’t be able to stop us.”
Israeli teabaggers?
November 30th, 2009 at 12:39 pm“…Obama administration may have to “stop pretending that Netanyahu is a partner for peace.”
And while he’s at it, the President can stop pretending the Repiggies are interested in bipartisanship.
November 30th, 2009 at 12:40 pmWow — for a minute there I thought maybe the headline was referring to Joe Lieberman…
November 30th, 2009 at 12:41 pmSarah should go run for President of Israel… she thinks the settlements are a real hoot.
November 30th, 2009 at 12:41 pmWhy is Israel playing the race card?
Where are the trolls that always tell us that Obama is just like bush?
November 30th, 2009 at 12:44 pmIncreasingly, Likud is proving to be an enemy of the Israeli people.
Likud, Shas, Yisrael Beiteinu, National Union. All are doing irreparable harm to Israelis (Jewish and Arab), Palestinians, and the world at large.
November 30th, 2009 at 12:44 pmWell, I’d be absolutely OK with that, unfortunately, it’s not so truish.
November 30th, 2009 at 12:45 pmFine, cut their funding. They only use it for weapons production anyway. The idea is for peace, and taking up Palestinian land is not going to do it. The End!
November 30th, 2009 at 12:45 pmI’m suprised the trolls aren’t here en masse.
November 30th, 2009 at 12:46 pmThis comment has been voted down. Click to read.
And Sarah Palin isn’t an enemy of the Jews? Or the fundamentalists who want all Jews to flock to Israel in the coming months, there to convert them to Christianity, or else they will be killed? All so Christ can return to earth? Yikes, Likud, and all fundamentalists everywhere are SCARY nutso.
November 30th, 2009 at 12:46 pmHow can Israel steal more Palestinian land if there’s peace?
November 30th, 2009 at 12:47 pmP.D.,
Check out the post below you. You spoke too soon.
November 30th, 2009 at 12:47 pm@10 Flagged for racism.
November 30th, 2009 at 12:48 pmLikud extremists are just as bad as our home-grown ones. Wackos all.
November 30th, 2009 at 12:49 pmEnn@13, LOL! I guess I jinxed myself. And Fuzzy is the worst of the worst.
November 30th, 2009 at 12:49 pmMaybe if the US would put a hold on the billions of dollars in foreign aid we give them every year, they might decide that the settlements aren’t such a good idea.
Once the money stops flowing, the prosperity in Israel will start to drop fairly rapidly and the voters will associate that drop with their current leaders and vote them out of office.
Until we let them know that there are consequences to their actions, they will continue to behave the way they do now.
November 30th, 2009 at 12:49 pmOK. So if you don’t support Israel above and beyond all ethics, in every action, then you are an enemy.
Sounds rather closed minded.
Not to mention that in moral development, a young child (I believe around 5) begins to understand that no one is 100% “good” or “bad” but a mixture.
Sounds like Israel, like the tea baggers, hasn’t learned that yet.
November 30th, 2009 at 12:51 pm@17. A much more measured way of saying what I said at 8. You put it nicer though.
November 30th, 2009 at 12:51 pmYou’re not at red state. You can say ass here, as in you are one.
Your war on Muslims is costing American lives. Obama is fighting the criminal taliban and al quieda. They just happen to be Muslims.
Stop being a racist and contribute to the advancement of the human race.
November 30th, 2009 at 12:52 pmI do so hope that 10 by Fuzzy Slippers is in satire.
November 30th, 2009 at 12:52 pmThis comment has been voted down. Click to read.
Look at the photo…that’s a ’settlement house’.
Here in MN we have more elaborate fish houses, not that that’s a fair comparison.
I have to wonder, though, after 2,000+ years of taking other tribes’ land, when will it be enough for the Israeli radicals?
And thanks, EnnuiDivine, for your take on this. Your perspective always teaches me something about Israeli culture & politics.
November 30th, 2009 at 12:53 pm@21. even if he says he’s just kidding, I’m gonna treat him like Beck. It’s a BS attempt to cover himself.
November 30th, 2009 at 12:54 pmIf asking for a halt to settlements and a resumption of peace talks makes one an enemy of Jews, then call me Hitler.
The truth is that the majority off Israelis want peace, but the price for negotiations is a halt to settlements which apparently some believe is too high a price. It’s sad, many innocent lives are lost because of this kind of political posturing.
November 30th, 2009 at 12:55 pmWhat do we get for our unconditional support for Israel?
November 30th, 2009 at 12:55 pmNetanyahu’s middle finger.
Cut off the money and the middle finger falls off.
USNclerk says:
@17. A much more measured way of saying what I said at 8. You put it nicer though.
Thanks. On issues of foreign policy I tend to be very diplomatic. Domestic issues, well let’s just say I’m much less diplomatic.
November 30th, 2009 at 12:56 pm@27. I tend to react in a knee-jerk reaction at first. So I’m always glad to give credit when someone measures out my response.
November 30th, 2009 at 1:00 pmThis comment has been voted down. Click to read.
@29
Flagged for abuse
November 30th, 2009 at 1:07 pm@29. Fine, how about religious bigot?
November 30th, 2009 at 1:07 pmIsrael is the enemy of everyone who wants peace. They have WMD and won’t allow inspectors in the country. Israel is more of a threat to world peace than Saddam ever was. Let’s invade ‘em!
November 30th, 2009 at 1:08 pm“…an enemy of the Jews and the worst regime there ever was for the State of Israel,” said Yossi Naim”
Well, that’s a little over the top. Probably been supping with the End-Times Christianists with too short a straw.
November 30th, 2009 at 1:11 pmIt seems that right wingers everywhere are given to hyperbolic bluster. Whether it is a part of their nature that leads them to the right or simply a condition of membership is something I can’t discern.
Perhaps Yossi Naim would have a more precise definition of the word “enemy” if we were to demonstrate true enmity on Likud. I’ll warrant that the enmity of the United States would be bourne much more heavily than dodging a few unguided rockets that fizzle out of south Lebanon.
It would also be instructive for Yossi Naim to understand that enemies don’t often provide foreign aid and weapons sales.
November 30th, 2009 at 1:12 pmFuzzy Slippers, hey mr wal mart, how about addressing my post at 20?
Why do you just take the cheap shots and not address any serious rebuttal of your ignorance?
November 30th, 2009 at 1:15 pmI shudder to think what might have happened if Likud (or it’s predecessors) had been in power in ‘73. Israel knew Egypt and Syria were planning invasion. They held back. They were warned by our government that if they pre-emptively attacked either country, they would not have gotten so much as a screw from us in aid. Egypt and Syria struck first, Israel fought back, received our aid, and battled both countries to a stalemate. All because Golda Meir KNEW the value of restraint.
If Begin and Likud had been in charge, Israel would’ve been sacked. And both Cairo and Damascus would’ve dissolved in a nuclear fireball.
November 30th, 2009 at 1:17 pm@35, my guess is he’s gutless. Most bigots usually are, look at any of our trolls. Name-calling? Check. Defending a point? Still haven’t seen it.
November 30th, 2009 at 1:18 pmI take it that at least in this context “being an enemy of the Jews” translates as “not consenting to anything and everything that Israel wants to do, including breaking agreements”…
November 30th, 2009 at 1:23 pmFred/USNclerk: I think he’d rather just lurk in the background of mommy’s basement, voting us down anonymously. I bet he’s just rolling with teenage giggles, the spittle running down his acne-marked teenage face, as he does it…
November 30th, 2009 at 1:24 pmUSNclerk, the troll want’s to avoid being called a racist but it’s hard to deny that “muslims and islamics” are brown people.
Racists never know they are racists. We have to tell them, forcefully.
November 30th, 2009 at 1:25 pmMuch in the same way not adhering to fundamentalist, conservative Christianity makes you “anti-American”
November 30th, 2009 at 1:25 pmEnnuiDivine @ 41, I appreciate your perspective. You always seem to put your finger on it….
November 30th, 2009 at 1:30 pm@40. I don’t buy that. I may laugh at some of the jokes, but I really don’t have a problem with any given ethnic or religious group. Short of fundies anyways. Everyday, I examine whether or not I might be racist because of something I may say. And I can come up with at least one reason I know I’m not. The simple truth is, I don’t care what color, creed, or gender you are. If I cut you, you will bleed the same color as me. So there is no reason at all to discriminate. Deep down, you know if you’re racist.
November 30th, 2009 at 1:32 pmUSNclerk, well, that leaves “racist and proud” for them I guess….
still has to be addressed, forcefully.
November 30th, 2009 at 1:36 pmVery Forcefully.
November 30th, 2009 at 1:39 pmOpposition to Israeli colonization of Palestinian land and a desire for justice and a state for Palestinians doesn’t make someone an enemy of the Jews.
November 30th, 2009 at 1:39 pmIt’s astounding that jerks like this can come up with such dishonest, outrageous statements, with no proof or justification whatsoever. They’re just like the Repubs.
November 30th, 2009 at 1:50 pm@47, Wow Fred, someone really is working to keep you voted down.
November 30th, 2009 at 1:51 pmThe Israelis have been playing the game that they say they are interested in pursuing peace while at the same time doing everything to make peace impossible. It is time for the US to force the Israelis to the peace table by using US funding as a means of compliance. If the Israelis want to pursue the same course of action, they can do it without our funding. It will be impossible for the Israelis to maintain their economy without our money. Prices and taxes would skyrocket in Israel and that would bring about the change in public opinion. The Israelis know that but they keeping play chicken daring us to cut funds. They believe the Jewish lobby will be enough to stop any cuts. However, they are mistaken because many American Jews want the US to force Israel to the peace table.
November 30th, 2009 at 1:54 pmWhat a crock of “S***”!!!! Why does every president have to stand and scream “I love Israel”?? Screw Israel. america has enough problem to deal with at home. Who needs them crying for attention??
November 30th, 2009 at 1:56 pmI must be doing something right.
November 30th, 2009 at 2:02 pmOSTL, are you ever coherent?
November 30th, 2009 at 2:26 pmI thought the arrogant and antagonistic Bibi Netanyahu was sick — I was hoping he had H1N1 flu complications.
November 30th, 2009 at 2:52 pmRemember that Menahem Begin (from the predecessor party of Likud) made peace with Egypt. It didn’t happen with the Labor party.
November 30th, 2009 at 2:57 pm55. Friedman,
Remember, it was Menachem Begin that invaded Lebanon in ‘82, involving Israel in an 18yr war that left thousands dead. My point from earlier is that, had Begin been PM during the Yom Kippur War, he would’ve pre-emptively struck at Egypt and Syria, we would’ve cut off aid (as per Kissinger’s policy), and the Arab forces would’ve pushed far enough into Israel to trigger the Samson Option.
November 30th, 2009 at 3:03 pmObama is not anti-Jew. He is just anti-conservative Israeli government that won’t give two inches.
November 30th, 2009 at 3:04 pmWe always call them a great ally, but how has Israel ever helped us? We send them billions every year in aid and sell them all of our best military equipment, but what do we get in return? Calling our President “Hussein” their “enemy”? The countless spying cases involving them? Seriously, how are they an ally? Where have they sent ground forces to help in a war we are involved in? When has their powerful Air Force ever come to our aid?
I am not anti-Semitic. I’d like more Jewish people to move to the USA and become productive American citizens like many already have. This is not about the Jewish religion or Jewish people. This is about facing the reality that many of these Likudnik radicals are completely out of their minds and have no interest in peace.
November 30th, 2009 at 3:08 pmcut off all foreign aid to israel right now
November 30th, 2009 at 3:42 pmI still remember the news stories prior to the invasion of Iraq. Israel was the only country that was banging the war drums for the invasion. They banged the war drums to invade Iran, Pakistan, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, and Afganistan.
I can’t understand how a tiny country like Israel is able to dictate foriegn policy to the United States of America.
November 30th, 2009 at 4:02 pm@ 18. MapleStreet says: OK. So if you don’t support Israel above and beyond all ethics, in every action, then you are an enemy. Sounds rather closed minded. Not to mention that in moral development, a young child (I believe around 5) begins to understand that no one is 100% “good” or “bad” but a mixture. Sounds like Israel, like the tea baggers, hasn’t learned that yet. November 30th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
Yes, that’s all close to the criteria for “true believers”, regardless of where they are on the political map; closed minded, everything is black and white, good or evil. They tend to think in dichotomies, even when they profess to be Trinitarians (heh heh). And generally, unlike a small child who may continue with his or her moral or ethical development, true believers are frequently in favor of letting the end justify the means and doing away with moral and ethical distinctions. They do not function well in a world of nuance and contingency, but they’re usually willing to lay waste to such a world.
A serious emotional shock is required to change their position and even that doesn’t work satisfactorily; as often as not, a shock drives them further into their “my side good, their side evil” world.
November 30th, 2009 at 4:40 pmThe U.S. will never stop giving aid to Israel because of the Jewish vote in this country.
November 30th, 2009 at 4:54 pmJust how many Israeli soldiers are fighting in Afghanastan, helping its ally the United States?
November 30th, 2009 at 5:12 pmYeah, that’s why there are so many jews in his administration. He hates them.
November 30th, 2009 at 7:48 pmO man. Talk about racism.
So all Muslims are brown, Fred?
November 30th, 2009 at 7:52 pmLet me state that I think this man is a racist Jew who can’t stand the thought of a black man being President of the United States. He is exactly what’s wrong with the State of Israel, they want everything given to them for free but then want to call us names. I’d like to ask this a s s h o l e to give back all of the money and equipment we’ve given to them over the past 60 years. It’s not enough for us to give them our tax dollars, but they want to insult us in the process too. If that doesn’t show how ungrateful this a s s-hole is I don’t know what doesn’t. Well you racist Jewish bastard, you can kiss my ever lovin a s s, and up yours.
November 30th, 2009 at 9:30 pmThe United States supports Israel because they view them as a stronghold of US support in the Middle East. However the only reason we give a rats ass about the ME is because they have oil. Wean us off oil and the Israeli-Palistinian issue will be quickly resolved if Israel ever wants to see one more dollar of US aid.
December 1st, 2009 at 12:38 pmFuzzy
just kill yourself. You are far too stupid to do any other service to the human race
December 4th, 2009 at 5:55 am