This was the key conclusion arrived at by a distinguished group of some twenty former and current Israeli officials, analysts and academics during an in-depth, off-the-record discussion convened by Israel Policy Forum (IPF) in Tel Aviv on October 25, 2009.
The Problem: It has been well-publicized that less than a year into office, President Barack Obama’s favorability rating among Israelis is dismal.
Israelis overwhelmingly resented the portrayal of Israeli history in the President’s June 4th speech in Cairo, where his description of the Holocaust as the reason for the creation of Israel omitted Israel’s connection to the biblical Jewish homeland and its success as a Zionist national movement. This description played right into the hands of those who blame the West's response to the Holocaust for Israel's existence. And these Israelis feel slighted that Obama has spoken directly to the Arab and Muslim worlds and not to the Israeli public, making a distinction between the Israeli people as opposed to the Israeli government or the American Jewish community.
The Israelis who attended the meeting believe the administration’s early focus on freezing settlements was misplaced, the demands were excessive, and the strategy was foolhardy. The policy created a precondition, on which Abu Mazen inevitably picked up, President Obama then retreated, settlement construction continues, and the negotiations remain stuck. All this, they argue, was eminently predictable. Some Israelis attending the meeting believe that the Obama administration chose the wrong issue on which to get tough since a very strong Administration position should have been applied to getting the core issues back on the table with movement toward their resolution. They also fear that U.S. policy toward Iran will fail.
In short, Israelis view America’s current policy vis-à-vis the peace process as outdated, almost fossilized in the year 2000; limited in scope, imagination, subtlety, and consistency.
How can President Obama reverse his position with the Israeli people?
The Answer: Israel needs President Obama to not only demonstrate a more sophisticated and sensitive understanding of the Jewish state and her neighbors but also – and even more importantly – he needs real results: a sophisticated policy that works, understandings with both sides, and movement on the road to end the conflict.
In short, if President Obama and his team achieve forward momentum that is discernible and tangible, the Israeli people will support him.
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