While many Democrats and Republicans are upset that
President Obama snubbed Prime Minister Netanyahu during his recent visit to the
US, a President Obama has established a pattern which has hurt far more than
feelings.
The US Import-Export Act Amendment of 1977 created the Office
of Antiboycott Compliance which enforces laws that prohibit individuals from
engaging in foreign government sanctioned boycotts to further the foreign
policy of those foreign governments. It is also the key topic of my book
Boycotting Peace which details how
the Arab boycott of Israel is being pushed, illegally in the United States,
with the specific purpose of seeking Israel's economic destruction and helping
Arab governments prevent Middle-East peace. After all, boycotts divide people
therefore prevent people from getting together and creating peace.
Despite being signed into law by President Carter who has
since been revealed as hating Israel, no US President has furthered the Arab
boycott until now. Although President Obama has not actively endorsed the Arab
boycott of Israel, his actions have encouraged and emboldened the boycotters in
several ways.
First, in 2008 then Candidate Obama spoke about visiting
Israel in his first term, but failed to do so despite visiting neighboring
Egypt. A visit to Israel, even for just a few hours, would have made a
statement that visiting Israel is important and that it is a safe country.
Instead, by not going he made the de facto statement that not going to Israel
is acceptable or even justified. It is not a coincidence that the Israel
boycotters do not want people visiting Israel.
In January of 2009, President Obama launched a trial balloon
via then peace envoy Senator George Mitchell threatening to withhold loan
guarantees and economic aid to Israel. This would have violated the terms of
the Camp David Accords. As demonstrated by the recent military maneuvers by
Egypt in the Sinai Desert which also violate the Camp David peace treaty,
Israel would unilaterally lose as the world remained silent. It is not a
coincidence that Israel boycotters seek an end to financial aid to Israel.
Just days after that statement was retracted, Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton announced she wanted to see an immediate restart of peace
talks based on Israel negotiating away Jerusalem. It is not a coincidence that
Israel boycotters seek to place Jerusalem entirely under the control of the
Palestinian Authority.
In his State of the Union Address delivered on January 27,
2010, President Obama said we must "reform export controls consistent with
national security." As an expert in the Arab boycott of Israel, I found
this particularly alarming since he referred to laws that ensure American-made
goods that may be used for military purposes do not end up in the hands of
nations that may use those goods against the U.S. and its allies, including
Israel. It is not a coincidence that Israel boycotters seek end policies which
aid Israel's ability to defend itself.
Then there was the May 19, 2011 speech where President Obama
proposed a Middle East peace plan where Israel would retreat to the 1967
armistice lines, a non-border which Israeli Foreign Minister Abba Eban called
the "Auschwitz borders" because it would guarantee Israel's
destruction. It's the same plan proposed in 2002 by Saudi Arabia to void the
1994 Oslo Accords which the Palestinians will never fully implement because it
requires them to accept the existence of Israel. One glance at the PA logo
shows the P.A. see all of Israel as part of their Palestine, so the Arab world
sees their signing of the Oslo Accords as a mistake and the Saudi plan
reiterated by President Obama would nullify Oslo. It is not a coincidence that
Israel boycotters seek a Palestinian state with borders that facilitate the
eradication of Israel.
Then there was the famous incident on July 26, 2012 where
White House Press
Secretary Jay Carney could not name the capital of Israel. This cannot just
be blamed on Obama as none of his predecessors have recognized Jerusalem as the
capital of Israel either, but the dodging of the question empowers Israel
boycotters by questioning Israel's claim to its eternal capital city, not to
mention Israel's sovereign right to name its own capital city.
Most recently, President Obama snubbed Prime Minister
Netanyahu by refusing to meet, essentially saying Obama felt it was more
important to be on the David Letterman Show than to sit down with a foreign
leader to discuss preventing Israel from ending up in a war with Iran. In doing
so, President Obama sent a message to Israel boycotters that snubbing Israel is
acceptable.
That was not an isolated incident because of campaign time
constraints. When asked about it few days later on CBS's "60 Minutes"
show September 23, 2012, President Obama said Israel is "one of our
closest allies in the Middle East," a statement which lowers Israel to be
on par with Saudi Arabia, a dictatorship that denies women the right to vote
and drive; as well as enforces religious discrimination laws against Jews,
Christians and all other non-Muslims.
While these are just a few incidents, the overall tone of the
Obama administration has been to dismiss Israel, which is exactly what the
Israel boycotters want. While the Israel boycotters claim they are forcing
Israel to the peace table, the simple fact is you can't have peace with someone
who refuses to sit down with you for a cup of coffee, thus boycotts prevent
peace. Israel's peace with Jordan has been growing thanks to trade, making the
opposite of boycott the best model for Middle-East peace.
The Arab boycott of Israel pre-dates the creation of Israel
and the Arab states. It was designed to starve out the Jews before Israel could
be established. It is also the basis for the creation of the Arab League which
still runs it today; and is centered in Syria, the nation which also funds and
arms the Hezbollah terrorists. Other notable Israel boycotters include Hamas,
Iran and of course Saudi Arabia which first proposed the "Auschwitz
borders," then giving it to President Obama.
President Obama's passive approach to Israel has furthered
the Arab boycott. While his emboldening does not rise to a violation of US
Antiboycott laws, Israel's detractors see him as their cheerleader, so much so
that an amended statement in the Democrat National Convention stating Jerusalem
is the capital of Israel was heavily booed, yet said to have passed out of
political expediency. While Israel is facing nuclear annihilation threat from
Iran, it cannot afford to have an American President who emboldens Israel's
enemies.
Fred Taub is the author of
Boycotting Peace which exposes the
truth behind the Arab boycott of Israel / BDS. He is radio host, comments in
the major media and his work as been cited in two cases before the United
States Supreme Court. |
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