Obama's Israel Policy: Speak softly and carry a very big carrot, by Maidhc Ó Cathail - Even those familiar with the long and shameful history of America's appeasement of Israel were taken aback by the Obama administration's extraordinary offer to Benjamin Netanyahu...
...there is good reason for the Israeli leader's arrogance. In a pre-midterm election interview with the Jewish Daily Forward, Congressman Gary Ackerman stressed that "Israel's best bet for addressing any concerns about Obama's policy" was for the Democrats to retain power. As evidence of their pro-Israel influence, Ackerman and other Jewish Democrats cited "the forceful criticisms they conveyed to the White House when they thought that Obama was leaning too hard on Israel." Ackerman, who chaired the sub-committee on the Middle East and South Asia of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, said that if Israel wanted "positive influence on the White House" it needed what he called the "first-class team" of Howard Berman, Barney Frank, Henry Waxman, Sander Levin and himself to continue chairing key House committees, because "we are all pro-Israel and we all have major, major, major influence in the executive branch".
The Republicans' subsequent gains in those midterms, however, are only likely to boost Netanyahu's confidence in his ability to move America "in the right direction". On the eve of his November 11 meeting with Hillary Clinton, the Israeli Prime Minister had what has been described as an "unusual, if not unheard of" (read: illegal) one-on-one meeting with incoming House Majority Leader Eric Cantor....
....Since 2002, [Obama] has been advised by Lee Rosenberg, a key member of "a close-knit network of Chicago Jews" who, in the words of the Chicago Tribune, "nurtured and enabled" Obama's political career. According to Rosenberg, the then US Senate hopeful "reached out" to the jazz recording industry entrepreneur and venture capitalist "to learn more about the issues affecting Israel and the Middle East, and the US-Israel relationship". Later, when Obama's Chicago backers made it clear to him that Israel was an issue "he had to get educated on", Rosenberg accompanied the then-senator on his first trip to Israel, where he learned "an appreciation of the security needs".
Dennis Ross, one of the principal authors of that speech, is also the originator of the incentive package. Having convinced Obama of the need "to come off as friendlier" to Netanyahu, the president's current top adviser on the Middle East worked closely with Ehud Barak and Yitzak Molho, Netanyahu's adviser, on preparing the original proposal which Netanyahu subsequently rejected. Ross, dubbed "Israel's lawyer" for his over-solicitousness to Tel Aviv's interests as President Clinton's chief negotiator, was accused by an American government official earlier this year of being "far more sensitive to Netanyahu's coalition politics than to US interests".
A fellow at the AIPAC-sponsored think tank, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, he also served, until his government appointment, as founding chairman of the Jerusalem-based Jewish People Policy Planning Institute, which views intermarriage with non-Jews as an "insidious" challenge. On hearing that Ross had joined Obama's team, one Chicago-based pro-Israel activist commented, "now… we have no concerns whatsoever"... Read more, with citations
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