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Last update - 04:17 05/06/2009
Future of Mideast is a domestic American issue
By Gideon Levy
Tags: Israel news, Gideon Levy 

Benjamin Netanyahu can keep pretending it's just rain and Interior Minister Eli Yishai can continue berating the Obama administration for its "unacceptable" policies. National Union MK Michael Ben-Ari can keep shouting hysterically about our soldiers, and the settlers can keep putting us all in danger. But the issue has been settled in Washington.

Peace lies with them - U.S. decision-makers, led by Barack Obama. In other words, the future of the Middle East is a domestic American issue. Since Henry Kissinger determined that foreign policy is merely an extension of domestic policy, his maxim has never had such tremendous potential impact.

Washington will decide the fate of the West Bank settlements, and we can only hope it insists on their evacuation. Obama standing firm beside the revolutionary Mideast policy he has begun will light the torch of hope here, too. The battle of the titans, Netanyahu and Obama, is little more than a farce - let us recall the fable of the elephant and the bee, or the frog and the ox. Not all creatures can become as great as they think.
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Let's also be realistic: An Israeli prime minister has no option of saying no to America once Washington has dug in its heels. Netanyahu knows this better than anyone, and the time has come to explain as much to his "patriotic" coalition allies.

Israel's only real existential danger is losing U.S. support. Yes, there is no Israel without America - not only the $3 billion annual defense aid (without which the IDF would be a shadow of itself), or the market for one-third of Israeli exports, but also international support. Israel, which has become a leper in many circles, is lost without Washington's sponsorship. There is no alternative superpower - having Micronesia alone on our side at the UN will not get us very far.

A green light from America on changing the regional status quo will also encourage a bumbling Europe to begin taking practical steps. Never have so many eyes looked to one man, who will today lay out the principles of his Middle East doctrine in Cairo.

The American president has the power to end the Israeli occupation within months. The conquest of the "Third Kingdom of Israel" following the 1956 Sinai Campaign collapsed within weeks. We could return to that situation, despite the stumbling blocks of the settlements, with a clear timetable for evacuation, severe sanctions for noncompliance and generous assistance for those staying the course. The tailwinds Obama is enjoying have already changed the prevailing tone toward Israel, even among its traditional "supporters" - those who so blindly and irresponsibly endorsed its occupation and wars.

The tools in Obama's kit are varied: A congressional delegation visiting here recently entertained the idea, in private conversations at least, that the U.S. prohibit Israel from using American weapons in the West Bank; someone suggested levying strict limitations on Israelis entering America. But perhaps it would be enough to simply retract the automatic U.S. veto at the UN - and this is without mentioning stopping the flow of aid.

Any of these punitive measures would be efficient and just, in the interest of saving Israel from itself. But Obama's initial steps are not enough - they are likely, perhaps, to topple Netanyahu, but peace will not necessarily follow. Israel must be demanded to now make a series of practical steps, like evacuating the Maoz Esther outpost, which could pave the way for ending the occupation.

As the odds of Israeli society coming to its senses and fighting for its destiny have become infinitesimal, the arena for ending the occupation and pursuing peace has moved stateside, and Jewish America is itself beginning to undergo a revolution. One line of thinking goes like this: If Obama succeeds in dealing with GM, he will also win public support in dealing with Yitzhar and other settlements like it. If he can convince American supporters of Israel that relations with the Jewish state have become dishonest, the sky's the limit. Americans must understand that without changing relations with the Arab and Muslim worlds, the world itself will become a more dangerous place, and that improving relations with those people need not be at Israel's expense, but to its benefit. Time is short but the keys are in the ignition, President Obama. Drive on to peace.

Related articles:
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  • GM as parable, and Israel's sudden choice: Obama or Kahane
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      1.   GIDEON LEVY 05:42  |  HOWARD SPERBER 04/06/09
      2.   "no prime minister?" 05:42  |  ameneyman 04/06/09
      3.   YOU`VE GOT IT, GIDEON 05:54  |  Ed 04/06/09
      4.   Israel is unfortunatels the measuring stick for the US 07:12  |  Kris Lazar 04/06/09
      5.   I simply like to say... 07:27  |  Cesare 04/06/09
      6.   Precisely! - Americans already understand 07:29  |  curious 04/06/09
      7.   Ed #3 07:36  |  Michael 04/06/09
      8.   Gideon Levy 07:36  |  sidney 04/06/09
      9.   Once again, YES Gideon! 08:11  |  Niva dos Santos 04/06/09
      10.   Israel is split as it always was 08:11  |  christoph 04/06/09
      11.   Israel shall remain long after Obama 08:13  |  Francis 04/06/09
      12.   Crap to you Howard #1... 08:19  |  Esther 04/06/09
      13.   Thank you Gideon Levy .. 08:41  |  Al 04/06/09
      14.   gideon the wise one 08:50  |  allah 04/06/09
      15.   The USA and al-Qaeda. 08:52  |  Mario Sala 04/06/09
      16.   You seem to have forgotten about AIPAC 09:47  |  Colin Wright 04/06/09
      17.   Peace:The time for action is now 09:49  |  DAC 04/06/09
      18.   Re:An American domestic issue... 09:52  |  Dutch 04/06/09
      19.   No airplane spare parts 09:59  |  binny 04/06/09
      20.   Hey Binny #11 10:12  |  Joe 04/06/09
      21.   Obama isn`t the only one who controls foreign policy 10:35  |  Observer 04/06/09
      22.   Gideon ,you can`t 10:55  |  dani.a 04/06/09
      23.   Middle East 10:56  |  Philip 04/06/09
      24.   Enlightened words from a great Journalist. 11:06  |  Razi 04/06/09
      25.   DAC of Sacramento 11:12  |  Hastaroth 04/06/09
      26.   Yes, the US, reasonable Jews and Muslims must solve it 11:33  |  Uri 04/06/09
      27.   To dani.a 11:39  |  Uri 04/06/09
      28.   Gideon Levy, you have a special style 11:42  |  UK 04/06/09
      29.   Wishful thinking 12:11  |  Natallie Durson 04/06/09
      30.   Observer #15: Hate to disappoint you, but we support Obama. 12:13  |  Hanna 04/06/09
      31.   Muslims will need to reciprocate IF Israel removes settlements 12:17  |  Rahma 04/06/09
      32.   #10 - AIPAC representatives should be registered as 12:37  |  Erastus CoupeDeVille 04/06/09
      33.   # 29 rahma 13:25  |  Axel 04/06/09
      34.   # 23 hastaroth 13:32  |  Axel 04/06/09
      35.   It is a little bit like Serbia 13:39  |  Anne 04/06/09
      36.   gideon levy 14:27  |  david weinstock 04/06/09
      37.   CARPE DIEM!!! 15:45  |  Boyd 04/06/09
      38.   Levy Forgets the Level of National Hubris in Israel 15:47  |  Yaakov Sullivan 04/06/09
      39.   Future of Mideast 15:51  |  Chance 04/06/09
      40.   #16 16:02  |  Chance 04/06/09
      41.   #21 Obama Does Control Foreign Policy 16:19  |  tbart 04/06/09
      42.   Say goodbye to America -leave us alone 16:28  |  Jon Michaels 04/06/09
      43.   NO!. Future of Mideast is a MIDEAST issue. 17:12  |  Witness 04/06/09
      44.   Israel colonialism is oudated and against the US interests 18:15  |  BIG 04/06/09
      45.   Future of the Mideast 18:24  |  Sean 04/06/09
      46.   Vacate the settlments and house the Palestinian refugees 18:25  |  BIG 04/06/09
      47.   mashiach is coming 18:26  |  hf 04/06/09
      48.   "Saving Israel from itself" 18:36  |  Olafur Gislason 04/06/09
      49.   responco to Natalie Durson 18:36  |  adele 04/06/09
      50.   Jon Michaels, Israel became a state in 1948... 18:44  |  BBSNews 04/06/09
      51.   # 25 Hastaroth 18:59  |  DAC 04/06/09
      52.   responce to Axel 19:00  |  Adele 04/06/09
      53.   IT ALWAYS BEEN THAT WAY 19:00  |  indrajaya 04/06/09
      54.   Israel cannot go it alone 19:01  |  Mark 04/06/09
      55.   Palestinian State means no right of resistance 19:01  |  Paul 04/06/09
      56.   #16 - I don`t think you know what that letter said 19:32  |  binny 04/06/09
      57.   Reality check 20:49  |  Pessimist 04/06/09
      58.   #52 Adele 20:53  |  BDS 04/06/09
      59.   #55 Paul , I d like to have your sorrows and 20:53  |  Ardi 04/06/09
      60.   $30 billion??!!! 20:56  |  Dennis 04/06/09
      61.   Obama is doing Netanyahu a favour 21:27  |  eden 04/06/09
      62.   Did we forget G-d? 21:50  |  Aron 04/06/09
      63.   Adele I posted the facts but Haaretz censored it... 22:03  |  BBSNews 04/06/09
      64.   BS news, check again, (2nd try) 02:13  |  Jasper 05/06/09
      65.   Jasper, how can you be so wrong so often? - 5th try 18:58  |  BBSNews 05/06/09
      66.   jasper # 64 you are correct. 19:04  |  American in NY 05/06/09
      67.   So without the US, Israel will collapse 22:36  |  Aviva 05/06/09
      68.   Aviva #67 go for it; have Lieberman tell Obama to go to hell 22:55  |  American in NY 05/06/09
      69.   # 67 aviva 00:54  |  Axel 06/06/09
      70.   30000 billion 17:54  |  Carlitos Mendez 07/06/09
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