Obama Could Be Serious in Pushing Israel to Peace

I'm skeptical but there are indications.

Nathan Guttman's piece in The Forward (AIPAC Confronts A New Reality as Obama’s Agenda Becomes Clear; A Tougher Message Replaces the Uncritical Support of Bush Years):

But (Vice-President) Biden, after sending up his rhetorical warning, used his May 5 keynote speech to the pro-Israel lobby to convey the Obama administration’s insistence on a number of policies directly conflicting with those of the new government in Israel — and some policies held by previous Israeli governments, too.

Other speakers, such as Democratic Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts,
chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, underlined Biden’s points on
the need for Israel to stop expanding settlements in the West Bank and accept
the necessity of a two-state solution to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict.

That's pretty much the standard line being pushed by thoughtful writers and bloggers. See also
Jerusalem worried over breakdown of U.S.-Israel cooperation under Obama (Aluf Benn and Barak Ravid).

But then there is this, just out on Haaretz (Barak Ravid):

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a group of Russian-language reporters Thursday that Israel will never withdraw from the Golan Heights.

'Remaining on the Golan will ensure Israel has a strategic advantage in cases of military conflict with Syria,' Netanyahu said during a briefing he gave to the reporters.

His comments were published Friday on several Russian-language Israeli Web sites.

This position renders a settlement freeze besides the point, and signals the militarist Israeli government's determination to play to rightwing Russian immigrants in Israel comprising some 15 percent of Israel's 7,000,000 citizens.

Israel will pursue peace when hell freezes over.

The Forward's Fein: Huffington Post Is Anti-Semitic for Criticizing Joe Lieberman’s Endorsement of John McCain

Joe Lieberman is a lying, militaristic Neocon who campaigned in 2006 on a pledge to endorse a Democrat for president in 2008.

[See Lieberman: "I want to elect a Democratic president in 2008."]

That kind of talk makes one an anti-Semite in the mind of The Forward's Leonard Fein. Writes Fein:

Trust me on this. Do not, even in idle curiosity, look at the postings on The Huffington Post regarding Joseph Lieberman’s endorsement of John McCain. Or, if you disregard my very sober advice and do have a look, bear in mind that all the antisemitism and anti-Israelism you will see expressed there is all there is. Every raging antisemite in the nation has now had his or her say, all the Israel-bashing has been spent, and we can go on. ...

Fein and Lieberman are whacks, no need to trust or put your faith in anyone or anything on this assessment, just your reason.

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