REUTERS: Israel shocked by Obama's "betrayal" of Mubarak

[justiceischeap]

(Reuters) - If Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak is toppled, Israel will lose one of its very few friends in a hostile neighborhood and U.S. President Barack Obama will bear a large share of the blame, Israeli pundits said on Monday.

Political commentators expressed shock at how the United States as well as its major European allies appeared to be ready to dump a staunch strategic ally of three decades, simply to conform to the current ideology of political correctness.

< snip >

Newspaper columnists were far more blunt.

One comment by Aviad Pohoryles in the daily Maariv was entitled "A Bullet in the Back from Uncle Sam." It accused Obama and his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton of pursuing a naive, smug, and insular diplomacy heedless of the risks.

http://t.co/rjK4vS0

Seems as though we've angered the pundits in Israel.

[monmouth]

1. I feel about the pundits in Israel much as I feel about Tom Brokaw..

I don't give a shite how they feel.

[GodlessBiker]

2. Justice, justice, thou shalt pursue. Sometimes people forget.

[Raksha]

27. Amen! I haven't forgotten, and I'm sticking with it:

"Justice, justic thou shalt pursue."

Not all Israeli pundits have forgotten either. You're just hearing from the neocon/Likudnik types. I'm sure all Israelis are nervous and apprehensive, but the far right isn't the only game in town. They are just the loudest.

[Name removed]

3. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[snooper2]

4. All the Israeli versions of Sean Hannity

can go fuck themselves.....

[sufrommich]

5. Al Jazeera has been showing clips of Israelis wishing

Egyptians luck in getting rid of their dictator,generally hoping for peace in the region. The pundits of Israel are as clueless as to it's own people as ours are.

[nadinbrzezinski]

9. Well the Israeli people are getting tired of their own right

but they need to stop voting for them. They do have a legal mechanism

[sufrommich]

11. So do we.nt

[annabanana]

10. +1 . . . .n/t

[Catherina]

25. +1. There were Israelis demonstrating in Egypt and Israeli Ham Operators

were instrumental in relaying the tweets when Egyptians asked for HAM operator helped. Impressive.



I predict a new Israel where the Israelis push their hardliners out soon. The people want to live in peace.

[Barack_America]

35. Perhaps Israelis should target Bibi next?

Fortunately, my disgust at Israel's government is balanced by the many decent and good Israelis I have had the pleasure to meet.

[hlthe2b]

6. The question may be what Israel's government is willing to do behind the scenes

to try to prop up Mubarak... Poor unarmed Egyptian masses face not only their government, its security forces, the police and military, and the political tactics of the Behemoth countries that have benefited from having Mubarak in office.

[nadinbrzezinski]

7. For Israel this is a STRATEGIC disaster of MAJOR proportions

[hlthe2b]

32. yes, it is... But, I think the genie may be sufficiently out of the bottle

that Israel's best bet may be in showing support for democracy for all and stepping back from overtly suggesting Mubarak or other preference. I can certainly understand their security and strategic concerns, which echo our own. Perhaps, Obama and SOS Clinton's cautious stance remains the right one. I cringe at other countries interfering with the choices of the people, even if that choice may be to their geopolitical detriment. :shrug:

[stranger81]

8. Angering the Israeli pundits just means we might be doing something right for a change.

Time for the Israeli tail to stop wagging the American dog.

[Name removed]

12. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Blue State Bandit]

16. Didn't one of the Paul's suggest just that last week?

If only we had some tape on that. (hint, nudge, elbow)

[Modern_Matthew]

23. Wouldn't that be something? Less foreign aid and increased DOMESTIC aid? n/t

[DCKit]

13. Nice to know Israel has no intention of ending their "shitty neighbor" policy.

If they're looking to sway the American public with these rants, well.... hold your breath pundits.

[Arkana]

14. And I'm sure this is just causing Obama no end of problems.

He's probably not even able to feed or bathe himself.

[charlie]

15. The Likudnik assholes can pitch in and buy him a house in Tel Aviv, then

Or maybe Bibi has a spare room in his home. If there are "Shah Pahlavi" repercussions from hosting a despot, they'll just have to live with them.

Courage of their convictions and all that.

[Renew Deal]

17. See, Obama is to blame for NOT supporting Mubarak AND supporting Mubarak all at the same time.

Somehow both stories are true. This is a sign of the traditional Obama derangement syndrome. Obama is an iron fisted wimp that throws his weight around while he cowers in the corner.

[Warren DeMontague]

19. It's the "Banksters" fault! And the "Zionist Media"! Oh, and Rand Paul is a hero.

Some days, upon reading DU, I think I really should have taken that left turn at Albuquerque. :crazy:

[dionysus]

24. ASSANGE\MANNING 201211!!11!!1!

:P

[Warren DeMontague]

28. Or maybe "NADER/HEDGES!!!1111!!!" ....I don't have a problem with J. Assange, personally.

I think that whistle-blowing has its place. And far too many things are secret not because they need to be, but because of reflexive CYA policies. The internet is changing the way the human animal is going to relate to information, and the sooner we all get our heads around that; particularly the censors, the church ladies, the doily-clutching ninnies, the control freaks and the neo-luddites; the better.


I hope the Egyptian people come out of this with a functional, healthy democracy, freedom, and civil rights. That would be the best possible outcome. And I think the majority of Israelis feel that way, too.

[jonnyblitz]

29. so did those of us who criticized Bush have " Bush Derang-

ment Syndrome"? it's not as if the same people want him "to support and not support" Mubarak. Every president or politician has people who want different things from him. You're making disagreement sound like a mental issue. I guess that's what one has to do when they have nothing else. :crazy:

[Renew Deal]

38. That's not what I'm saying.

This didn't seem to be a problem with Bush. It's the old problem of people seeing what they want to see of Obama. In this case, both storylines are true. Obama has and has not supported Mubarak all the same time.

Part of the problem here might be the article. I'm not sure if it's credible.

[jsamuel]

31. to be fair

that is what happens when you send mixed signals sometimes, both sides get upset

he is trying to thread the needle, but it is very difficult to do that when talking about the middle east and foreign countries' feelings

[Warren DeMontague]

18. "The Pundits" in Israel are no more monolithic than they are in the U.S.

Ann Coulter, Pat Robertson, and Glenn Beck may have opinions, but they are no more representative of "US Opinion" than the far right of Israel is representative of that country.

[sufrommich]

30. +1. nt

[Modern_Matthew]

20. Poor Israel. No one wants to be their friend. Cry us a river. n/t

[butterfly77]

21. They seem to think that..

Mubarak will live forever which he won't and then the sons will take over forever and their sons,and so on and so on and so on...

[sabrina 1]

22. They'll just have to get used to the fact that not everything

is about Israel or the U.S. There are actually other human beings on the planet and I know this is coming as a huge shock to a few people, but Arabs and Muslims ARE human beings with rights also. Imagine that, it must be hard for the propagandists who spend all that time and money demonizing them all these years.

I hope the Israeli people too will become inspired by the people of Tunisia and Egypt and Yemen and throw out their dictatorial, far right government which has pretty much alienated the world against Israel at this point.

If they would do that, I think they would find they have more friends around the world. Meantime nothing coming out of the mouths of far-rightwing ideologues no matter where they reside, should be given the least bit of attention. It isn't about them, it's about Egypt.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

26. Why don't they stop tiptoeing around and just issue a statement...

...declaring only far-right Republicans to be acceptable US Presidents?

[Barack_America]

33. Typical Israel. Democracy as "political correctness".

Begs the question of whether we should dump another so-called "ally".

[Change Happens]

34. I hope Israel can just shut the fuck up for few more days....

[hlthe2b]

36. One would think with the US incrementally stepping back...

from previous support of Mubarak, that Israel would take its biggest and most important ally's lead. :shrug:

[Barack_America]

37. Mmm. I imagine that "Israel loves Mubarak" would be a pretty good rallying cry...

...for the protesters.

One thing the Obama administration has done a great job at is lessening the extent to which Israel's interests dictate our interests in the Middle East. Israel's protests that the world has abandoned Mubarak is unlikely to change our approach to the matter. So let them cry about it, I say.