Barack Obama Socialist History - Part Two look at Barack Obama’s life story, his actions, his closest alliances, his long-term objectives, and his words, shows that he has long been, quite demonstrably, a genuine socialist. In the final analysis, Americans are, and indeed should be, free to vote for a socialist president if that is what they want. But if they choose that road, they ought to at least be aware that that is in fact what they are doing—rather than be misled into thinking they are merely supporting a “liberal,” a “progressive,” or a big-hearted advocate of “social justice.” They are supporting a man who is, beyond any shadow of a doubt, a lifelong, committed socialist:

Barack Obama Socialist History - Part Two

look at Barack Obama’s life story, his actions, his closest alliances, his long-term objectives, and his words, shows that he has long been, quite demonstrably, a genuine socialist. In the final analysis, Americans are, and indeed should be, free to vote for a socialist president if that is what they want. But if they choose that road, they ought to at least be aware that that is in fact what they are doing—rather than be misled into thinking they are merely supporting a “liberal,” a “progressive,” or a big-hearted advocate of “social justice.” They are supporting a man who is, beyond any shadow of a doubt, a lifelong, committed socialist:

Obama's Ties to the Son of an Arafat Confidante

In 2007 Obama appointed Robert Malley, a director with the International Crisis Group (ICG), as a foreign policy advisor to his campaign. Over the years, Malley—whose late father was a confidante of Yasser Arafat and a beneficiary of Soviet funding—has penned numerous articles blaming Israel for the failure of the 2000 Camp David peace talks, exonerating Palestinians, urging the U.S. to disengage from Israel to some degree, and recommending that America reach out to negotiate with its traditional Arab enemies such as Syria, Hezbollah, and Hamas. He co-wrote some of these articles with former Arafat advisor Hussein Agha.

In mid-2008, the Obama campaign was forced—out of political necessity—to sever its ties with Malley after the Times of London revealed that he had secretly been in regular contact with Hamas leaders.

Notwithstanding Malley's fall from grace, President Obama's foreign policies have been very much aligned with the recommendations of Malley. For one, Obama has often emphasized his willingness to negotiate with even the most unyielding enemies of the United States, and has sought to persuade Israel to take that same approach. Six days after his inauguration, for instance, Obama stated in a television interview broadcast in the Middle East: “[A]ll too often the United States starts by dictating ... and we don’t always know all the factors that are involved. So let’s listen.” He subsequently called on Israel to drop its “preconceptions” and to negotiate for peace with Hamas, the terrorist organization whose founding charter remains irrevocably committed to the permanent destruction of Israel and the mass murder of Jews. Obama further signaled an eagerness to conduct “unconditional talks” on nuclear matters with Iran—even as as that nation was actively supplying high-tech weaponry to Hamas and Hezbollah, and even after its president had repeatedly declared that “Israel must be wiped off the map.”

Obama's Ties to J Street, Advocate of Israeli Concessions

President Obama has also demonstrated an ideological compatibility with J Street, an organization which believes that peace between Arabs and Israelis depends wholly upon the development of “a new direction for American policy in the Middle East,” a direction that recognizes “the right of the Palestinians to a sovereign state of their own.” Toward that end, J Street supports “diplomatic solutions over military ones,” and “dialogue over confrontation.”

Israel’s partner in such a dialogue would necessarily be Hamas, which holds the reins of political power in Gaza and steadfastly denies Israel’s right to exist. Yet J Street has cautioned Israel not to be too combative against Hamas, on grounds that the latter “has been the government, law and order, and service provider since it won the [Palestinian] elections.” In the final analysis, J Street traces the Mideast conflict chiefly to the notion that “Israel’s settlements in the occupied territories have, for over forty years, been an obstacle to peace.”

In October 2009, Obama signaled his support for J Street's agendas when he sent national security advisor James Jones to deliver the keynote address at a J Street conference.

Obama Appoints a DHS Official with Ties to Islamic Extremists

In April 2009, President Obama appointed Los Angeles deputy mayor Arif Alikhan as assistant secretary for policy development at the Department of Homeland Security. Two weeks before he received this appointment, Alikhan—who once called the jihadist terror group Hezbollah a “liberation movement”—had participated in a fundraiser for the Muslim Public Affairs Council, which is linked to the Muslim Brotherhood.

Alikhan had previously served as deputy mayor of homeland security and public safety for the City of Los Angeles. There, he was responsible for derailing the LAPD's efforts to monitor activities within the city’s Muslim community, where numerous radical mosques and madrassas (Islamic schools) were known to exist, and where some of the 9/11 hijackers had received support from local residents.

Obama Appoints a Pro-Sharia Advisor

During the early part of his presidency, Obama appointed Dalia Mogahed—a pro-Sharia Muslim—as his chief adviser on Islamic affairs.

What Dalia Mogahed Has Said About Sharia and Radical Islam

According to the Investigative Project on Terrorism, in 2007 Mogahed “appeared to suggest that the Muslim Brotherhood might be a peaceful alternative to jihadists.”

In a 2007 interview, Mogahed was asked to comment on the harsh punishments (like stonings, canings, and dismemberment) associated with Sharia Law. She replied that Muslims generally tend to view Sharia as a framework for achieving “a more just society,” “protection of human rights,” and “rule of law.”

Mogahed has consistently defended radical Islamist organizations like the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Islamic Society of North America, both of which have ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. At the Religion Newswriters Association's annual conference in Washington, DC in September 2008, she stated that it would be unfair for those groups to be “disenfranchised” because of “misinformation” about their affiliations to Islamic radicals. “[T]here is a concerted effort to silence, you know, institution-building among Muslims,” said Mogahed. “And the way to do it is [to] malign these groups. And it's kind of a witch hunt.”

Mogahed was a leading voice in the Leadership Group on U.S.-Muslim Engagement, which in September 2008 issued a 154-page recommendation paper—a number of whose suggestions (on how to improve America's relationship with Muslims globally) were eventually adopted by the Obama administration. The paper specifically called on the U.S. to engage opposition parties (including the Muslim Brotherhood) in Egypt, and to use intermediaries to engage Hamas—in hopes of moderating the terror group.

In early October 2009, Mogahed was interviewed on a British television program hosted by Ibtihal Bsis, a member of the extremist Hizb ut Tahrir party, which seeks to facilitate the creation of a worldwide Islamic state governed by Sharia Law. Bsis and another guest (also a member of Hizb ut Tahrir) stated that Sharia should be “the source of legislation” for all nations in the world. They also repeatedly condemned the “man-made law” and the “lethal cocktail of liberty and capitalism” that existed in Western societies. Mogahed did not dispute any of their assertions. Instead she stated that the Western view of Sharia was “oversimplified,” and that the majority of Muslim women around the world associated Islamic Law with “gender justice.”

Obama Goes to Cairo to Address the Muslim World

On June 4, 2009, President Obama went to Cairo, Egypt to deliver a much-anticipated address to the Muslim world. During the weeks prior to the speech, he made sure to invite Muslim Brotherhood leaders to attend. During the speech itself, the President stated that “anti-Semitism in Europe culminated in an unprecedented Holocaust.” But he made no mention of the Arab anti-Semitism of the World War II era (and beyond), even though he was speaking in the very country that had made a national hero of Grand Mufti Haj Muhammed Amin al-Husseini, who spent the war years in Berlin as Hitler's guest, helping the fuehrer facilitate the Final Solution. Nor did Obama once mention the word “terrorism.”

Drawing a moral equivalence between the historical experiences of the Jews and Middle Eastern Arabs, Obama said: “The Jewish people were persecuted.… [A]nti-Semitism … culminated in an unprecedented Holocaust…. Six million Jews were killed…. On the other hand, it is also undeniable that the Palestinian people — Muslims and Christians — have suffered in pursuit of a homeland.”

Obama also made reference to the “pain” of the “dislocation” experienced by some 600,000 Arabs during the 1948 war—a war that began when five Arab armies united to attack Israel in an effort to destroy the nascent Jewish state on the very day of its birth. But he said nothing of the 900,000 Jewish refugees who were forcibly expelled from regions all over the Arab Middle East, where they and their ancestors had lived for hundreds, even thousands, of years.

“There has been a stalemate,” Obama elaborated. “Two peoples with legitimate aspirations, each with a painful history…. It's easy to point fingers—for Palestinians to point to the displacement brought about by Israel's founding, and for Israelis to point to the constant hostility and attacks."

Professor and Hudson Institute fellow Anne Bayefsky observed: “Calling the Israeli-Arab conflict a ‘stalemate’ represents an abysmal failure to acknowledge historical reality. The modern state of Israel emerged after an internationally approved partition plan of November 1947 that would have created two states, one Jewish and one Arab; this plan was accepted by Jews and rejected by Arabs. One people has always been prepared to live in peace, and the other has chosen war in 1948 and 1956 and 1967 and 1973 and 1982, and renewed terrorism after its every loss.”

Obama Urges Jewish Leaders to Put “Daylight” between the U.S. and Israel

In July 2009, President Obama hosted American Jewish leaders at the White House and informed them that he sought to put “daylight” between America and Israel. “For eight years [i.e., during the Bush administration], there was no light between the United States and Israel, and nothing got accomplished,” Obama said. In that same meeting, the President told those in attendance that Israel would need “to engage in serious self-reflection.”

Obama's First Address to the UN General Assembly

In his first address to the UN General Assembly in September 2009, President Obama devoted five paragraphs to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In his remarks, Obama boasted that under his administration, the U.S. had already joined the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC). He did not mention that the UNHRC had adopted more resolutions and decisions against Israel than against all the other 191 UN member states combined. Moreover, many of those member states are themselves notorious human rights abusers.

Regarding the Mideast conflict, Obama drew a moral equivalence between the suffering of the Israelis and of the Palestinians. Most notably, he rejected the legitimacy of Israeli “settlements” and he referred to Israel as an “occup[ier]” of Palestinian territory: “We continue to emphasize that America does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements.”

Obama Opposes Israel's Plan to Build Houses in Settlement Near Jerusalem

In November 2009, Obama expressed displeasure over Israel's approval of a plan to build 900 new homes in Gilo, a settlement of 40,000 Israelis situated in a part of the West Bank that Israel had captured (and annexed to Jerusalem) in the 1967 war in which the armies of several Arab nations sought to destroy the Jewish state. While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to limit new construction in West Bank settlements, he stated that the Jerusalem municipality would be excluded from any settlement limits sought by Washington. Said Obama: “I think that additional settlement building does not contribute to Israel's security. I think it makes it harder for them to make peace with their neighbors. I think it embitters the Palestinians in a way that could end up being very dangerous.”

Obama Laments that Israel Has Been Unwilling to Make any “Bold Gestures” for Peace

In a January 2010 interview, President Obama said—despite Israel’s acceptance-in-principle of a Palestinian state, its readiness to negotiate, and its commitment to an unprecedented ten-month Jewish construction freeze in Judea and Samaria—that Israel theretofore had made no “bold gestures” for peace.

The Obama Administration Again Criticizes Israeli Settlements

During Vice President Joe Biden's visit to Israel in March 2010, a Jerusalem municipal office announced plans to build some 1,600 housing units for Jews in a section of that city. In response, Biden reportedly told Prime Minister Netanyahu: “This is starting to get dangerous for us. What you’re doing here undermines the security of our troops who are fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. That endangers us and it endangers regional peace.”

Sustained and Blatant Disrespect for Israel

The Wall Street Journal describes what happened in the aftermath of Biden's visit: “The president launched an unprecedented weeks-long offensive against Israel. Mr. Biden very publicly departed Israel. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton berated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a now-infamous 45-minute phone call, telling him that Israel had 'harmed the bilateral relationship.' (The State Department triumphantly shared details of the call with the press.) The Israeli ambassador was dressed-down at the State Department, Mr. Obama's Middle East envoy canceled his trip to Israel, and the U.S. joined the European condemnation of Israel. Moments after Mr. Biden concluded his visit to the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority held a ceremony to honor Dalal Mughrabi, who led one of the deadliest Palestinian terror attacks in history: the so-called Coastal Road Massacre that killed 38, including 13 children and an American. The Obama administration was silent. But that same day, on ABC, [Obama adviser David] Axelrod called Israel's planned construction of apartments in its own capital an 'insult' and an 'affront' to the United States. Press Secretary Robert Gibbs went on Fox News to accuse Mr. Netanyahu of 'weakening trust' between the two countries. Ten days later, Mr. Netanyahu traveled to Washington to mend fences but was snubbed at a White House meeting with President Obama—no photo op, no joint statement, and he was sent out through a side door.”

Washington Post columnist and Middle East expert Jackson Diehl wrote that “Netanyahu is being treated [by Obama] as if he were an unsavory Third World dictator.”

According to the Jerusalem Post, Israel's ambassador to the U.S., Michael Oren, received “the same message of American disapproval and outrage” from Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg. Oren called the incident “the worst [for Israel] with the U.S. in 35 years.”

It should be noted that, contrary to the Obama administration’s insistence that Israel was jeopardizing peace by encroaching on negotiable terrain, the construction site in Jerusalem was anything but disputed territory. Jerusalem is Israel’s capital and the construction site was in Ramat Shlomo, a Jewish neighborhood where housing construction had been underway since the early 1990s. By its insistence that Israel cease all building in East Jerusalem, it was the Obama administration, and not Israel, that was breaking with precedent.

Obama Refuses to Intervene in an Israeli Dispute with Turkey and Egypt

In April 2010, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu withdrew from an Obama-sponsored Washington summit on nuclear proliferation after it became apparent that Turkey and Egypt intended to use the occasion to denounce Israel's nuclear program; Obama chose not to intervene in this dispute.

Obama Sidesteps Referring to Islamic Terrorism As the Cause of Daniel Pearl's Death

In May 2010, when President Obama signed the Daniel Pearl Press Freedom Act, he did not mention that Pearl, the late Wall Street Journal reporter, had been beheaded by Islamic terrorists because he was a Jew. Nor did the President mention that Pearl, in the video recorded of his gruesome murder, had been forced to state specifically that he was an American Jew. Instead, Obama euphemistically referred only in general terms to Pearl’s “loss.”

The Obama Administration's Response to a Gaza-Bound, Terror-Linked Flotilla

In early 2010, a Turkish organization known as the IHH—which has known ties to Hamas, al Qaeda, and the Muslim Brotherhood—collaborated with the Free Gaza Movement (FGM) to organize a six-ship flotilla of Muslim and anti-Israel activists who would sail to Gaza for the purpose of breaking Israel's naval blockade (which had been established to prevent Hamas from importing weaponry from Iran and other allies abroad). The IHH owned and operated the Mavi Marmara, the flotilla's lead ship. The flotilla set out toward Gaza in late May of 2010. For several days, Israel issued warnings that the ships would not be permitted to dock in Gaza without first submitting to an inspection of their cargoes. When the crews of the vessels refused to comply, Israeli commandos intercepted the flotilla on May 31. The IHH-affiliated activists responded violently, attacking the commandos with knives, clubs and pistol fire. In the melee that ensued, nine activists were killed and seven Israeli soldiers were wounded.

In the wake of the flotilla incident, MSNBC reported that the Obama administration “wants to see a new approach that would allow more supplies into the impoverished Palestinian area while guaranteeing Israel's security”; that there was “a growing consensus within the administration that U.S. and Israeli policy toward Gaza must change”; that “White House officials said they had warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to use 'caution and restraint' before the raid on the aid convoy”; that Vice President Joe Biden was in favor of putting “as much pressure and as much cajoling on Israel as we can to allow [the Palestinians] to get building materials and other designated humanitarian aid into Gaza”; and that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton supported a Security Council statement condemning the “acts” that had cost the lives of the activists aboard the Mavi Marmara.

In remarks he subsequently made during a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Obama urged Israel to put a stop to its settlement activity and called on the Palestinians to avoid inciting further confrontation. He also called on Israel to reassess its blockade on Gaza, adding that “the way to solve this problem” would, by necessity, involve the “creation of the Palestinian state.”

$400 Million in Aid for Palestinians

In an effort to contain the political fallout from the Mavi Marmara incident, in June 2010 President Obama offered to send an extra $400 million in “humanitarian aid” to the Palestinians of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. This was to be above and beyond the $600+ million in aid which the U.S. was already sending to the Palestinian Authority each year.

The Obama Administration Allows the Palestinian Flag to Fly at the PLO Office in DC

On July 25, 2010, JTA News reported that “the Obama administration will allow the PLO office in Washington to fly the Palestinian flag and assume the title of 'delegation'”; that this decision had “symbolic value” but had “no meaning under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations”; and that the White House “suggested the [measure] would help spur the Palestinians toward direct peace talks with Israel.”

A Stark Contrast between Obama's Holiday Messages to Jews and to Muslims

In his Rosh Hashanah message in 2010, President Obama only once referred to “Jews”; made no reference at all to “Judaism”; promoted the creation of a Palestinian state; and never mentioned the monumental contributions Jews had made to the United States. By contrast, in his August 2010 Ramadan Message, Obama referred to “Muslims” six times and to “Islam” twice; he stated that “American Muslims have made extraordinary contributions to our country”; and he praised “Islam’s role in advancing justice, progress, tolerance, and the dignity of all human beings … a faith known for great diversity and racial equality.”

Obama Criticizes Israeli Settlements Yet Again

On November 9, 2010, The New York Times issued the following report regarding the increasingly strained relations between the U.S. and Israel: “President Obama’s criticism of new Israeli housing plans for East Jerusalem, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s even sharper retort, have thrown the Middle East peace talks into jeopardy, with the dispute over Jewish settlements looming as a seemingly insuperable hurdle.... [T]he brusque exchange between Mr. Obama and Mr. Netanyahu reflected again the gulf between Israel and the United States over settlements.... When asked about Israel’s plans for 1,000 housing units [in] a contested part of East Jerusalem, Mr. Obama said, 'This kind of activity is never helpful when it comes to peace negotiations.' ... A few hours later, Mr. Netanyahu’s office responded with a statement, saying that 'Jerusalem is not a settlement; Jerusalem is the capital of the State of Israel.'”

Sabotaging Israel's Relations with Egypt

In 2011 the Obama administration supported the Egyptian revolution that overthrew Egypt's longtime president (and U.S. ally) Hosni Mubarak. In June 2012, the high-ranking Muslim Brotherhood figure Mohammed Morsi won the first free presidential election in Egyptian history. After being sworn into office on June 30, he announced that Egypt’s peace treaty with Israel would eventually have to be “revise[d].”

Obama Expresses His Belief that the Palestinians Sincerely Want Peace with Israel

In a March 2011 meeting with Jewish leaders, President Obama contended—against all historical evidence—that “Israel’s [Palestinian] partner is sincere in wanting a peaceful settlement.” Meanwhile, he asked his Jewish interlocutors to “speak to your Israeli friends and relatives and search your souls to determine how badly do you really want peace … Israelis think this peace process is overrated.”

Obama Calls for an Arab-Israeli Land Swap Based on Pre-1967 Borders

On May 19, 2011—just a few hours before Prime Minister Netanyahu flew from Israel to Washington—President Obama delivered his “Arab Spring” speech at the State Department. After saying that “Palestinians will never realize their independence by denying the right of Israel to exist,” he called for the establishment of a Palestinian state—even though neither Hamas nor Fatah had ever acknowledged Israel’s right to exist. Nor did Obama make such acknowledgment a precondition of the establishment of a Palestinian state. Obama also urged Israel to understand that it would never be able to achieve genuine peace if it persisted in seeking “permanent occupation.”

In issuing his call for the existence of “two states,” Obama said that “the borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps, so that secure and recognized borders are established for both states.” He was referring to the borders that had existed before the 1967 Six Day War in which Israel occupied East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza. In that war, Israel defeated the armies of three Arab nations (Egypt, Syria, and Jordan) that were massing on Israel's borders and preparing to launch a war of annihilation against the Jewish state.

In response to Obama's speech, Prime Minister Netanyahu said that a Palestinian state based on the pre-1967 borders would leave the Jewish state “indefensible.” “The viability of a Palestinian state cannot come at the expense of Israel's existence,” the Israeli leader said.

Obama Avoids Mentioning Terrorism Directed against Israel

In early September 2011, the Obama administration issued talking points for the upcoming 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In those talking points, the administration referred to terrorism's many victims around the world, “whether in New York or Nairobi, Bali or Belfast, Mumbai or Manila, or Lahore or London.” Conspicuously absent was any mention of the many Israeli cities that had been hit by Islamic terrorists innumerable times.

More Criticism of Israeli Housing Construction

On November 2, 2011, the Obama administration sharply criticized Israel’s decision to accelerate construction of Israeli housing in various communities in and around Jerusalem and elsewhere in the West Bank. The apartments that Prime Minister Netanyahu sought to build would not be on Palestinian land, but rather in suburbs or even neighborhoods of Jerusalem, none of which were on the agenda for land swaps in a peace agreement.

Obama Administration Demands that Israel Send Aid to the Palestinian Authority

A State Department spokesperson chastised Prime Minister Netanyahu for Israel’s temporary suspension of the transfer of millions of dollars to the Palestinian Authority (PA). Israel scholar David Meir-Levi placed this in context: “Dozens of Arab terrorist organizations ... unabashedly proclaim their intentions to destroy Israel, a close, loyal and strong ally of America. In the context of that commitment to Israel’s destruction, they also emphasize their intention to exile or murder all of Israel’s Jews.... The endless Arab diatribe of destruction and relentless rhetoric of annihilation … have gone on unimpeded and unabashed, broadcast throughout much of the Arab and Muslim world since before the creation of the State of Israel. And Arab deeds have matched their words for almost seventy-five years, with equally relentless terrorism punctuated by full-scale wars when Arab leaders thought they would easily win.... On the other hand, every action by Israel to seek a peaceful resolution, thirty one attempts since 1937, has been rebuffed by the Arab side with war or terrorism or vociferous threats of the same....”

Obama Is Caught Deriding Israeli PM Netanyahu on a Live Microphone

In November 3, 2011, President Obama conducted what he thought was a private conversation about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with French President Nicolas Sarkozy in the aftermath of a G20 summit. However, the lapel microphones which the two men were wearing from their earlier press conference had not been turned off. What ensued was a major public embarrassment after both Obama and Sarkozy disparaged Netanyahu. In the exchange, Sarkozy told Obama: “I cannot stand him [Netanyahu]. He is a liar.” Obama replied: “You’re fed up with him, but I have to deal with him every day!”

Obama Administration Leaks Undermine Israel's Ability to Strike Iranian Nuclear Facilities

In March 2012, Foreign Policy magazine reported that “several high-level sources” in the Obama administration had gone public with information regarding Israel's secret relationship with Azerbaijan, where Israeli planes would be able to refuel on their way to or from an air strike against Iran's nuclear facilities. Those Obama sources revealed this information because the administration feared “the risks of an Israeli strike on Iran” and thus sought to undermine such a measure. As Hoover Institution Fellow Thomas Sowell puts it, “This leak was one of the historic and unconscionable betrayals of an ally whose very existence is threatened.”

Obama Overrides Congress to Fund the Palestinian Authority

In April 2012, President Obama decided to waive the Palestinian Accountability Act's freeze on U.S. funding for the Palestinian Authority (PA). That freeze had been imposed after PA president Mahmoud Abbas attempted, in September 2011, to unilaterally declare Palestinian statehood—in violation of the PA’s treaty commitments. This move by Obama would provide $192 million to the PA. Wrote journalist Andrew McCarthy: “In the real world, the very immoderate PA has reneged on all its commitments. In addition to violating its obligations by unilaterally declaring statehood, the PA has also agreed to form a unity government with Hamas, a terrorist organization that is the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. The PA continues to endorse terrorism against Israel as 'resistance.' Moreover, the PA most certainly does not recognize Israel’s right to exist.”

Obama Administration Implies that Jerusalem Is Not Part of Israel

In May 2011, the Obama State Department issued a press release declaring that its No. 2 official, James Steinberg, would be visiting “Israel, Jerusalem, and the West Bank”—thereby implying that Jerusalem was not part of Israel.

State Department Official Refuses to Identify Jerusalem As the Undisputed Capital of Israel

In June 2012, Obama State Department official Victoria Nuland refused to say that Jerusalem, which had been the capital of Israel since 1967, was even a part of Israel. When asked whether it was “the State Department’s position that Jerusalem is not part of Israel,” she replied: “You know that our position on Jerusalem has not changed …. With regard to our Jerusalem policy, it’s a permanent-status issue. It’s got to be resolved through the negotiations between the parties.”

A follow-up question was: “Is it the view of the United States that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel …? Nuland replied: “We are not going to prejudge the outcome of those negotiations, including the final status of Jerusalem.”

White House Spokesman Jay Carney Refuses to Identify Jerusalem As the Undisputed Capital of Israel

At a July 26, 2012 press briefing, White House spokesman Jay Carney likewise refused to state directly which city is the capital of Israel. In response to a female reporter's question asking whether the Obama administration considered Jerusalem or Tel Aviv to be Israel’s capital, Carney replied, haltingly: “I haven’t had that question in a while. Our position has not changed.” The reporter then repeated, “What’s the capital?” Carney responded, “You know our position.” The exchange grew more tense when World Net Daily reporter Lester Kinsolving, who was also in attendance, interjected: “She doesn’t know, that’s why she asked … she does not know, she just said she doesn’t know—I don’t know! ... Tel Aviv or Jerusalem? ... Could you just give us an answer ...?” Carney, however, would not elaborate any further. “You know the answer ... Our position hasn’t changed,” he repeated again.

Pro-Israel Language is Removed from the Democratic Party Platform

In September 2012, it was learned that several pro-Israel sections that were part of previous Democratic Party platforms, had been removed from the 2012 platform. For example:

The 2012 platform made no mention of Jerusalem, whereas the 2008 and 2004 Democratic Party platforms had declared “Jerusalem is and will remain the capital of Israel … It should remain an undivided city accessible to people of all faiths.” The revised platform was consistent with the Obama administration’s controversial refusal to openly recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Whereas the 2004 and 2008 platforms had asserted that the creation of a Palestinian state “should resolve the issue of Palestinian refugees by allowing them to settle there, rather than in Israel,” the 2012 platform was silent on the matter.

The 2008 platform had declared that “the United States and its Quartet partners should continue to isolate Hamas until it renounces terrorism, recognizes Israel’s right to exist, and abides by past agreements.” The 2012 platform, by contrast, contained no mention of Hamas.

Previous Democratic Party platforms also contained promises to help Israel maintain its “qualitative military edge” in the region. The 2012 platform said only that “the administration has also worked to ensure Israel’s qualitative military edge in the region,” but made no pledge to continue doing so in the future.

Following much public criticism of the foregoing omissions, Democratic Party delegates (at the party's National Convention) amended the platform to restore the reference to Jerusalem—but not the references to the refugee issue, Hamas, or Israel's “military edge.”

Obama Administration Refuses to Draw “Red Line” on Iran; Disappoints Netanyahu

In response to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's announcement that the U.S. would set no deadlines for negotiations with the Iranian government regarding its nuclear ambitions, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the following on September 11, 2012: “The world tells Israel: ‘Wait. There’s still time.’ And I say: ‘Wait for what? Wait until when?’ Those in the international community who refuse to put red lines before Iran don’t have a moral right to place a red light before Israel.”

Obama Says He Will Not Meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu in New York

On September 11, 2012 (as Israel's concern over Iran's growing nuclear capabilities had reached new heights), the White House announced that President Obama would not be meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the latter's visit to New York later in the month for the UN General Assembly session. According to an official in Jerusalem, Netanyahu's office had sent the White House a message stating that the Prime Minister would be willing to travel to the Washington, DC to meet with Obama, so as to accommodate the President's schedule. However, said the official, the White House had rejected the request and had indicated that Obama's schedule would not allow for a meeting. On the same day that Obama stated he would not be meeting with Netanyahu, he announced that he would be appearing on the late-night David Letterman Show the following week. Moreover, on the same day that Obama delivered his speech to the UN General Assembly, he appeared on the television program The View (the episode was recorded the previous day).

Obama Administration Opens Talks with the Muslim Brotherhood

In early July 2011, it was announced that the Obama administration had formalized ties with the Muslim Brotherhood, allowing, for the first time, State Department diplomats to deal directly with Brotherhood party officials in Cairo, where the international organization is based.

Obama Excludes Israel from Counter-Terrorism Group

On September 20, 2012, Deborah Weiss reported the following in the Washington Times:

“[T]he Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF) is the brainchild of the Obama administration and one of its 'signature initiatives' on counterterrorism. Its purported purpose is to increase global cooperation in fighting terrorism worldwide. Yet, despite Israel’s interest in joining the alliance, the GCTF, under the leadership of the Obama administration, has excluded Israel from all participation.... Obama administration officials even have omitted Israel from mention during conference speeches when listing countries affected by terrorism. It’s as though Israel is nonexistent....A glimpse into the forum’s membership might provide insight into the reason for its rejection of Israel. The GCTF … has 29 members, 11 of them also members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) ... [T]he OIC countries are united in their hatred of Israel and share a common vision of a world where Israel does not exist.... Not surprisingly, all member countries support both Hamas and Hezbollah.”