Israel and Palestine in Charlotte

The first day of the democratic convention turned into a huge stage and went under an intensive shower of media coverage. Many pressure and interest groups showed their support for Barack Obama for a second presidential period: feminists, homosexuals, soldiers' families, immigrants and many more. It was notable that the first day of the conference witnessed the “inventory overview” or as they said, the “list of achievements” of Obama’s administration. He mentioned Israel and his “excellent relations” with the country... If I was ignorant in geography, I would have thought that the Senator who listed the inventory represented the state of Israel, like any other senators represent their states in the sessions of the conference. The slogan “Obama is good to Israel” is apparently not convincing anymore to  Israel... Israel wants every American president to be the best and the “finest” for them. “Obama is Israel’s best friend... Obama is the most loyal US president to its security and excellence." Not less than that. But now actions should follow the words, and quick... The American public opinion should realise that, you can be sure.  Is there a better stage than the party’s conference to announce that? Is there a better timing than this, only a few weeks away from the elections? The list of achievements was painfully long. It's okay to take time when it is about Israel’s interests... It starts with the steady, set in stone commitment to Israel's right to safe presence and its superiority as a Jewish state. America provide Israel with everything it needs (and doesn't need) from the deadliest weapons to the promise that they will prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. To prove the seriousness of the American commitment, we should have a look at speeches made by Netanyahu, Barack and Perez, which praises the American President and his unconditioned and illimited support to Israel. Events like the attack on peaceful Egyptian protestors on the Israeli embassy in Cairo – which is an event reproduced in several capitals in the world - are enough to ring alarm bells in Washington. This is an excellent American national security issue, which forces the highest state of alertness in the American security and diplomatic circles... The lives of those diplomats and their safety are more important than the lives of thousands of Egyptians who took the bullets from the regime. On the other end, Palestine was mentioned only once - when speaking of “two-state solution” in a context that stresses the necessity of the future Palestinian State being “weapon free”?! As the conference held in Time Warner Cable Stadium was coming to an end, lobby activists were distributing leaflets. One of them featured 10 reasons for supporting Israel. Apparently the first reason is that Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East. Israel apparently shares the same values as the United States, they are at war against terrorism, they have made huge scientific discoveries as well as being advanced in terms of education. Finally, supporting Israel is a necessity for America, because the entire world needs Israel - according to the leaflet. Arabs were absent form the conference. Among hundreds of foreign guests I only found two Arabs and three Kurds from north Iraq. I wished those negotiation advocates were with us in “Charlotte”, to explore their instant reactions on what we heard and watched... Would they still really believe in the two-state solution and bet on the chance that will come with the second term of President Obama? Is there really someone who believes that Washington will force Israel to withdraw? Is there anyone who believes in the “Fair American mediator”?... I also wished the representatives of the Muslim Brotherhood were there to realise before it’s too late that betting on the revival of the cold war alliances could take them anywhere in the world, but it will definitely not take them to  the “suspended land” in Jerusalem. In the middle of these bad, pessimistic and frustrating news, I conclude with only one good news: It was very noticeable that the “inventory overview speech” didn’t get the enthusiasm and applause of the audience. The interaction between the audience and the speaker was not very energetic. I think this was due to two reasons: The first, the weak interest of the audience and the conferees in foreign policies and its issues generally. The second is that the young American generation has started to lose its enthusiasm and loyalty to Israel. But the foreign policy of the United States in general is not made by the American public opinion. It is a the job of an elite of Washington’s politicians, all very influential and powerful.  Therefore I suppose we will wait before we see the shifts in the American public opinion translated into shifts in the American foreign policy. The views expressed by the author do not necessarily represent or reflect the editorial policy of Arabstoday.