A Little Humility Won't Hurt, Mr. Beilin, After Oslo
A Little Humility Won't Hurt, Mr. Beilin, After Oslo


Former Deputy Foreign Minister Yossi Beilin has emerged from relative political obscurity to blast Prime Minister Netanyahu for ruining Israel’s relationship with what he calls “super pro-Israel American President Barack Obama.

Citing Netanyahu’s warm welcome for Republican candidate Mitt Romney on his recent visit to Israel, Beilin has accused the PM of “interfering in the US election and gambling on Romney winning”. Furthermore, he sharply criticized Netanyahu for ruffling Obama’s feathers by having a strong relationship with wealthy Romney supporter Sheldon Adelson and also for not agreeing to Obama’s demand for a continuation of the American-imposed ten-month settlement freeze.

Such public assertions would be laughable, if they weren’t so deleterious to Israel’s own interests as a free and sovereign nation.

On Romney’s recent visit, Netanyahu, while properly welcoming Romney as befits the man who may soon be his counterpart in the White House, was very careful not to voice an opinion on the upcoming American election. Did Beilin truly expect Bibi to scorn the Republican candidate for President in opposition to accepted protocol? Would that have been a prudent move by Israel’s leader?

As for the Netanyahu-Adelson friendship, it should be pointed out that Netanyahu’s relationship with Adelson goes back far longer than the Romney-Adelson connection. It’s quite absurd for Beilin to charge that Obama has a right to be annoyed about this.

Let us remember that this is the same President Obama who chose improved relations with the Islamic world over a strengthened Israel-USA alliance. Upon taking office, his first phone call to a foreign leader was to PA President Mahmoud Abbas, the Fatah terrorist leader and noted revisionist historian, who has recently, and repeatedly, referred to the “alleged” Jewish Temple that once stood on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

Obama’s first two high profile overseas visits were to Istanbul, Turkey and to Cairo, Egypt, where he implied that the Holocaust is Israel’s raison d’etre, ignoring the inconvenient fact that Israel was a sovereign nation in its land for three times as long as the current age of the United States.

Furthermore, he sang the praises of Islam, the religion of Jihad, or holy war against non-Muslims (the religious sanction for terrorism), and referred to the call to prayer from the minarets of the mosques as “the prettiest sound on Earth”. Yes, those are the same loudspeakers that are often used to agitate the faithful to violence against the Jews.

And let’s not forget that memorable day in the White House, when Israel’s Prime Minister and his entourage were humiliated and left alone to fend for their dinner by the leader of the free world.

No, contrary to the assertions of Yossi Beilin, this president is far from “super pro-Israel” as evidenced by his unwillingness to use force against Iran, along with his heavy pressure on Israel not to go it alone against Iran’s nuclear weapons program, but rather to rely on ineffective sanctions that hurt the Iranian economy, but do absolutely nothing to stop the Ayatollahs’ race to nuclear weaponry.

The continued know-it-all arrogance of the Oslo architect Yossi Beilin defies all reason. The Oslo process of withdrawal and weakness armed Israel’s enemies and emasculated Israel’s leaders, but Beilin continues to preach to Israel’s leaders, urging them to tie their hands behind their backs, rather than defending Israel from very real existential threats.

After his failed peace initiatives, that have brought so much death and destruction to Israel’s citizens and cities, perhaps Mr. Beilin might consider a touch of humility?