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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| UN Vote on Settlements Can’t Hide Palestinian Collapse |
| 2016-12-27 |
| by Walter Russell Mead [TheAmericanInterest] President B.O.’s decision not to block a UN Security Council resolution declaring Israeli settlements on the West Bank illegal can be read many ways. In part, it’s an Obama counter-strike against President-elect Trump’s unconventional moves aimed at sidelining Obama before the Inauguration. In part, it’s payback from the White House against a Netanyahu government that the White House feels has frustrated its quest for peace in the Middle East. In part, it’s a principled statement of sincere belief by a large group in the White House, representing many in the Democratic Party, reflecting the deep convictions of many American liberals and, especially, of American liberal Jews, about right and wrong in the modern Middle East. If American Jews were to hold a referendum on settlement policy, it is likely that the "no" side would win; American Jews are far more liberal than their counterparts in Israel, and the gap between the two communities is growing rather than shrinking over time. Many Paleostinians and many of their sympathizers would like to see this vote as a landmark victory for the Paleostinian cause in a long campaign to isolate Israel diplomatically and to delegitimize it morally in the eyes of the world. The vote is certainly a propaganda victory for the Paleostinian cause, but it does nothing to help the Paleostinians in practical terms. Indeed, a sober look at the situation suggests that the Paleostinians have not been this weak, this divided or this helpless in many decades. Almost everywhere one looks around the world, the net effect of the policies of the Obama presidency has been to undermine the movements and the values that the President hoped to support; the cause of the Paleostinians and the quest for the two state solution are no exceptions to the rule. |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #2 It is one thing to pass this high-minded dreck, but quite another to enforce it. More SoS / UN news on the way regarding. |
| Posted by: Vast Right Wing Conspiracy 2016-12-27 13:16 |
| #1 I figure the Trump administration has at least 2 years and maybe more to clean up the mess left behind. The USA provides 22% of the UN operating budget more than twice as much as the No. 2 contributor, Japan (10.8 percent). Maybe if the UN got a much leaner, they might not be so likely to interfere with the sovereignty of member states. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2016-12-27 09:14 |