Crunch time for Israel – and American Jews

I arose early yesterday to watch Barack Obama's much-awaited speech in Cairo. Unsurprisingly, I was impressed by the dexterity of the writing and the superb quality of the oratory. And, by and large, I found myself in agreement with everything the President had to say.

And yet, I came away feeling a vague sense of discomfort as well, a slight queasiness that at first defied explanation. After all, wasn't Barack Obama's clear enunciation of the illegitimacy of West Bank settlements and the non-negotiability of the two-state principle the best news since penicillin?

So, rather than duplicate the efforts of many others in the Jewish world, who were quick out of the blocks to recap, summarize, dissect and contextualize the President's address (none better, by the way, than the New America Foundation's Daniel Levy), I decided to pause, breathe slowly and focus inward on why a speech that made so much sense nevertheless left me feeling less than 100% celebratory.

And then I realized: Israel, a country that I care about deeply, had just been chastised - subtly but definitively - before the entire world. Like the father of a schoolchild who is loudly reprimanded by the teacher on parents' visiting day, I shifted uneasily in my seat as everyone in the audience seemed to turn their attention to my loved-one's transgression.

In reality, of course, Obama's speech was anything but anti-Israel. The President left no doubts about America's "unbreakable bond" with Israel. He rightly recalled centuries of anti-Semitism, and wasn't timid in characterizing Holocaust denial as, "baseless, ignorant, and hateful". And, against those who continue to threaten Israel's existence, he endorsed the classical Zionist argument that the Jewish people have legitimate national aspirations and rights.

Yet the same criticism that I applaud when voiced by Chaim Oron of Meretz and that I often speak myself - two states, end the occupation, no more settlements - sounded a few decibels louder when leveled by the President of the United States.

I pen these lines because, in the months ahead, the American Jewish community will play a crucial role if Barack Obama's Middle East peace initiative is to be crowned with success.

What will our reaction be when we hear even more explicit US calls for Israel to be part of the solution, not part of the problem? The President has reportedly given the Netanyahu government until July to start delivering diplomatic merchandise that is more appealing than the stuff the Prime Minister tried to peddle last month in Washington.

How will we react when the US makes clear that, after eight years of lip-service, Washington is again serious about Mideast peace? That the days of purposeful procrastination are gone? That Israel will no longer be allowed to benefit from the diplomatic sleight-of-hand, which allowed the government to declare that "no new settlements" were being created, while, in practice, settlement construction ‘magically' steamed ahead, and new settlements - a.k.a. ‘outposts' - popped up like mushrooms after the rain.

Will we squirm and shift uncomfortably? Will we quietly bury our heads? Will we rush to defend government of Israel policies, upset less by the substance of US criticism than by the fact that someone ‘outside the family' was dishing it out?

Or will we find it within ourselves to overcome our natural hesitation and, out of love and concern for the people of Israel, say these truths publicly to the Israeli government:

• Occupation is incompatible with democracy and human rights and therefore tarnishes Israel's character.
• Settlements are an obstacle to Palestinian statehood and therefore contradict Israel's stated wish for peace.
• Failure to support a two-state solution stands in the way of a peace initiative and therefore undermines Israel's security.

Meretz USA champions this new Zionist discourse because we believe that our support for Israel shouldn't oblige us to endorse ideas that are inimical to both Israeli and American interests.

In an interview this week to National Public Radio, President Obama said much the same, when he explained what friendship for Israel means to him:

"Part of being a good friend is being honest. And I think there have been times where we are not as honest as we should be about the fact that the current direction, the current trajectory, in the region is profoundly negative, not only for Israeli interests but also U.S. interests. And that's part of a new dialogue that I'd like to see encouraged in the region."

Amen.

With best hopes of Shalom al Yisrael - peace for Israel - I wish all a Shabbat Shalom.