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A Hanukkah Message to the UN Security Council
I actually think it’s poetic. As Hanukkah, a festival of Jewish resistance, approaches, the world turns on the Jewish state and a former ally shows its true colors. Much is being said about Obama’s choice to abstain from voting on the UN Security council resolution, condemning Israeli settlements as illegal, and much will continue to be said, but judging by what I have seen so far I am neither impressed nor overly interested.
None of us can really be that surprised, right? This was an obvious move by President Obama, a suitable last hurrah if you will, from a man who from day one set out to set himself apart as the breaker of ties and holder of grudges. He was never a friend of Israel, and combined with his not-too-subtle need for pompous pageantry, this last kick in the gut toward Israel was a given, and boy did he give it with a bang.
All the emotional upheaval not withstanding, this means very little for the outgoing President, but to others, it means all the more. What Obama did by choosing not to veto this vote was to re-elect Netanyahu and throw support behind Donald Trump that he otherwise could have never expected to receive. Up until now, the liberal Jews have supported and defended Obama and his policies, but as he set out to humiliate Israel he also ended up shaming and humiliating a lot of Jewish democrats, thus losing his party a whole host of voters in order to settle a highly personal score. The liberal Jews stuck by him through foreign policy-blunders, anti-religious policies, and personal spats with the Israeli leadership. But his ego got the best of him one too many times and now minds are opening to Trump that otherwise would have stayed closed throughout this unexpected presidency. As for Netanyahu, he is much too smart to be outraged over what is expected wording from an obvious source in a document without teeth, and he knows that such obvious biased bullying will do nothing to lessen the strength of the Jewish state, but will only give him a more powerful mandate to act, and to lead.
And what about us, the Jewish people — what does this vote mean for us? Ben-Gurion once said that our future does not depend on what other nations say, but what Jews do, and what better time to be reminded of that than now, in this holiday season? They do not attack our state with their bills, proposals and outrageous resolutions. They attack our Jewishness, and it is with Jewishness we need to respond. Rather than focus outward, with our anger at the obvious, we should focus inward at the core of what they hate and the heart of what we could be.
I light my candles and say the blessing, I pray in the words of my forefathers and I keep the codes and laws given to us, through the original deed to our land. While they may choose to cry out for delegitimization, my very actions and choices award me legitimacy, and as they try to make me less of me I am more, I am louder and stronger than they ever expected.
This resolution was put forth to delegitimize the state of Israel, but chances are it will lead to the delegitimization of the UN. They overplayed their hand, and will ultimately end up losing, now the only question is what we as Jews choose to do, and what choices matter when it comes to our survival.
It’s not about Obama, or even Netanyahu or the President-elect; and this vote — while brazen and untrue — was neither more nor less important than any of the others before it. The more we shout and cry about resolution 2334, the more we give Obama exactly what he wants, making him feel like a trailblazer when he is little more than a petulant child, wanting to be the best at being the worst. It’s about us, and we should keep it about us, thereby honoring the message of the Maccabees and the struggle that brought us here, and kept us here, until this very day.
Obama has cemented his legacy, and now we can focus on our own. What do we choose to do today, what act of Jewish defiance will we partake in, to show the world what’s what? They can write words on papers while we settle our land, they can shake their fists in chambers while we say our ancient blessings. One of these things will stick, the other is soon out of office; one a paper dragon, the other a lion, which roars.
Happy Hanukkah.
Published in Foreign Policy
Good Luck.
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Powerful and true, Annika. Thank-you.
Yes. Very well said Annika.
I’m not as optimistic as you are. I doubt if the eyes of many liberal Jews will be opened by this action by Obama.
I think you are too optimistic about leftist Jews. I do not consider those people, of any religion or none, to be “Liberal.”
So well said. We should all rejoice as we assign Obama to the status of irrelevant.
Happy Hanukkah @annikahernrothrothstein Cheers to New Year, and looking forward to more of your posts.
חג שמח
Well said
Maybe some will not accept the reality of the recent actions. However it may embolden the new Administration, Congress and Senate to take action. No more subtle diplomatic niceties.
If the past few decades of increasing hostility to Israel by the Left have not opened their eyes, one more act by Mr Obama will probably not do it either. I’m not sure what, if anything, can do the trick.
America and Israel … together again!
D’Nesh said in his book on the Roots of Obama’s Anger that Obama was first and foremost an anti-imperialist. My sense in this current situation is that he returned to his roots. He perceives all of western culture as imperialistic and all Third World and eastern nations as victims of imperialism. It isn’t anti-semitism driving Obama. He hates Israel because he see Israel as an imperialist nation that is oppressing non-Westerners, Palestinians. It is a sick and idiotic notion, but one that he cut his teeth on. He can no more see clearly that Israel is the only nation in the Middle East which isn’t an oppressor, isn’t attempting to conquer its neighbors or destroy its own people. He sees Arabs and other Middle Easterners as victims of European Jews who migrated to Palestine and took the land away from its “rightful” owners. His perception is his reality, and it should have been obvious to all Jews, liberal or conservative, that he would never be a friend to Israel. It isn’t Netanyahu he hates, it is Israel. He hates it with the same passion as do his Muslim friends, only for a different reason. He isn’t a Muslim. He isn’t anything religious. He is a zealot against the West.
The Maccabean revolt was not merely against an external enemy, but a revolt of deplorable hicks against generally urban and often urbane assimilated collaborators.
Obama’s wicked choice brought darkness, not light. But a small light can dispel much darkness; this is part of the work of Hanukkah.
Here is one of my favorite Hanukkah stories.
Excellent post. The timing, Hanukah, of this despicable act of betrayal, could not have been more potently symbolic. I am really looking forward to the Trump administration. For all his considerable faults, Mr. Trump clearly sees who are the good guys and who are the bad guys. Obama notwithstanding, the party is over for the bad guys.
Obama will go down with James Buchanan and Jimmy Carter as Presidents who preferred to appease the forces of evil.
Annika,
You have it exactly. Somebody is watching Obama and his antics. He will pay with the loss of his entire legacy as he so richly deserves.
Happy Hanukkah!!!
Regards,
Jim
He’s a wretched little pipsqueak anyway. Here’s hoping Obama’s parting gesture gives Trump the impetus and the courage to make an equally powerful gesture by withdrawing (or at least substantially reducing) US support from the feckless UN.
As for that piece of real estate at Turtle Bay, maybe Ivanka could do something with it.
I wish it were so. But having seen the Democrats position towards Israel and the Palestinians shift over decades, I doubt it. American Jews seem to have no limit to their allegiance to the Democratic party.
About American Jews:
Most of them are not observant. Of the ones that are not observant, they may be said to be “cultural Jews,” but their culture is the culture of American Leftist Politics, plus a network of Jewish connections and a cultural history that they are busy forgetting.
They are reliable as Leftists, not as Jews.
I agree that the UN overplayed their hand, and it will likely delegitimize the UN and speed it along its path to irrelevancy. I also agree that this is not a surprising move by Obama. I find it consistent with his “lead from behind” method – in this case abstaining from the vote rather than voting, “yes”. Who is America to opine on this issue, he asks. Better for the other nations to decide!
Which brings me to my real concern, which is why the other Security Council members are so hostile to Israel. I honestly don’t know. The last time I considered it I though perhaps the rest of the world was afraid of another Arab oil embargo . . .
There is talk of decreasing America’s funding of the UN. This is entirely inadequate. I want the UN thrown out of America. I do not want to share my country with these jackals and assorted thugs with diplomatic immunity. I’m sure this bunch of do-gooders will be happy to carry on in Beijing or Moscow or Brasilia – just out of my country!
About America as an ally for Israel:
Israel has many friends in America. The most highly-motivated group is observant Jews. However, they are very small in number. They punch way above their weight in terms of intellectual and political influence, but they do not sway many votes.
In terms of votes, there are two groups that support Israel. First are Americans who want a strong America and who recognize that Israel is an important bulwark in the Middle East, providing America with intelligence and holding strong for American values. Many of these people have ties to the military, or have family or church relations to parts of the world that are oppressed by Muslims.
The second large group of voters who support Israel are the Christian Zionists, and the Christian sympathizers of Jews.
These groups are not really all that big in terms of American politics.
America just had a narrow escape. Here is a lesson for Israel. Iraq has had to learn this lesson the hard way.
No matter how close a Republican Administration is to an ally, and no matter how hard our military had to fight to keep our ally safe, every ally or friend of America is very vulnerable. American voters have a bad history of believing the lies of the Left. Assuredly a day will come when American voters return the White House to another Leftist. That will be a very dark day for all of America’s friends and allies.
Be prepared.
Achashverosh in the Purim story looks like a total jerk and he was dangerous. Jerks and wretched pipsqueaks in power can cause a lot of problems.
This might be true in the US, but I doubt it will hurt the UN in any way elsewhere in the world. In fact, I imagine it will be heralded for years to come.
Time will tell on this, of course, but I have my doubts that this will affect much here.
This makes him an enemy of America if he is engaged in deconstruction, does it not? America is the anchor of the West.
The failure of the United Kingdom and the French Republic to support America’s long-standing alliance with Israel has allowed Obama to do this by himself. Some things will need to change among our allies in Europe so that we can act against common enemies. And I’m not sure Russia is among these.
And we need to do everything we can to make it where this does not happen.
And this.
In Europe it is notable that the countries most hostile to Israel tend to be the furthest away- Norway, Sweden and- to my shame and distress- Ireland. So maybe it shouldn’t be a complete surprise to see New Zealand, from its remote location, joining the rogues’ gallery that proposed this resolution- giving it a veneer of respectability. But it makes it no less outrageous. And the stab in the back from Theresa May is every bit as bad. It’s only days since she was proclaiming Britain’s commitment to Israel.
The sad reality is that the Jewish People have no reliable friend- anywhere.
I think you may be underestimating Obama and the UN.
Retired Foreign Service Officer Lewis Amsalem writes:
The Clinton crew with their sabotaged keyboards were pikers in comparison with Obama who has smiling photo ops with Trump while leaving burning bags of policy excrement all over.
I think I’ve seen something like these news stories before. Wait a minute…
Right. Here it is:
And, in other news, from yesterday evening’s Jerusalem Post:
Anne Bayefski’s analysis is very good:
In other words, this is part and parcel of Obama’s assault on Trump’s election and his efforts to create facts on the ground that constrain Trump’s freedom to act.
RTWT.
I think the U.N. should move to Mogadishu.