Obama Walks Back Jerusalem Remarks

Democratic Presidential Nominee Barack Obama "quickly backtracked" from his remarks in a speech to AIPAC that Jerusalem "must remain undivided," a statement that had drawn widespread criticism from Palestinians, the Washington Post reports.

In a interview Thursday with CNN, Obama said:

"Well, obviously, it's going to be up to the parties to negotiate a range of these issues. And Jerusalem will be part of those negotiations," Obama said when asked whether Palestinians had no future claim to the city.

Jewish Voice for Peace welcomed Senator Obama's clarification, noting that his original statement "undermined the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations that Obama promises to promote," adding

"Indeed, declaring Jerusalem as Israeli-ruled-only violates U.S. policy and international standards. It ignores Palestinian claims to East Jerusalem and the more than 240,000 Palestinian residents there, while implicitly supporting Israel's continued land expropriation, demolition of Palestinian homes, and expansion of settlement building, such as the 900 tenders issued to new housing for Jewish Israelis in East Jerusalem this week."

While Obama's clarification certainly undoes some of the damage of his original statement, it's undoubtedly still the case that the net effect of Senator Obama and Senator McCain's appearances at AIPAC last week and their remarks there made the prospects of a constructive U.S. role in promoting Israeli-Palestinian peace more remote.

Indeed, the same day Obama spoke to AIPAC, Palestinian President Abbas called for a resumption of dialogue between his Fatah movement and Hamas. While in terms of Palestinian interests, this is a very sensible policy, it's also a symptom of the breakdown of the current diplomatic process. President Abbas' statement has been interpreted among Palestinians as an admission that he's not getting anything out of diplomacy with the U.S. and Israel. Senator Obama's and Senator McCain's remarks at AIPAC have added weight to the widespread belief in the region that U.S. policy is beholden to the right-wing in Israel, there is no prospect of change on the horizon, and those who wish to secure Palestinian rights will have to look for friends elsewhere.

Senators Obama and McCain could easily do something about this. They could take this opportunity to affirm their support for Palestinian rights, as they have both done in the past -- McCain, most famously, when in an apparently unscripted burst of empathy he explained to an interviewer his understanding of why Palestinians voted for Hamas in the 2006 Palestinian legislative elections.

If you agree that Senators Obama and McCain should affirm their support for Palestinian rights, Jewish Voice for Peace and Just Foreign Policy encourage you to ask them to do so.

Comments

[batguano]

..............The Israeli illegal colonization of land under occupation, expressly forbidden under International Law has been done intentionally. The Israeli plan was/is using their own words "to put facts on the groung that will be hard to change".....this was official Israeli policy and should be recognised as such. We always hear from Washington and Tel Aviv that "we cannot reward terrorism"....by the same token, we "cannot reward" the intentional illegal colonization of occupied land designed to stymie peace negotiations and make a viable Palestinian State impossible­.......oth­er pre-meditated Israeli goals that is leading America...and Israel....to continued confrontation that the world cannot stand.....or tolerate.

Your comment that "President Abbas" statement has been interpreted among Palestinians as an admission that he's not getting anything out of diplomacy with the U.S. and Israel"....isn't that obvious? The Bush/Neocon Regime have done NOTHING but expand the power of the Israeli right-wing, as we;ll as that of AIPAC, et al. He and the Palestinians have gotten nothing but more killing, oppression, Gaza Warsaw Ghetto like imprisonment and more Israeli expansionism. I urge all to read the report on the Influence of the Israeli Lobby by Professors Walt and Mearsheimer. http://ksgnotes1.harvard.edu/Research/wpaper.nsf/rwp/RWP06-011

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/JF03Ak01.html

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/JA26Ak01.html

[batguano]

You write that Obama's comment before AIPAC that "Jerusalem must remain undivided", "drew widespread criticism from Palestinians" is only partially accurate..­........it drew MASSIVE criticism from people all over the world, especially Americans and Democrats.....not only Palestinians. The comment was unfortunate and astonishing. It showed us a measure of the power of AIPAC and the other pro-Israel lobbies in WA (AEI,JINSA,PNAC, et al)to subvert our domestic politics and foreign policy; that our candidates felt compelled to appear and abase themselves, genuflecting before these extremists must be ended. No other nation on earth would tloerate this type of subversion and fifth-columnist activity, and neither should we. The Internationally recognised capital of Israel is Tel Aviv, not Jerusalem, regardless of what Obama said. The status of "World Heritage City" or some such appellation and protected status should certainly be given to Jerusalem.

[rasthedestroyer]

Jerusalem/Palestine was taken by David, it did'nt belong to the Israelites. The first settlers were Semitc (those of a Negroid ancestry) and Jesus was born in Palestine so i guess that would make him a Palestinian. [Speak truth to power]

[thebeerdoctor]

The Obama AIPAC debacle, as it is coming to be seen, may have done serious damage to his presidential aspirations. It was not only the 'undivided Jerusalem' remark, but also his pledge of $30 billion in military aide to Israel over the next decade, which signaled a business as usual ambiance. Television, which is basically in lock step with these right wing policies, has chosen to ignore the entire issue. This is an internet phenomenon. His data base for funds is also a data base for severe criticism. Unlike reactions based upon unfounded rumors, this is a reaction to what the Senator actually said.

[nicksboys]

After reading that we should tell Isreal that we here in the United States suggest that they give us their right of self determination and become an international city of peace and to show them our good faith --- since New York City is the home of the UN, the financial capital of the world--we in turn would give up and surrender New YOrk to the international commuity and become the "internatioanl city of money". How's that about giving away other peoples' rights?

[prithimp]

..er.. that's not hat i really meant..er.­.um..uh..u­h ..uh..um.er..

[arvay]

Sad that Obama did this. He did it for nothing.

He's going to learn the hard way that for the Israel-firsters, he will NEVER be acceptable. He knows too much about the world, and they can't trust that.

They prefer ignorant rubes like Bush and total sellouts like McCain, who can be easily manipulated. He needs to watch his back and get ready for the AIPAC smear-a-thon. They'll find surrogates -- despicable turncoats like James Woolsey, who's pushing to release the traitor Pollard -- but their hand in the process will be obvious.

[larazon]

I think Jerusalem should be declared "A City of Peace" and the United Nations should offer up a Resolution in which this city becomes a neutral territory free from boundaries and claims by any nation. As far as governance is concerned, it can be split EVENLY between the Israelis and the Palestinians who would make decisions on infrastructure, transport and other necessary institutions required to run the city. The should have a governing city council. However, there should be no boundaries limiting access within the city, but there should be strict regulations which govern conduct within the limits and surroundings of holy shrines and religious historial sites.

In order to keep the peace, no country should claim ownership of this city and its territory, and anyone having land or a home there would answer as far as taxes etc. to the joint city council, but the land itself should not be considered as part of Israel or Palestine but Jerusalem, a neutral city and historical patrimony of the world.

[tipiglen6]

I think Jerusalem should be declared "A City of Peace" and the United Nations should offer up a Resolution in which this city becomes a neutral territory free from boundaries and claims by any nation.

UN resolution 181, rendered void by proto-israeli aggression before it could be implemented proposed just that!
"The City of Jerusalem shall be established as a corpus separatum under a special international regime and shall be administered by the United Nations. The Trusteeship Council shall be designated to discharge the responsibilities of the Administering Authority on behalf of the United Nations. "
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/un/res181.htm
It is widely believed that the partition proposals failed because the Arabs rejected them (they did), but it was Israeli aggression which prevented its implementation:

""Before the end of the mandate and, therefore before any possible intervention by Arab states, the Jews, taking advantage of their superior military preparation and organization, had occupied...most of the Arab cities in Palestine before May 15, 1948. Tiberias was occupied on April 19, 1948, Haifa on April 22, Jaffa on April 28, the Arab quarters in the New City of Jerusalem on April 30, Beisan on May 8, Safad on May 10 and Acre on May 14, 1948...In contrast, the Palestine Arabs did not seize any of the territories reserved for the Jewish state under the partition resolution." British author, Henry Cattan, "Palestine, The Arabs and Israel.""
http://www.cactus48.com/partition.html

[gadfly55]

Obama has previously said that pro-Israel is not necessarily pro-Likud, but of course before AIPAC he doesn't nuance his position, as perhaps with NAFTA and Goosbe. Jerusalem should be under International supervision as a world heritage city without any political administration of sovereign nations, it should be removed from the table.

[Kirby]

This is worth pursuing. International City status could be given to a divided city, each a capital of the respective countries. Obama's remark surely defused the antipathy and distrust that most American Jews have had for him, but how unfortunate it is that they were made in the first place. Also, Obama made a statement to the effect that the Israeli/Palestinian problem is not the root cause of our other mid-east problems. Au contraire!

[xxnounxx]

Amweica will never be a peace broker between palestinians and isrealis,,its a lost case..i beleive russia should make a move seen its more nuetral,and not one-sided as washington,and i beleive right now russia has started moving in the peace talks,and i sincerly hope america dissapears from all middle-eastern problems and leave it to russia,
as for obama,im really confused now,is he talking like that to gain extremist jewish votes?? he seems to b overdoing it ,which has made people very suspecious,some jewish friends of mine said,once he sevures his te white house,he will change his mind.

but for now,all my friends who voted for him,have withdrawn,some happen to be moderate jews and some muslim and christian arab-americans.
Why is america so afraid of aunty isreal??????

[Justtellthetruth]

I suppose on one hand, one could write off Obamas statements as necessary pandering to a group that would actively try to do him grievous political harm if he did not say all the right things.

On the other hand, it is sad to see him have to kowtow to this ultra right wing, war mongering organization.

Two of its top officials stand charged with espionage against the US for illegally receiving classified Intel on Iran with the intent of using it to foment war between Iran and the US.

If he were brave, He should be repudiating the entire organization, and reaching out instead to other more moderate pro Israel groups. I suppose it is the case the bravery does not get one elected. My true hope is that he keeps his promise to deal with the Israeli Palestinian conflict right from the start of his presidency, and that the supposed intent of the Jerusalem statement will fall by the wayside. I hope he is vocal and forceful in getting Israel to remove all settlers, settlements and the IDF ASAP.

[StudentThinker]

Thank you for posting something that avoids the usual rhetoric and blame many articles on this subject brings up, and for pointing out Senator Obama's backtracking on the issue.

I would add something in regard to this:

"... their remarks there made the prospects of a constructive U.S. role in promoting Israeli-Palestinian peace more remote."

This is too true. However, the "prospects of a constructive U.S. role" in this process will remain remote - or more properly non-existent - until the U.S. ceases to uncritically back one and only one of the two main parties involved as it has done for the last 60 years. We cannot take a constructive role as long as we hold Israel's interests as being ultimately more important than the Palestinians' interests rather than equal with them - that is, as long as we cannot view the situation impartially and act as an impartial third party. As long as we as voters continue to delegate to AIPAC and other organizations tied to Israel the political clout that they currently enjoy, while allowing the Palestinian viewpoint to be shut out of the mainstream, we will not be able to play that role.

We should help the Israelis and Palestinians find a truly neutral third party to host their talks. Better yet we should take it upon ourselves to become that impartial third party. Unfortunately the prospects of that seem remote. I hope I'm wrong.

[Kirby]

More to the point at the bottom of this Israeli mess for us is the position that this administration and that of others have taken in regards to a final settlement: the final settlement shall be negotiated between the two parties involved. Israel cannot have the final terms dictated by an outside party, even though its founding was delivered thus. With this as the bottom line, there can never be a really substantantive, comprehensive permanent peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Because Israel will never give one inch of anything unless it is done begrudgingly, and that only for PR purposes. The settlements, the wall, the iron fist policies of Palestinian bashing and decimation have only exascerbated the growth in numbers of Palestinian freedom fighters, now called terrorists, a term which has become acceptable by force of Israeli propaganda, and by that fact, renders us incapable of being an honest broker. All this we have come to accept as okay only because of the shoving and pushing, cajoling and poling of our Hill politicians who are actually afraid of AIPAC. And with Mossad operating on the Hill and everywhere to get juicy dossiers on them, they'd better not pout.
Wake up, America!