World

Israel’s Isolation

by YankeeJim | May 23, 2011 at 05:41 am

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Israel is a Jewish enclave, a tribe in close proximity with hostile neighbors. Places like Israel are resource constrained, making self-sustainment difficult without trade and commerce with other nations.

Compared with neighboring states that are not oil-rich economies, Israel is amazingly productive. Why? Israel has a global support community.

So, when President Obama speaks about Israel becoming isolated, I think he is saying that Israel stands to lose global support if the nation is not a good-faith partner in producing a peaceful solution to the Palestinian problem.

Doing that will require positive support from the larger Arab world; the larger Arab world is undergoing a sea change now. Instability among the Arab world should be the focus of American attention. Poking a stick in the Israel-Palestinian hornet’s nest seems untimely to me.

“Obama to pro-Israel lobby: credible peace process needed to ward off isolation of Israel

By Associated Press, Published: May 22

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama says Israel will face growing isolation without a credible Middle East peace process.

The president told America’s pro-Israel lobby that “we cannot afford to wait another decade, or another two decades, or another three decades, to achieve peace.”

After a contentious couple of days, Obama said Sunday his endorsement of the Jewish state’s 1967 boundaries as the basis for a Palestinian state reflected the urgent need for a two-state solution between Israelis and Palestinians.

He says his call for a future Palestine based on the 1967 borders with agreed land swaps was a public expression of what has long been acknowledged privately.

Obama said he brought the terms out in the open because delay will undermine Israel’s security and peace prospects. He repeated his remarks from Thursday on Israeli-Palestinian borders and security verbatim.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.”