Obama warns Israelis of settlement policy consequences
In an interview with Israeli journalist Ilana Dayan, President US Barack Obama warns that the international community has ceased believing in Israel's willingness to negotiate peace.
The importance of the interview that US President Barack Obama gave to Israeli journalist Ilana Dayan of Channel 2 lies not in the headlines it provided, but in the fact that it offered a clear view of the inevitable demise of what's left of the diplomatic process with the Palestinians.
Obama warned that in the future it will be harder for the United States to defend Israel in the United Nations. This was the first time that the Israeli public received a firsthand account of how deep the crisis between the two countries really runs, but even then, it remains doubtful whether the president’s frank and agonizing comments sent their intended shock waves through the Israeli public.
The interview aired June 2, the same day that the Home Command conducted a huge drill and exercise designed to simulate a missile attack on Israel. In the background that same week, there were harsh headlines about the spreading delegitimization campaign against Israel. It has affected everything from soccer's governing body FIFA (debating a Palestinian request to suspend Israel from the organization) to the British Students Union, which formally decided to adopt the principles of the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. Of course, none of that really helped Obama to get his message across.
It seems as if all the masks have been removed and all the cards are on the table. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was elected to a fourth term, not because he's a popular leader, but because he was able to make Israelis feel as if he is the right man to ensure their safety in a region so full of threats. Obama, who will finish his second term in a year and a half, never really managed to connect with the Israeli public and engage it in a direct relationship, like former President Bill Clinton. Israelis were wary of Obama from the moment he was elected, and their trepidation was only reinforced by Obama’s 2009 Cairo speech. After that, Obama was perceived as someone watching out for Muslim interests in the world.
