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January 28, 2010
Obama slights Israeli efforts in Haiti
New Republic's Marty Peretz wonders about President Obama's leaving Israel off a list of countries contributing to the relief effort in Haiti.
Jen Rubin at Commentary:
Marty Peretz catches Obama editing Israel out of the list of countries assisting in Haiti. "The fact is that, next to our country, Israel sent the largest contingent of trained rescue workers, doctors, and other medical personnel. ... So didn't Obama notice? For God's sake, everybody noticed the deep Israeli involvement. I understand that Obama doesn't like Middle East narratives that do not contain ‘one side and the other side' equal valence. But he couldn't have that here. The Arabs don't care a fig, not for their impoverished and backward own, and certainly not for strangers. That's why their presence in Haiti amounted to a couple of bucks from Saudi Arabia and maybe from some other sheikhs. ... Yes, I think that the labors of the Israelis were edited out of Obama's speech, either by his speechwriters (who have made dissing Israel their forté) or by his own oh-so-delicate but dishonest censoring mechanism."
As Rubin points out, even the cable nets noticed Israel's stellar response to the disaster. One has to think that Obama's leaving Israel off the list was deliberate and probably motivated by his overweaning desire to be "even handed" in his dealings with nations in the Middle East.
It shows that even when it comes to disaster relief, the president will bend over backward to appease Israel's enemies.
Hat Tip: Ed Lasky