As Obama landed in Ramallah, the city's central Al-Manara square was filled with 200-300 angry protesters demonstrating against the US president's visit. Many are shouting slogans such as, "We don't want anything peaceful, only bullets and missiles," and, "Go home you devil, we don't want to see Americans here,"
Many protesters are holding up signs calling for Palestinian prisoners to be released, including Fathiya Ajaji, whose son Ahmed is in jail in the US for involvement in the first World Trade Center bombing in 1993.
Before Obama's trip to Israel, he met with two organizations that support Hamas. And one of those organizations provided him with pro-Hamas proposals. During his trip, his language suggested that his administration was softening its line on Hamas, calling on it not to engage in violence, rather than condemning it.
On the other hand when it came to Hezbollah, Obama offered a strong condemnation.
What's the difference? Focus on the last 10 words. "[Hezbollah] supports the massacre of men, women and children in Syria." Hamas is part of the Sunni coalition and linked to the Muslim Brotherhood. It's on the "right side" of the Syrian Civil War. Hezbollah is part of the Shiite coalition. It's on the "wrong side" of the Syrian Civil War.
Obama told Israelis, "Four years ago I stood in Cairo in front of an audience of young people. Politically, religiously, they must seem a world away. But the things they want — they're not so different from what the young people here want. They want the ability to make their own decisions and to get an education and to get a good job, to worship God in their own way, to get married, to raise a family. The same is true of those young Palestinians that I met with this morning. The same is true for young Palestinians who yearn for a better life in Gaza."
Again, this is from Obama's big Jerusalem speech and it proves that he either has no clue what happened in Egypt or is just determined to tell insane lies hoping that college students don't watch the news.The outcome of democratic elections in Egypt showed that what they wanted was theocracy, the repression of Christians and women, and a state of sectarian conflict.They didn't want to worship God in their own way. They wanted to compel everyone to worship Allah their way.They didn't want the ability to make their own decisions, they wanted a theocracy that would make those decisions for them.Obama's analogy is dangerously apt. Gaza is run by Hamas, which is the local arm of the Muslim Brotherhood. Hamas won the last elections in the Palestinian Authority. If actual elections were held now, Hamas would win them again.That is why Obama calls on Israelis to trust them, but doesn't call on his good buddy President Abbas to hold elections that would prove conclusively whether that trust is merited.
The used car that Obama wants to sell Israel is the beat-up 20-year-old "concessions to terrorists" coupe. It's got a new paint job, but it doesn't run because there's nothing under the hood except paper and empty promises. But every time you turn the key, it blows up and a lot of people die. So yes, Israel looks great behind the wheel of the peace process. It looks 20 years younger. And 20 years dumber. But strip away the empty compliments and it's the same dirty old clunker underneath.
Daniel Greenfield is a New York City writer and columnist. He is a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center and his articles appears at its Front Page Magazine site.
