Obama Isn't Expecting Anything

Barack Obama’s decision to hurry up and visit Israel is reminiscent of the premature decision to award him the Nobel Peace Prize; the expectations are the most important thing. The White House, as it is wont to do, is lowering expectations, because expectations necessitate action. Obama isn’t bringing any new political plan. It’s still too early to talk about mediation between Israel and the Palestinians, and the visit isn’t necessary for exchanging ideas about Iran. A speech to the nation such as the one Obama intends to deliver is certainly an event that demands a live performance, not just a posting on YouTube. But even Washington knows that the elections in Israel are over — why does he expect that the people will come out to listen in the squares?

Indeed, Obama has nothing to expect from the Israeli government, but the part of the population seeking peace has something to expect from him. Why, for example, doesn’t he surprise us and present a practical vision that isn’t simply satisfied by the slogan “two lands for two peoples”? Why doesn’t he explicitly state that the United States is willing even now to recognize an independent Palestinian state and will begin using a map with borders for both Israel and Palestine? Why doesn’t he clarify what American policy will be if Israel continues to build in the Palestinian territories? Why not offer direct aid to the Palestinian government, which will remove the Israeli threat that is based on money from taxes on the Palestinian Authority?

This is what is being demanded from a president who sees in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict a threat to the United States’ eroding position in the Middle East. He is not willing to be satisfied with standing hunched over like a beggar at the gate, asking Israel to make gestures toward the Palestinians.

The release of prisoners or the transfer of authority over additional territories to the Palestinians, as important as these actions may be, are an insult to the concept of a political solution. One can already imagine the argument that would rage in the Knesset over the question of whether to release prisoners, how many and whom. The transfer of territories to the Palestinians is liable to tear apart the coalition that is only now being sewn together with fragile stitches, and of course, it’s only on the condition that Netanyahu acquiesce to Obama’s pleas. Gestures will become the focal point of public discourse — not the real price that Israel is being asked to pay. This is apparently the maximum that Obama can expect, and if this is his definition of lowering expectations, it would be better for him to cancel the visit. Coming without a political plan is one thing, but offending the supporters of peace in Israel and Palestine is a direct, strategic blow to a community of people who will one day need to convince themselves and others of the seriousness of America’s intentions.

This is, in fact, the same community that Obama is now asking for faith and support. Support of what, exactly? Faith in whom? Does the United States’ historical commitment to guarantee Israel’s security refer only to airlifts laden with munitions? To the wonder of the Iron Dome? To selling planes and bombs? Such a perspective, which excludes peace from the security equation, places the peace process in the position of judge over a political line intended to distinguish between the left and the right in Israel. It is, overall, an internal Israeli issue in which the United States is not hurrying to involve itself, let alone risk its neck in active mediation. When this is the American definition of the peace process, there really isn’t anything to be looking forward to.

Israeli citizens don’t need an Obama who will lower their expectations. The election results and the make-up of the new government already did that. Of course, this isn’t Obama’s fault or responsibility, and the damages of the elections couldn’t be fixed by America. The truth is that Israeli citizens, like Americans, are no longer waiting with bated breath for Obama to raise their expectations. The experience of waiting and the subsequent experience of being knocked down to the ground have already left bruises. Instead of dealing with vision and imagination, the time has come for Obama to explain, in specifics, exactly where he’s heading. We can understand on our own the gap between his stances and those of the Israeli government. At least this way we can better prepare ourselves for crisis and for the fire that will break out on the other side of the Green Line.