Obama Hope

American President George Bush has not given Arabs reason to hope for any positive results from his policies and initiatives as they are seen by many to be only smoke and mirrors. That the many promises made by the Bush administration have not been kept is due to its inability to enforce its policies. Instead, it expects the Arab community to help, the same Arabs who have supported them with the expectation of restoring the rights of the Palestinian people. However, the willingness to support Palestinians was denied through deception and fraud.

The current administration promises to establish a Palestinian state has not been kept. It has only been talk of a misguided solution. There was some Arab optimism following a U.S. conference in Annapolis, but there was not a single step towards halting Israeli aggression against Palestinian people residing in an independent and sovereign state.

Now the Bush administration has become old news. No one is listening to Bush’s statement or seeing his image in the media these days. This is attributed not to his having made any statements or decisions worthy of a true leader.

Now we look to his successor, Barack Obama, who has not left any room for optimism among Palestinians, either.

The hasty appointment of an Israeli to an important post in the White House was the initial step in his policy. The appointment was a slap in the face to the Palestinian people who, in an opinion poll conducted by the Jewish Foundation, demonstrated their lack of optimism for Obama from the start.

Over 58% of Palestinians believe that the election of Obama will not change anything for them compared to the current administration which ends next January 20th. Where does this pessimism come from…..? Of course it comes from experiences with American politicians who have not treated the Palestinians or the Arabs with any fairness. Almost all American politicians serve Israel. They know that Arabs have given and continue to give the United States support from the start against their (U.S) enemies which, most of the time, were NOT enemies of Palestine.

But even so, America has not been fair to the Arab world in comparison to their treatment of the enemy who grabs their land and is presently trying to decimate hopes for the future. It is not the intent of Washington to halt the injustices to the Arabs. On the contrary, their intent is to side with the oppressors, especially as they take a strong stance on issues less important than the Palestinian question.

In spite of these policies, which do not cultivate an atmosphere of optimism or hope, the changing slogan put forward by President-Elect Obama. It is likely comprised of modifications already in place in American policy towards the Middle East. Truly we should remain optimistic that the opposite will happen, because our growing pessimism may not help Obama take the bold steps necessary to insure just treatment for the Palestinians.

Allow him a little time to make some corrections, but more than that, it is up to us to rectify our divisions and unite our ranks in agreement. We must address the emancipation of the Palestinians from the clutches of the rapists and restore the rights of the Palestinians.

So, if Obama and his crew and others answerable will respect our words and consider our stance, we will give him every consideration.