In July 2004, the convention of the Democratic Party was about to nominate John Kerry as its candidate for president. It was Barack Obama whom the organizing committee chose to deliver the keynote speech that sets the tone for the whole convention.His speech was a sensation. It inspired his afflicted party and all of America. He brought an uplifting message, a message of hope, and, most of all, a unifying message. His main motif was: Let�s unify America again!
It appeared that from the hundreds of possible messages, this was the one that touched the heart of the torn American nation. Between speaker and audience a contact was established � the mystic contact that every orator strives for, and only a few achieve. It is the connection with the mysterious thing that the German philosopher called the Zeitgeist, the spirit of the age.
Obama sensed that he had connected with the American psyche. From that moment on, he did not let go of that message. He stuck to it throughout the long election campaign. It brought him victory.
That was not easy.
This week, many people extolled Obama�s campaign. I am not sure that all of them quite understood how right they are. He remained cool when he could have got angry, could have responded sharply to defamation and insults and paid back in the same coin. He didn�t. He remained solid as a rock to the end. John McCain, on the other hand, did not stick to his chosen persona � that of war hero, nice guy, symbol of decency. Several times he stooped to defamation. He brought with him that vulgar purveyor of invective, Sarah Palin. At the very last moment he allowed his followers in Florida to publish a preposterous ad that accused Obama of being a friend of Fidel Castro and of conspiring to turn the US into a second Cuba. For that alone he deserved to lose, and lose he did.
Obama did not pursue luck. Luck pursued him. The Palin phenomenon, a quite extraordinary act of folly by his opponent, brought him the votes of women. The economic collapse that occurred at the height of the campaign assured him of victory. All components of American society were crying out for an uplifting message, a message of salvation.
In hundreds of places around the world, rejoicing crowds poured into the streets to express their delight at the election results. In those moments, the contact of the US with the world, which had been cut by the clumsy hand of Bush, was renewed.
In Tel-Aviv, no such celebration took place.
The question is: What policy will Obama adopt vis-�-vis Israel?
Whoever will be the new secretary of state and the other ministers, the Israeli prime minister will have direct access to the Oval Room. The new doorkeeper, who bears the ringing Israeli name Rahm Emanuel (Rahm means high, Emanuel means God with Us), is the son of an Irgun underground veteran. He certainly will not block the path of the Israeli prime minister to the president.
If there is a change, it will probably be slow and gradual. But that doesn�t mean it won�t be significant.
There is no chance for progress toward Israeli-Palestinian peace without American pressure on the Israeli government. But all the American presidents after Dwight Eisenhower have been afraid of exerting such pressure. Those who tried, like Richard Nixon at the beginning of his term, quickly drew back. The only exception was Bush the Father, or rather his Secretary of State James Baker, but that pressure (on the pocket) did not last long.
To be effective, American pressure does not need to be brutal. It should be gentle, but firm and consistent. This may suit Obama�s temperament.
If the new American administration decides to reassess the American national interest in the Middle East and comes to the conclusion that Israeli-Arab peace is an essential requirement of the American post-Bush policy, then the new president must inform our new prime minister of this fact and ask politely but unequivocally for a freeze on the settlements and a start of new negotiations � this time not just to fill time, but to attain final agreement in 2009.
Many Israelis would thank him for that. Quite possibly, our next prime minister would also thank him in the hidden recesses of his (or her) heart.
Will the new American president do so? Is Barack Obama able to do so?
There is only one possible answer: Yes, you can!
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