Obama: Jerusalem will not be capital of Palestinian state

[notfullofit]

Bethlehem – Ma'an - US democratic candidate Barak Obama said during a press conference on Wednesday in Sderot, a city in the south of Israel, that he does not support the idea of East Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state.

Obama made it clear that Jerusalem would remain the capital of Israel and that he would not see the city divided. He added that this position needed to be fixed through negotiations with the Palestinians.

Recent years have seen Obama's position on Israel/Palestine shift dramatically towards the Israeli side. He previously stated that the issue of Jerusalem should be on the table of any peace negotiation, but after criticism of his 'naïve' stance, Obama dropped this position.

The press conference was held with Israeli foreign minister, Tzipi Livni, who said, "Israel and the USA have a common understanding of what must happen in the region."


more
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=30771

[anonymous171]

1. I have the best solution: Give it back to Rome (Italy.)

That way, no one is happy!

[vadger1]

2. This is dissapointing.

Reminder that Obama used to meet with Edward Said and was a prominent member in the Palestinian activist scene in Chicago.

Now he's completely ignoring the international consensus for a Palestinian state. Wonderful.

[stray cat]

3. No - he is just saying Jerusalem won't be the capital

Jerusalem was never going to be totally given away....

[vadger1]

4. He's saying more that that.

No but East Jerusalem has always been considered as the capital for Palestinian cultural, economic, and political life. It was on the board for any sensible solution where the Palestinians would be given their state, and the whole of Jerusalem was supposed to be an international zone -- not Israel controlled.

Anyways I feel like his whole visit to Israel reeks of serious compromise on the part of his previous beliefs, which I wholly supported. I'm really sad that he's reverting to this sort of non-confrontational centrism when I think in his heart he knows what has to be done.

[sabbat hunter]

5. They tried the "international city"

back in 1947/48 and what happened? Jordan took it over in Israels war of independence and the UN abrogatted their duty to free the city and make it open to all.

I would not mind certain parts of east Jerusalem going to a future Palestine state, but not the old city.

[azurnoir]

6. Is it possible that Maan

is "wagging the dog" here? Only MHO but the most accurate description of Obama's visit came from NPR

"He is here in order to impress the voters back home," said Israeli political analyst Yossi Alpher. "Israelis find him interesting, he says the right things carefully, but it's not the kind of visit that one can assess in any substantive or qualitative way."

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92873343

[Scurrilous]

7. Can you provide a link to Obama's remarks in Sderot...

...where I can see this comment for myself.

So far none of the dozens of articles I've read about Obama's statements on the status of Jerusalem have mentioned him saying that 'Jerusalem will not be capital of Palestinian state.'

[bemildred]

8. Surely you are not suggesting that someone might want to put words into his mouth?

That would be completely crazy.
:sarcasm:

[notfullofit]

12. Obama: Jerusalem Must Not be 'Sliced Up'

snip..

Throughout the day, he highlighted his "deep" and "abiding commitment" to Israel's security, a message aimed s much at Jewish voters at home as at his Israeli hosts.

"We stand with he people of Sderot and of Israel," Obama told a joint news conference with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni in the rocket-stricken town just miles from the Gaza Strip.

"America must always stand up for Israel's rights to defend itself," he said.

"In terms of knowing my commitments, you don't just have to look at my words, look at my deeds," he said. In the U.S. Senate, "vote after vote I've demonstrated my support for Israel."

Asked about his remark of last month, in which he said Jerusalem should remain the undivided capital of Israel, from which he later backtracked, Obama said:

"I didn't change my statement. I continue to say that Jerusalem will continue to be the capital of Israel. It's important that we don't slice it in half."

more
http://hispanicbusiness.com/news/2008/7/23/obama_jerusalem_must_not_be_sliced.htm

[bemildred]

13. Yeah, nobody could want that. nt

[notfullofit]

9. Obama repeats belief that Jerusalem will be capital of Israel

snip

Obama repeated his belief that Jerusalem will be the capital of Israel, remarks that have caused concern among some Palestinian leaders.

"I have said that before, and I will say it again," Obama said, but without repeating his June comment that the city should remain undivided.

"I also have said that it is important that we don't simply slice the city in half, but I've also said that that's a final status issue. That's an issue that has to be dealt with by the parties involved: the Palestinians and the Israelis. It's not the United States' job to dictate the form in which that will take, but rather to support the efforts that are being made right now to resolve these very difficult issues."

Obama's campaign last month spent several days clarifying his position after he said in a speech that Jerusalem should not be divided.

Earlier this month, Obama told CNN's Fareed Zakaria that he had used "poor phrasing."

"The point we were simply making was, is that we don't want barbed wire running through Jerusalem ... that it is possible for us to create a Jerusalem that is cohesive and coherent," he said.

more
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/07/23/obama.israel/index.html?eref=edition_world

[bemildred]

10. "It's not the United States' job to dictate the form in which that will take"

That seems clear enough, he isn't making any comment on what the solution ought to be.

[notfullofit]

24. On a related note

snip...


The hope is that Obama left Jerusalem and Ramallah with a deeper understanding of the need to shelve the flowery statements that his Jewish affairs advisors had devised for him, if he is to truly be "a friend of Israel."

One should keep in mind that the interests of the Israel lobby in America do not always jibe with the interests of the State of Israel. Instead of talking about a "united Jerusalem," he needs to become involved in finding a realistic solution for Israel's torn and bleeding capital.

To survive as a Jewish and democratic state, Israel needs an American leader who does not fear the reaction of American Jews and non-Jews who do not believe in dividing the land to reconcile its two peoples.

A friend of Israel, for example, would be a president who brings Syria and Israel to the negotiating room, and pours some real substance into Bush's statement about wanting to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

more
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1005029.html

[LeftishBrit]

29. Interesting article; thanks for posting!

[notfullofit]

31. 'shelve the flowery statements'

good advice.

I thought it was a great article.

[Scurrilous]

11. We're looking for the 'Jerusalem will not be capital of Palestinian state' quote.

Good luck finding it. :thumbsup:

[notfullofit]

14. You write what you want

Perfect example

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=124x218941

Contradictory reports in the Israeli and Palestinian media are placing question marks over the reliability of the Middle Eastern media.

also from the same article...

'“There are a lot of media spins all the time. When you don’t really know the facts you write what you want.”

[Phx_Dem]

16. sounds like Maannews problem. nt

[Scurrilous]

26. Yep..

...they got it wrong.

[notfullofit]

27. Nope, they did not get it wrong,

it's called shit stirring.

[azurnoir]

15. I looked could not find it

but I did find this "gem"

Obama, newly secure as the Democratic nominee for president, said in a speech in Washington: "Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel, and it must remain undivided."

http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSL06391559

now correct me if I am wrong here but the American embassy is in Tel Aviv because......

[bemildred]

18. That's two wrong out of two, isn't it? nt

[azurnoir]

21. Kind of hoping for 3 out of 3

Israel should not negotiate with Hamas so long as the Islamist group poses a threat to Israeli citizens, US Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said on Wednesday during his visit to the town of Sderot.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3572036,00.html

There is video with this that despite having all appropriate plug-ins ect I can not get to load or play

[notfullofit]

17. Once again Maan reports it's own interpretation (spin?) nt

[bemildred]

19. At a minimum, based on the quotes provided, they have mis-characterized what he said.

I have no idea what their motives might be, but I expect quotes to back up inflammatory claims, and this certainly falls in the category of inflammatory claims.

[notfullofit]

20. How about....Islamic Jihad expresses mistrust around Obama

'Islamic Jihad expresses mistrust around Obama visit'

Gaza – Ma'an – Islamic Jihad expressed its mistrust in the Obama visit to the Palestinian territories and Israel on Thursday.

Islamic Jihad told Ma'an that Palestinians will not wait for America to provide them with support. All past American aid, said the spokesman, has gone to encourage Israel. "All of the foreign officials who came to Palestine," he said, "came to please the Israelis and no more."

"Obama came to the region to repeat what previous US presidents have said about Jerusalem," the spokesman added.

He concluded by asking "what will the Arab and Islamic leaders think about the visit?"

http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=30786

[azurnoir]

25. It could be more than just Islamic Jihad

Sounds like possibly the Palestinians in general are kind of "underwhelmed"

"They are all the same," said Amjad Badran, a shop owner on Manara Square. "The American policy hasn't changed in the last 50 years. All the American presidents have supported Israel. Besides, he won't be elected because he's black. At the end of the day, it's the Senate and the Congress who determine U.S. policy, and they are affected by the Zionist lobby."

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1004880.html

[bemildred]

30. No offense, I don't give a crap if IJ "trusts" Obama.

Or for that matter whether "Israel trusts Obama", he's not supposed to be the good fairy to either one of them.

[Behind the Aegis]

22. ....

The subject heading for threads must contain the title of the source article. The only exception is when you must shorten long titles or to make the subject of the article more clear.

Guidelines for discussion of Israeli/Palestinian affairs

[notfullofit]

23. Thank you. nt

[LeftishBrit]

28. My view is that America should play a supportive role in peace negotiations...

and indeed exert some pressure for such negotiations and for the opposing parties to come to an agreement.

However it would be a step too far for an American president to try to dictate exactly *what* the solution should be, and especially to pre-judge the results of negotiations in advance. Thus, it isn't really up to anyone but the Israelis or Palestinians to say that Jerusalem either should or shouldn't be divided. (Well, ultimately perhaps; as there may need to be some international policing of whatever borders are agreed. But mainly it's a decision for the negotiating parties.)

I liked the Ha'aretz editorial quoted in post 24.