A New False Dawn

Obama Won Four In Every Five Jewish Votes As Israel's Invasion Of Gaza Continued Overnight.

Does His Victory Change Anything?

By Seth Freedman
Wednesday November 5 2008 12.30 GMT
Courtesy Of The Guardian

Will he be good for the Jews? While the question is clearly loaded and distorted to the point of being rendered almost inadmissible, vast swathes of world Jewry are still set on viewing Obama's victory through Star of David-tinted glasses. Despite his garnering almost 80% of the Jewish vote in the US, indicating an overwhelming comfort with Obama and his policies, the naysayers are out in force, desperate to "prove" the president-elect's antisemitic credentials.

In the simplistic, not to mention sophistic, algorithms of the Israel right-or-wrong brigade, the more hawkish the incumbent US president, the better the outcome for Israel and its relentless pursuit of self-centred goals. With America as Israel's de facto foster parent, yesterday's election was of critical importance to Israelis; akin to a child discovering who his father or mother has chosen as their future life partner.

Ideally, those on the Israeli right say, the new arrival would leave the child to its own devices, giving them free rein to deal with their Palestinian peers as they see fit, without imposing any kind of constraints or corrective policy from on high. This, they maintain, is what is good for Israel and, by extension, good for the Jews around the world.

Despite clear evidence to the contrary – that decades of allowing Israel to run roughshod over justice has only engendered more hate and enmity towards the Jewish state, and endangered countless Jewish lives around the globe – they still preach this fallacious message today.

At the other end of the Israeli spectrum, there is a far more upbeat response to Obama's victory.

"His [win] is not bad for Israel; we only have our fear to fear," said Angela Godfrey-Goldstein, a veteran NGO worker who has tirelessly campaigned for civil rights in the occupied territories for years. "Obama is someone who listens to all sides, and who has the potential to bridge divides," she said, suggesting that only one as open-minded as him could bring dreams of a two-state solution to fruition.

Another Israeli gave me a somewhat more cautious, yet still tolerant, reaction to the election results. "I don't see any difference in relation to the situation [in Israel/Palestine]," he told me.

"Ultimately, I think American presidents always lean towards being pro-Israel." He noted that any serious policy shifts in Israel, such as the issue of dividing Jerusalem, would have to come from Israelis themselves rather than from their American paymasters.

"I think Obama has an opportunity to weaken anti-US sentiment, and by extension anti-Israel sentiment too", he said. "He seems more willing to come to the table than the likes of Bush or McCain, so there is more of an opportunity to [effect] change."

On the other side of the Green Line, many in the Palestinian camp are indifferent to last night's landslide, believing that whoever is nominally in charge of the US, the real power is still wielded by the so-called Jewish lobby. After years of shattered dreams and broken promises, it is little wonder that there is a reluctance to believe that any real change will come about as a result of Obama's accession to the throne, despite Jesse Jackson's assertion to the contrary.

What is clear is that the aftermath of the election, during which time all eyes will be firmly on the US as the dust settles, provides Israel with another opportunity to drag its heels even further in terms of the peace process.

Last night's invasion of Gaza was carried out at a perfect time to bury bad news; further delays and distractions from the Road Map can be put down to a lack of global political stability during the transition from Bush's outgoing administration to Obama's incumbent government.

"The new president will take some time to get ready," an Israeli diplomatic official told the Jerusalem Post. "And it is unlikely he will do anything here until we are ready, which probably won't be until after Pesach [next April, once Israel's own elections have occurred]."

With that in mind, anyone under the illusion that the new dawn in America would bring an immediate ray of light shining down upon the Middle East would do well to sit back and play the waiting game. Because, despite all of the positive signs now that Obama's been installed in the White House, the knock-on effect of his election could take a long time to filter halfway round the world to the eternally-troubled Holy Land.