Only 4 percent of Israelis believe President Obama is pro-Israel according to a poll done last week by the Jerusalem Post. (The poll's margin of error was larger than that at 4.5 percent.) Part of the reason Obama might be having trouble convincing even a few Israelis that he is a true friend is reporting like this, from Haaretz, on the victory of opposition leader Yukio Hatoyama in Japan's elections this weekend:
Withdrawing from American guardianship could also change Japanese policy toward Israel. Until now, Japan limited its support for the Palestinians to aiding economic projects, in keeping with American requests. The Hatoyama government is likely to take a more pro-Arab stance, such as by recognizing Hamas and making tougher demands of Israel, such as calling for an end to construction in the settlements. Such a position would be similar to the line taken by some European governments, and will not necessarily lead to a confrontation with the United States. The Obama administration may actually be pleased.
I'd love to see the left argue against that conclusion, but they can't really -- they want to recognize Hamas and it would please them if Japan did. Obama has not recognized Hamas, but no one has ever offered a plausible explanation for his reluctance to do so other than political calculus. Obama espouses no principle that would prevent him from recognizing and negotiating with a terrorist group -- and Obama is already engaging and negotiating with terrorist groups in Iraq.
The Obama administration has also given the impression that Israel, and not Hamas or Iran or Israel's Arab neighbors, is the primary impediment to peace in the Middle East. By making very public demands of Israel while putting no public pressure on the other parties to the conflict, the administration sought and succeeded in creating the appearance of "daylight" between Washington and Jerusalem. The question is what did they hope to accomplish other than convincing Israelis that the Obama administration is not on their side?
