It wasn't just the Labor party that held primaries on Wednesday. Primary elections also took place at U.N. headquarters in New York. A pre-election atmosphere enveloped President Barack Obama's speech as he envisioned billions of people watching him worldwide, not to mention voters in Kansas, Utah, Ohio and, of course, California and Florida. A year remains until the next U.S. presidential election, so it was crucial for Obama to remind listeners that he found his country embroiled in two wars that he did not start, and that nevertheless he was responsible for the killing of Al Qaida leader Osama Bin Laden. There was no regret in his words, not even for the fall of his ally, Egypts Hosni Mubarak. His endorsement of the Arab Spring allowed him to employ lofty rhetoric in the spirit of America's founding fathers. But Obama's most eloquent phrases were reserved for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Whether out of rage toward Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, whose U.N. bid embarrassed Obama, or whether for the sake of New York Jewish voters, Obama chose words that could have been written by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu himself. Get the Israel Hayom newsletter sent to your mailbox! Obama's rapprochement with Israel involved two steps. First, there was the usual mention of American commitment to Israel's security and the enduring friendship based on shared values. Second, he explained that what he views as the Palestinian people's legitimate claims don't square with the firing of rockets at children in Sderot, the dispatch of suicide bombers or even the education for hatred which is a staple diet for Palestinian toddlers. Obama stood by the children of Sderot on Wednesday as he has never done before. This does not necessarily hold any promise for the long term. It's questionable whether such pronouncements will deter Abbas from his stillborn initiative to obtain a one-sided resolution for the right to establish a Palestinian state at the U.N. Obama almost spoke in Hebrew when he said that there was no alternative to negotiations. This slap in the face to Abbas could perhaps lead him to grow more extreme in his views, or to fall, in the face of Hamas' mockery at his misfortune. How will the U.S. president bridge the Arab world's internal rifts? This is unclear. It is possible that Abbas received secret promises. It is possible Obama will not succeed. In any case, the Obama-Netanyahu meeting on Wednesday placed Israel in a more comfortable position. At least for now. The Palestinians will have to engage in soul-searching. They will have to plumb the meaning of the expression, If you try to catch too much you catch nothing at all. Probably Abbas is setting his sights on the day after the November 2012 U.S. presidential elections.
