How the Middle East took Obama's message
Different interpretations of Obama's diplomatic push
President Obama has just launched a "new era in international diplomacy," said the Beirut Daily Star in an editorial. Obama's powerful speech in Cairo on Thursday sealed the end of eight years of "neoconservative policy based on the clash of civilizations mentality." But it will take actions to translate Obama's words into real progress on Middle East peace.
Obama's message was certainly a mixed bag for Israel, said The Jerusalem Post in an editorial. It was good to hear him say—in a place where Holocaust denial is "part of the popular culture"—that it's "hateful" to refuse to acknowledge that 6 million Jews were killed by the Nazis. But his "moral equivalency" was troubling—"we cringed" when he compared the plight of the Palestinians to the American civil-rights movement.
No one can seriously believe that Obama would ever "express hostility" toward Israel, said Hafez Al-Barghouti in the Palestinian Authority daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida (via Memri.org), or truly "demand that it dismantle settlements" in Palestinian territory. No matter what Obama said in Cairo, "he will remain hostage to the American imperialist interests, which are in tandem with [those of] the Israeli occupation."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Today's political cartoons - April 17, 2024
Cartoons Wednesday's cartoons - political anxiety, jury sorting hat, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Arid Gulf states hit with year's worth of rain
Speed Read The historic flooding in Dubai is tied to climate change
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
USC under fire for canceling valedictorian speech
Speed Read Citing safety concerns, the university canceled a pro-Palestinian student's speech
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published