Obama: Israel 'took the land' from Palestinians, 'ceded moral ground' in Gaza

[u/Particular_Log_3594]

https://www.jpost.com/international/article-911851

[u/walkallover1991]

I'm sorry but statements like this give me "one day everyone will have been against this" vibes.

As President, Obama opposed Palestine's bid for full UN member status and then later also opposed their bid to non-member observer state status. His administration also worked to block Palestinian efforts to pursue charges against Israel at the ICC.

He continued doing the Democrat song and dance regarding settlement expansion, but expansion continued throughout his Presidency. The U.S. abstained from a UNSC vote on settlement expansion.

You can't be against settlement expansion while simultaneously sending military aid to Israel, protecting Israel on the international arena, and not sanctioning high-ranking Israeli leaders.

[u/DamienRyan → u/walkallover1991]

This is exactly the kind of infighting that makes the left so ineffective.

Yes, Obama is very late to the party. Yes you can accuse him of political cowardice. Yes, he was well versed in the sins of the Israeli state leading up to his election in 2008 and did almost nothing for the Palestinians while in power, all these things are true.

He is also a powerful political ally that is moving into the anti Israel tent and everything possible should be done to encourage him to move in further. This is what the right understands and does so well. They ignore these inconsistencies and grievances in pursuit of a larger goal.

If Obama helps bring the end of Israeli occupation and apartheid .1% closer than I welcome him with open arms. I am willing to ignore his opportunistic nature in pursuit of a greater good. We can save the criticism for the history books.

[u/walkallover1991 → u/DamienRyan]

I don't think holding powerful political figures accountable for their records constitutes "infighting," nor do I think welcoming someone into a movement requires suspending criticism of their past actions.

I'm perfectly happy to see Obama adopt a more critical position toward Israel. But there's an enormous difference between expressing sympathy for Palestinians when you're no longer in office and actually using the considerable power of the presidency to challenge the policies that perpetuate their dispossession.

He had eight years to do that. His administration continued providing Israel with billions in military assistance, opposed Palestinian diplomatic initiatives, and largely protected Israel from international accountability, even as settlement expansion continued.

I also disagree with the idea that the right succeeds simply because it overlooks ideological inconsistencies. Conservative movements have frequently demonstrated their willingness to exert enormous pressure on their own political leaders to secure actual policy concessions.

I also find the timing rather interesting, given that we're less than three weeks away from the midterms. I'm not suggesting he can't have genuinely evolved on this issue, but I think it's perfectly reasonable to question why these statements are coming now, particularly when Democrats have spent years alienating voters over their support for Israel.

I'm not arguing that Obama should be excluded from the conversation. I'm arguing that rhetorical evolution shouldn't automatically confer moral or political absolution, particularly when the person in question helped sustain the very conditions they're now criticizing.

We can welcome a change in position while still demanding accountability - those things aren't mutually exclusive.

[u/adultishiguess → u/walkallover1991]

Obama was also originally against gay marriage. times change. positions change. At least they do for intellectual people. Allow space for allies or continue demanding penance until you're looking at many tiny fragmented groups

[u/Nop277 → u/adultishiguess]

My understanding is he was not against it but wasn't backing it's full legalization due to the political capitol that would cost. If I recall actually him coming out as officially in support of it's legalization was because Biden in what was widely considered a "gaff" at the time stated that the administration was for it in an interview which kind of pushes their hand at the time.

[u/mikecws91 → u/Nop277]

No one here understands nuance well enough to grasp the concept of political capital. You’re either morally upstanding or a cowardly snake who follows the wind.

[u/mnmkdc → u/adultishiguess]

During the peak of the violence Obama basically just said “it’s complicated” when asked about it. People do change, but this isn’t that. He’s just saying what’s popular now. Of course it’s better that he’s actually saying something, but we don’t need to pretend that he’s some random person who educated themselves at changed their stance. We can expect more from the former most powerful man on the planet, who personally played a part in the deaths of thousands of people. That doesn’t mean we have to just reject him as a whole either.