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DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
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Arthur M. Horwitz
commentary
Publisher / Executive Editor
ahorwitz@renmedia.us
F. Kevin Browett
High Anxiety Continues Over Obama In The U.N.
Chief Operating Officer
kbrowett@renmedia.us
A
Editorial
nxiety continues to roil through the pro-Israel world
Palestine:' Carter advised President Obama to exercise one final
over a possible last-minute political move by the Obama
chance of "countering the one-state reality that Israel is imposing
administration that could permanently alter the Israeli-
on itself and the Palestinian people:'
Palestinian geopolitical landscape.
Carter has not been a lone voice but part of a chorus of
Forty-eight hours after the Nov. 8 election, I flew to
Democratic voices urging such a move by Obama to thwart
South Florida for a series of lectures and briefmgs orga-
any Trump policy moves after Jan. 20, 2017. Trump is
nized by StandWithUs, NOVA Southeast University and
expected to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Israel.
other organizations as part of the State Department's
On Dec. 1, President Obama once again signed a six-
International Education Week to analyze the prospects
month extension of the presidential override preventing the
regarding relations with Israel in the last weeks of the
implementation of the Congressional mandate moving the
Obama administration.
U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. President-elect
Everywhere, audiences were on the edge of their seats
Trump has promised to move the embassy.
Edwin BI ack
asking whether President Obama would take extraordi-
Since each presidential override binds the American gov-
nary passive or active steps in the U.N. Security Council
ernment for six months, the Trump administration could
(UNSC) to recognize a Palestinian state or impose a peace settle-
not move the embassy until the end of May 2017.
ment, including a territorial mandate following the lines of the
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is fully aware
1948 truce. Unlike General Assembly resolutions, which are not
of the dynamics and, as recently as a few days ago, confirmed that
binding, the UNSC generally creates lasting pillars of interna-
he continues to stay in close contact and coordination with the
tional law.
French government over its pending U.N. resolution. Abbas has
As we approach Jan. 20, uncertainty continues to abound among
repeatedly assured his people and the world that the U.N. would
even the most astute of political insiders.
deliver independence in 2017.
President Barack Obama remains personally silent.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, speaking Dec. 1 in
Administration assurances in recent days proffer comfort to those Paris alongside Irish Minister of Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan,
hanging on every word to discern a course of action. But embed-
reaffirmed that France was determined once more to convene
ded ambiguities in each of those assurances only increases the
an international peace conference before the end of 2016. If that
speculation.
conference is unsuccessful, France could unilaterally recognize
For example, in recent days, unnamed administration sources
Palestine — within what territorial lines remains unclear.
were quoted by the Associated Press suggesting that President
Already, 88 American senators have written a pointed bipartisan
Obama "has nearly ruled out any major last-ditch effort to put pres- letter to Obama warning him not to exercise a lame-duck effort at
sure on Israel over stalled peace negotiations with the Palestinians:'
the U.N.
The phrase "nearly ruled out" shines brightly in that report to
On Nov. 29, the House of Representatives passed a nonbinding
emphasize that no decision has been made.
bipartisan bill urging President Obama to continue blocking any
A few days ago, America's ambassador to Israel, Dan Shapiro,
U.N. resolution that would unilaterally impose a one-sided peace,
told Israel's Army Radio that America "will always oppose one-
including by a failure to veto such a resolution in the U.N. Security
sided initiatives" adding that this position "is a long-term policy.
Council.
Whenever there were one-sided initiatives, we opposed them in the
Until 11:59 a.m. on Jan. 20, 2017, no one knows whether
past and we will always oppose them"
President Obama will add another notch to his legacy or allow the
Skeptics note that "opposing" such a UN. move is not the same
future destiny of Israel and Palestinians to be written by others,
as blocking it with a veto.
including the parties themselves. *
Those who know the administration best remain queasy that a
sudden and unexpected move may play out in the U.N. Security
Edwin Black is the New YorkTimes bestselling author of IBM and the Holocaust,
Council in coming weeks.
Financing the Flames and The Farhud. He can be found at www.edwinblack.com .
Obama has circumvented Congress on the Iran nuclear deal and
many other issues where he can unilaterally use his "phone and pen"
The most likely scenarios for Obama action in the UNSC are
variations of the following three:
CAMPUS LIFE
• First: unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state within speci-
fied or approximate borders following the 1948 armistice lines
ISRAEL WAS VOTED BUT WHAT ABOUT ALL
where no Palestinian state ever existed. In virtually all world
THE COUNTRY
THE REPRESSIVE
WITH THE MOST
DICTATORSHIPS? AND
forums, this would more juridically move the status of Israel's
NEGATIVE IMAGE IN
ALL THE COUNTRIES
administrative presence in Judea and Samaria from disputed to
THAT'S WHO
Dry Bones
occupation.
• Second: abstain from vetoing a pending French resolution that
would impose settlement lines and/or recognize a Palestinian state
within 18 months absent agreement by the parties.
• Third: impose a territorial settlement within a two-year dead-
line if the parties do not craft one themselves.
Any of the three measures would subtract the need for negotia-
tions and bring Israelis and Palestinians closer to an entrenched
stalemate.
The suspense has been intensified by developments in recent days.
On Nov. 28, former president Jimmy Carter authored a passion-
ate op-ed in the New York Times titled "America Must Recognize
THE WORLD,'
THAT APPEASE THEM?
GOT TO VOTE!
JN
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