Tuesday, September 04, 2012

DNC Platform makes no (bogus) promises about Jerusalem



Politico is reporting that "Language calling for Jerusalem to be recognized as the capital of Israel has been omitted from the 2012 Democratic Party platform."

Instead, the platform contains language about how US support for Israel is unshakable. 

Predictably, the sort of people who think hats and jackets are proof of piety are screaming loudly about this -- and I agree that this platform, on the face, seem less friendly to right wing Israel than the 2008 platform.

But there's more to this story.

The language omitted from the platform this year - which is traditionally included in the platforms of bth parties - is like Lucy's football. The candidates hold out a platform promise to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and then fail to deliver. Bush did this, and so did Clinton. Every four years the Jews fall for it, and every four years we end up flat on our backs after the promise is pulled away. 

Anyone but the most naive right wing Zionists knows and accepts that the US can't, for the time being,  recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital. 

We also know that the US can and does continue to help Israel in more substantial ways. 

Obama, for example, delivered $3 billion per year in aid, with hundreds of millions more for Iron Dome. He's defended Israel in the UN, blocked Palestinian statehood and earned kudos and respect from the Prime Minister and the Defense establishment. 

That's what matters. Not the absence of a promise everyone knows is empty.

UPDATE
Just left this on FaceBook beneath a post from someone who says this platform problem may cost Obama his vote:

Lets see if I have this straight. You might not vote for someone who has delivered Israel with billions of dollars in aid, support in the UN, and unprecedented military assistance, on the grounds that a platform he didn't prepare and isn't required to follow left out a promise that everyone knows is empty? Every platform makes this promise, and no president - not Obama, not Bush, not Clinton - delivers on it. I think the honesty of leaving it out is refreshing!

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