From Cairo to Buchenwald to D-Day in France: Obama Is Right On!

From Cairo to Buchenwald to D-Day in France: Obama is Right On!


In the last few days, US President Barack Obama has gone from giving a historic speech to the Muslim world in Cairo to visiting the Buchenwald concentration camp and celebrating D-Day in France. This is a man that does not miss a note. He is impeccable in his attempt to seek the just middle against the power of extremists.

Obama is certainly alienating some constituencies, but his vision is to solve festering problems like the Israel-Palestinian conflict rather than languishing in old ideological boxes filled with hatred and devoid of compromise. He is already making enemies, not least of all the al-Qaeda leader that recently put out a new communique.

US conservatives say he should project more toughness vis-a-vis a nuclear-bent Iran, Arab authoritarian regimes, and the tide of political Islamism. He should advance US democracy and free markets around the globe, without making excuses for "our way of life."

Israelis are wary that he did not visit Israel, but stopped in Cairo and Riyadh. Right-wing pundits like David Horovitz in the Jerusalem Post have wondered why in Cairo Obama made a linkage between the creation of Israel and the Holocaust when ancient Jewish sovereignty rested in Palestine well before Nazi madness. Furthermore, the Balfour Declaration of 1917 and the San Remo Conference recognized Jewish statehood claims in Palestine, thus restoring a Jewish longing expressed in their prayers and memories of self-governance.

Arab press outlets like The Jordan Times and The Daily Star liked Obama's two-state solution (although if given the chance, they prefer one-state), tough position on Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and acknowledgement of Palestinian suffering and statelessness. Yet, many commentators in the Arab world are waiting for the goods to be delivered. For the bold rhetoric to match US actions. The perception in the Arab world is that US policy is far too cozy towards Israel and detrimental to the Palestinians. Some insist Israel will block the way to peace.

Obama will not please all. That is the reality of politics. Yet, in going to Cairo to open a hand of peace and dialogue to the Arab and Muslim worlds, he is clearly taking a different approach from his Republican predecessor G.W. Bush. Moreover, in going from Cairo to Buchenwald the next day, he stressed the importance of never forgetting, the horrors of Jewish history, and the cruelty of those that would continue to deny the Holocaust. This is a good sign for Jews around the world and the notion of a Jewish state.

And finally in going to France for D-Day today, to commemorate the 65th anniversary of a key Allied victory in the horrendous war against Nazism (which was arguably won earlier at the Battle of Stalingrad), he stressed a more combative tone with President Sarkozy against Iran and North Korea. With these comments, he somewhat satisfied US conservatives, who still can't wait until Obama leaves office.

Obama is a unique, visionary politician who combines a 1960s idealism with the pragmatism of a fox from ancient Rome. When he made his successive trips from Cairo to Buchenwald to France for D-Day, he was right on! He remembered the wisdom in seeking dialogue between religions and civilizations, the horrors of "the crime of crimes" with the Holocaust, and the brave young soldiers like his grandfather that died to stop the advance of a global, racialist totalitarian empire.

Tamir Bar-On