Terwijl Netanyahu in de Nederlandse media wordt afgebrand, geven sommige Arabische commentatoren hem gelijk. Ook de Golfstaten en Egypte maken zich zorgen over Iran en vrezen een shi’itische kernbom. Als Netanyahu de VS niet kan overtuigen, omdat de chemie tussen hem en Obama bijzonder slecht is, dan is Obama misschien bereid naar zijn Arabische bondgenoten te luisteren?
RP
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Arab Commentators Back Netanyahu On Speech To Congress
Netanyahu said that “even if Israel has to stand alone – Israel will stand.”
http://www.westernjournalism.com/arab-commentators-back-netanyahu-speech-congress/
YOCHANAN VISSER — MARCH 4, 2015
On the eve of the Purim festival, Israel watched Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu deliver a historical speech to the U.S. Congress on Iran. The speech was broadcasted on all Israeli TV Channels, albeit with a five-minute delay to make sure there was no ‘electioneering’ in what Netanyahu told Congress. Israel will hold elections in another two weeks.
In his speech, Netanyahu evoked the upcoming Purim festival, when the book of Ester is read and Jews commemorate the first attempt to commit genocide on the Jewish people by the Persian King Ahasueres (Ahasveros), who acted on the advice of his personal advisor Haman. Netanyahu compared this attempt to annihilate the Jewish people to the vows to destroy the Jewish state made by contemporary Iranian leaders.
Netanyahu said that “even if Israel has to stand alone – Israel will stand.”
Right after Netanyahu’s speech, commentators on Israeli TV highlighted the Arab and Iranian response to the event.
Tzvi Yechezkieli, the Arab affairs expert of Channel 10, said that many Arab commentators supported the content of Netanyahu’s speech. He cited a commentator on Al-Arabiya TV, who had said that he could have written a large part of the speech.
Yechezkieli said that the Arab countries are convinced that Obama will not safeguard their security interests in the current negotiations with Iran and will not protect them against Iranian aggression.
Yesterday, Faisal J. Abbas, the powerful Editor-in-Chief of Al Arabiya English, published an editorial under the headline: “President Obama, listen to Netanyahu on Iran.” Abbas’ editorial was a reaction to Netanyahu’s speech to AIPAC yesterday.
He wrote: “In just a few words, Mr. Netanyahu managed to accurately summarize a clear and present danger, not just to Israel (which obviously is his concern), but to other U.S. allies in the region.”
The Saudi Daily Al-Jazirah published an article written by Dr. Ahmad Al-Faraj, who supported Netanyahu’s decision to speak to the U.S. Congress against the upcoming deal with Iran. He called Obama “one of the worst American presidents” and said that Netanyahu’s campaign against the deal is justified because it also serves the interests of the Gulf States.
Here is a quote from Al-Faraj’s article:
“I will conclude by saying the following: Since Obama is the godfather of the prefabricated revolutions in the Arab world, and since he is the ally of political Islam, [which is] the caring mother of [all] the terrorist organizations, and since he is working to sign an agreement with Iran that will come at the expense of the U.S.’s longtime allies in the Gulf, I am very glad of Netanyahu’s firm stance and [his decision] to speak against the nuclear agreement at the American Congress despite the Obama administration’s anger and fury. I believe that Netanyahu’s conduct will serve our interests, the people of the Gulf, much more than the foolish behavior of one of the worst American presidents. Do you agree with me?”
Israeli TV Channel 10 reported that the speech was broadcasted in Iran up to the point where Netanyahu started to highlight the aggression of the regime. Oded Granot, the Arab affairs expert of Channel 1, predicted that the regime in Tehran would not respond to the speech because of the ongoing talks with the U.S. in Geneva. Channel 1 also broadcasted recent statements by Iranian officials directed against the United States and President Obama.
Commentators heaped praise on Netanyahu for highlighting the support from President Obama for Israel on several occasions.
Others compared Netanyahu’s grace toward Obama to Obama’s churlishness toward the Israeli PM. They said that the Prime Minister had outsmarted Obama: Obama warned against leaking secrets, and Netanyahu said you can Google it. Obama said ‘my way or war’–and Netanyahu said: “Just get a better deal.”
Opposition members were careful not to criticize the Israeli premier about the content of the speech but insisted that the timing was wrong. They also claimed that relations with the U.S. were damaged because of Netanyahu’s insistence in delivering the speech while the P5+1 countries were negotiating with Iran over a deal–and because the speech was delivered two weeks before the Israeli elections.
Zionist Union leader Herzog reacted to the speech while visiting the border communities in the Gaza area. He said that the speech will not stop Iran’s drive for nuclear weapons and will not influence U.S. policy towards Iran. He continued, saying that the speech will leave Israel more isolated and that Netanyahu’s action has damaged ties with the United States.
Zionist Union is the name of the combined list of the Labor party and the Hatnua party, led by former Minister of Justice and Foreign Affairs Tzipi Livni. The party leads in most polls.
David Horowitz, the editor-in-chief of the Times of Israel and former editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post, wrote that the speech was a “devastating assault on Obama.” Horowitz continued: “The Israeli PM explained the President’s profound misjudgment of Iran – its ideology, its goals, and the immense danger it constitutes to Israel, the region, the United States, and the world – that lies at the heart of the very bad emerging deal between the US-led P5+1 negotiators and Iran.”
It is widely expected that the speech will have a positive effect on Netanyahu’s electoral prospects. Many Israelis will be asking themselves whether, in the current difficult circumstances, they can vote for Isaac Herzog and Tzipi Livni of the Zionist Union. Both lack the political experience of Netanyahu and are not trusted when it comes to Israel’s security.
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