Shameful

Rachel Abrams

The Weekly Standard

17 September 09

March 20, 2009. Obama, obsequious, greets the leaders of “the Islamic Republic of Iran,” who have the blood of Americans on their hands, on the eve of the Iranian New Year:

So in this season of new beginnings I would like to speak clearly to Iran’s leaders. We have serious differences that have grown over time. My administration is now committed to diplomacy that addresses the full range of issues before us, and to pursuing constructive ties among the United States, Iran and the international community. This process will not be advanced by threats. We seek instead engagement that is honest and grounded in mutual respect.

You, too, have a choice. The United States wants the Islamic Republic of Iran to take its rightful place in the community of nations. You have that right -- but it comes with real responsibilities, and that place cannot be reached through terror or arms, but rather through peaceful actions that demonstrate the true greatness of the Iranian people and civilization. And the measure of that greatness is not the capacity to destroy, it is your demonstrated ability to build and create.

So on the occasion of your New Year, I want you, the people and leaders of Iran, to understand the future that we seek. It's a future with renewed exchanges among our people, and greater opportunities for partnership and commerce. It's a future where the old divisions are overcome, where you and all of your neighbors and the wider world can live in greater security and greater peace.

September 17, 2009. Obama, admonishing, greets Israelis, our democratic allies and truest friends in the Middle East, on the eve of the Jewish New Year:

At the dawn of this New Year, let us rededicate ourselves to that work. Let us reject the impulse to harden ourselves to others’ suffering, and instead make a habit of empathy – of recognizing ourselves in each other and extending our compassion to those in need.

Let us resist prejudice, intolerance, and indifference in whatever forms they may take -- let us stand up strongly to the scourge of anti-Semitism, which is still prevalent in far too many corners of our world.

Let us work to extend the rights and freedoms so many of us enjoy to all the world’s citizens – to speak and worship freely; to live free from violence and oppression; to make of our lives what we will.

The day after the Goldstone report maligns the Jewish State--which so cherishes human life it forces its soldiers to do everything humanly possible to avoid shedding the blood of the women and children behind whose skirts and baby carriages the enemy hides--by comparing it with Hamas--which uses the bodies of the innocent as shields--the president of the United States joins the jackals, suggesting the Israelis have something to learn in the way of tolerance and empathy from him. Really, he has no shame.

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