Peter Larson Shares Thoughts on Obama’s Speech in Jerusalem

Last updated on December 31st, 2024

On March 25th, 2013, Peter Larson (at the time Vice-President of the National Council on Canada-Arab Relations (NCCAR)) wrote a detailed analysis of U.S. President Obama’s speech in Jerusalem called ‘One Step Forward, Two Steps Back’

Excerpt:

… Obama directly addressed the question of Israeli control over the West Bank, using words that, as far as anybody can tell, have never been used by a serving US President. He said the words “independent Palestine” twice. He called the IDF a “foreign army.” He condemned settler violence which goes unpunished. He even used the word “occupation,” which of course Israel still denies it is doing. “Neither occupation nor expulsion is the answer,” he said to a round of applause.

[BUT he backtracked on other issues]…Having apparently narrowed the Palestinian question to the West Bank, Obama then introduced something completely new into official US discourse. “Palestinians must recognize Israel as a Jewish state,” he demanded. This is both new and significant…