TORONTO — U.S. President Barack Obama has given speeches supporting Israel and denounced Iran’s quest for nuclear weapons, but he may try to pressure the Jewish state to make concessions that could harm its interests, conservative political analyst and former Bush White House insider David Frum says.
David Frum
In a speech titled “A Frightening Question: The Obama Administration and the Security of Israel,” given March 26 at Shaarei Shomayim Congregation, Frum, an author, columnist and former economic speech writer and special assistant to former U.S. president George W. Bush, laid out what he described as positives and “concerns” about the new president.
More than 400 people attended the 15th annual Dr. Joseph Weil Memorial Lecture, a fundraiser for the Canadian Friends of Laniado Hospital, the only hospital serving the 300,000 residents in the Netanya area.
In his opening remarks, the Toronto-born Frum, who now lives in Washington, D.C., noted that it was a special evening for him to be back in Toronto, as it was the yahrzeit of his mother, prominent CBC journalist Barbara Frum, who died 17 years ago.
On the one hand, he described Obama as a man of remarkable gifts and spoke of the truly epic story surrounding his election. But he noted that although he has read Obama’s books, he said Obama revealed very little about himself in them.
Also on the positive side, Frum noted that in the past, Obama has given many speeches in support of Israel, and that he has said that it’s unacceptable for Iran to have nuclear weapons. As well, Obama had many Jewish friends and supporters in Chicago when he was the junior senator from Illinois, and he noted officials in Obama’s new administration who have supported the State of Israel in the past.
But Frum also outlined his concerns about the president, including Obama’s attempt to appoint Charles Freeman to the national intelligence service. Frum said Freeman has an intense dislike of Israel and took $2 million from Saudi Arabia.
He added that when Freeman’s appointment fell apart and Freeman withdrew his nomination, he blamed his defeat on the Israeli lobby.
Frum commended Obama for his recent address to the people of Iran on an important pre-Islamic holiday, adding that Persians and Jews historically had a close connection.
But he criticized Obama for addressing his message to the “Islamic Republic of Iran” rather than the “Republic of Iran.” This, Frum said, validates and is an acceptance of the legitimacy of the current Iranian regime.
He added that it’s important for a democratic state to reach out to non-democratic states, and that it’s preferable to accept Iran with atomic power than to use force.
Turning to Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, Frum said the issue is difficult but not complex – Palestinian Arabs need only accept Israel.
Citing his own political background, Frum said it’s impossible to put pressure on the Arabs, who generally won’t budge from set positions, while it’s easier to put pressure on Israel, which has shown that it will give way.
Frum expressed fear that Obama may attempt to find a unity between the parties that doesn’t exist.
He answered a number of questions from the audience, citing his knowledge of the internal workings of U.S. politics. He cautioned that many times, reasons for decisions don’t become public.
Responding to a question about Israel’s poor public relations, he agreed that it is “awful.” Israelis are direct and they let you know what they think, Frum said, adding that Israelis must learn to be more creative. Nevertheless, he said he noticed improvement in Israel’s PR during the Gaza war, versus its PR for the 2006 war in Lebanon.
Frum also said it’s still too early to say definitively how the Obama administration will approach Palestinian-Israeli negotiations and other looming problems.