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Friday, May 20, 2011
Video of Netanyahu's stunning speech at the White House
It was a stunning speech, one where an Israeli leader stated his opinion in public in an unapologetic manner that has not been seen since Menachem Begin.
Netanyahu's red lines are not very different than the red lines that every Israeli government has had since 1967 (and I showed earlier that Yitzchak Rabin was more hawkish in 1995.) The problem has been that they have never been consistently enunciated by Israeli leaders to the rest of the world. It felt as if every prime minister felt that the facts were so obvious that they didn't have to belabor the point.
But the Palestinian Arabs never stop repeating their own red lines - 1967 borders, "right of return," prisoners, Jerusalem and so on. And because they have been so consistent, and Israel hasn't been, the topsy-turvy message based on historical lies and distortions have gained prominence.
This speech should not have been stunning. It should have been the same speech every Israeli leader ever gave to every President. It may be too late. And, no doubt, it will be spun as a huge insult to the White House by the same people who cannot see that Palestinian Arab leadership has made much worse insults, much more directly to America, much more often.
But while Bibi's speech may be thirty years too late - better late than never.