President Barack Obama's recent Passover message contained many pieces of advice. It was like a hard-line Protestant preacher experienced in the supernatural, and putting it in service of politics. He read from Exodus the fable of the Jews' transfer from Egypt to the land of Canaan. He wrote some expressions in Hebrew. He said the Exodus reminds us “of our ongoing responsibility to fight against all forms of suffering and discrimination.” He stressed that “with rich symbols, rituals, and tradition, they will tell the story of the Exodus – the journey of the children of Israeli from slavery to freedom.” In Israel, the American president's message was interpreted politically, especially the Biblical phrase that he repeated during a dinner to which he invited Jewish friends and advisors. They observed that he modified the fable. He omitted the phrase “Vent your wrath on the gentiles who do not know you” and focused on the notion of all of us being in slavery. Some saw this as submission by the president and an attempt to apologize to Benjamin Netanyahu. Others said he was polishing up the stake he is preparing for the prime minister (Yediot Aharanot), and that what was meant was dividing the world into two halves, slaves and free people. That the Palestinians are the slaves and the victims and that Israel is the occupying force, or a change in the vision of past American presidents, from Truman to George Bush, who believed the Israelis to be oppressed, and that supporting them was a religious duty before a political act. Any religious text can involve multiple interpretations; one uses them according to one's political inclinations or personal interests. Interpreting text can be endless. It is not important that Obama used this phrase and omitted that one. We do not want to stand in the presence of a Torah scholar. The interpretations of Bush and the neoconservatives drowned the world in wars that will not end for decades. And we have quite a few scholars of darkness among us. In politics, the Obama administration in the Middle East has recorded only retreat followed by retreat before the Netanyahu government. Obama and senior White House figures have always affirmed the close relationship between the United States and Israel, as well as Washington's commitment to Tel Aviv's military superiority in confronting all sides, as it pressures the Palestinians to accept a settlement that cancels their existence and turns them into slaves. Washington puts the Iran issue forward as a priority. All of this indicates that Washington is ready to accept Netanyahu's insults. When the US raises its voice in protest, it is over the timing of the insult, and not because the settlements are doing away with the Palestinians' dream of their state. This is the harsh American criticism that was directed at Netanyahu and his government, when an announcement of new settlement construction coincided with the visit of Vice President Joe Biden to Tel Aviv. Netanyahu's recent visit to Washington and his meeting with more than half of Congress and their loud applause at AIPAC show that Israel holds the upper hand in US policy, and not the White House. As for the stormy meeting, as it was described, with Obama and the leaks of insults received by Netanyahu from the American president, this was practically speaking translated into Washington's commitment to the security of the Jewish state and strengthening the solid-as-a-rock relations, as they were described after the meeting. Happy Passover to Obama, the Christians and the Jews. But the Middle East requires decisive political stances, it has enough religious scholars.
