US Jewish leaders 'predict' a "head-on clash over Israel with the most popular US president since Franklin Roosevelt..."

Pro-Likud Isi Leibler, in the JPOst, here

".... (Optimists) They argue that Obama has sufficient on his plate with the economic crisis, Afghanistan, North Korea and Iran without seeking a confrontation with Israel which could also lead to domestic friction. Besides, public opinion is still overwhelmingly pro-Israel and Congress remains strongly supportive.

Yet the accumulation of negative signals over the past weeks is highly disconcerting. Whatever Obama's genuine personal views may be, clearly he is strongly pressured by left-wing Democrats and Europeans to adopt a tougher, even anti-Israel approach. Some of his key aides blame Israel for the region's problems and believe that the only way for the US to build bridges with Islam is to distance itself from the Jewish state. ...

To date, Netanyahu has not put a foot wrong. But his real test will be Washington where he will face the awesome challenge of trying to achieve an understanding with Obama over Iran and the Palestinians while simultaneously resisting pressures for concessions which could further erode our security.

IN THIS CONTEXT, the support of American Jewry is enormously important. Obama would presumably seek to avoid alienating his Jewish constituency, 80 percent of whom voted for him and also contributed more than 50% of Democrat campaign funding. However should Jews be perceived as being ambivalent, or worse, hostile towards the Israeli government, there is little doubt that this would dramatically influence his approach.

Regrettably, in addition to a decline in enthusiasm for Israel from a new generation for whom the Holocaust and struggle to create a Jewish state are dim memories, the Israeli relationship with American Jews over the past decades, has also undergone considerable erosion. Successive leaders have neglected to nurture the American Jewish lay leadership, concentrating instead primarily on wooing rich Jews as donors for their political or personal projects. ....

In addition, aside from the negative impact of the general financial meltdown, American Jews have been traumatized by an escalation of virulent anti-Israel and anti-Semitic outbursts, reflected even in the purportedly reputable media. Anti-Israeli hysteria on the campuses has mushroomed and campaigns to boycott Israel have intensified. Ominously, American Jews, especially after the Freeman and AIPAC "espionage" imbroglios, are now also being accused of harboring dual loyalties.

JEWISH LEADERS are loath to openly express their concerns. But off record, many despairingly predict a Jewish head-on clash over Israel with the most popular US president since Franklin Roosevelt. Their concerns are exacerbated by the behavior of key Jewish officials in the administration who privately proclaim that they would not flinch from a major confrontation with the Jewish state and predict that most American Jews continue to venerate Obama and will support him.

AIPAC leaders were bluntly told by Jewish White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel that failure to advance with the Palestinians would impact on progress with the Iranians. Similar messages were conveyed by Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. National Security Adviser Gen. James Jones assured a European foreign minister that unlike Bush, Obama would be "forceful" with Israel. More chilling was the bland announcement without notice, from an assistant secretary of state calling on Israel to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Jewish leaders are also appalled with the favorable media exposure provided to fringe groups like J Street, whose prime objective is to "balance" AIPAC activities by lobbying the Obama administration to force Israel to make further unilateral concessions. At recent State Department briefings, Jewish leaders were also shocked to be accompanied by organizations masquerading as Zionists, who were urging the US government to extend the same "tough love" to Israel as parents apply to "drug addicts." .....

Obama should have no illusions. We are still light years away from reaching an accommodation with our Palestinian neighbors. ....."