Obama's Speech in Cairo

President Obama gave today what many have said is a critical speech to the Muslim World. Commentators on US television have debated back and forth what he should say, how he should say it and why he should say it. There has been much anticipation, and Obama, yet again, has seemed to carry through. He quoted the Koran, he praised the history of the Islam world, and he managed to not anger any particular group--a very "even-handed" speech. Read the speech here.

Most striking in Obama's speech, however, was his recognition of Palestinian suffering and the concept of "Palestine." To quote directly from his speech:

"On the other hand, it is also undeniable that the Palestinian people -- Muslims and Christians -- have suffered in pursuit of a homeland. For more than 60 years they've endured the pain of dislocation. Many wait in refugee camps in the West Bank, Gaza, and neighboring lands for a life of peace and security that they have never been able to lead. They endure the daily humiliations -- large and small -- that come with occupation. So let there be no doubt: The situation for the Palestinian people is intolerable. And America will not turn our backs on the legitimate Palestinian aspiration for dignity, opportunity, and a state of their own."

It remains to be seen if Obama will follow through on his promise to end the "intolerable" suffering of the Palestinian people; however, I am here to support him in any efforts to do so. Obama was not without critique, however, of both sides.

Obama reestablished the strong U.S. connection to Israel as "unbreakable"; however, he seemed willing to put pressure on Israel and criticize the governments unacceptable actions in relation to the occupation:

"And Israel must also live up to its obligation to ensure that Palestinians can live and work and develop their society. Just as it devastates Palestinian families, the continuing humanitarian crisis in Gaza does not serve Israel's security; neither does the continuing lack of opportunity in the West Bank. Progress in the daily lives of the Palestinian people must be a critical part of a road to peace, and Israel must take concrete steps to enable such progress."

It would be surprising, to see any concrete action to stop Palestinian suffering in Gaza, though. There is already support building in Congress (as usual emanating from AIPAC)to oppose Obama's strong policies on a settlement freeze and any efforts that resemble support for Hamas (an end to the siege) would encounter unbearable opposition. And so goes the discussion in the US congress; however, I applaud the Presidents efforts to place America's interest in the conflict, ahead of Israels. This is change I can believe in.

Obama critiqued, as well, the Palestinians for using violence to achieve their means:

"Palestinians must abandon violence. Resistance through violence and killing is wrong and it does not succeed. For centuries, black people in America suffered the lash of the whip as slaves and the humiliation of segregation. But it was not violence that won full and equal rights. It was a peaceful and determined insistence upon the ideals at the center of America's founding. This same story can be told by people from South Africa to South Asia; from Eastern Europe to Indonesia. It's a story with a simple truth: that violence is a dead end. It is a sign neither of courage nor power to shoot rockets at sleeping children, or to blow up old women on a bus. That's not how moral authority is claimed; that's how it is surrendered."

In this regard, Obama's words hold great standing. Violence is not the answer.

I have been unfailing in my praise for President Obama's words; however, it is what he did not say about the conflict that I criticize. The word violence was attributed to Palestinians, Arabs, and Muslims; but never once to America, never once to Israel. There was no criticism of Israeli violence against Palestinians; no change to the one-sided rhetoric that Palestinians must stop their violence; no change to the rhetoric that America is unsullied in its conduct of war in Iraq, and in Afghanistan; no apology for the lives past US diplomacy has taken. There were only demands for a stop to Middle Eastern, to Arab, violence. Am I asking too much that a President denounce his own countries previous (and current) actions in the Middle East? Maybe. Am I asking too much when I demand that he, at least, recognize the undiscerning Israeli attacks in Gaza? No.

President Obama, next time you make a speech about the Israel/Palestine conflict, I demand from you something. That you not only talk about the Palestinian and Israeli obligations, and their mutual suffering; but that you clearly attribute blame to Israel for the suffering and death of thousands of Palestinians.

For more information about his speech, see the reports in: Reuters, CNN, Al Jazeera.