ObamaThomas L. Friedman
10/20/2010

Friedman gives several reasons why President Obama is not anti-Israel. These include building a global coalition to stop Iran from making a nuclear weapon and trying to advance the peace process in the Middle East to get Europeans and the UN behind tougher sanctions on Iran. It is not an act of hostility to ask Israel to continue its expired 10-month partial moratorium on settlement-building in the West Bank to prevent Palestinians from avoiding peace talks, but Israel’s prime minister has been resisting this request or demanding a payoff from the US for continuing the freeze. Friedman gives two reasons why he is wrong to do so. He says president Obama is doing his job and Palestine and Israel’s leaders should do theirs and work for peace during this process.

Friedman is a New York Times columnist.

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