Obama and the Jewish Problem

Remember the old joke about “The Elephant and the Jewish Problem”?

It has many variations, but the essence is the same. A group of people of various nationalities are asked to write essays about the elephant. Each brings his own perspective and national biases. In the versions I know, the French guy writes about the elephant’s love life; the German writes a meticulous introduction to elephants in six volumes; the Japanese writes about how to make smaller, smarter and cheaper elephants;  the American writes about how to make elephants that are bigger and shinier… and so on. The Jewish representative writes about “The Elephant and the Jewish Problem”.

The wording goes back to the Nineteenth century, early roots of Zionism, when Jews were very concerned with what they (and others) perceived as that “problem” of a people without a land. The concept lasted well into our own times though: judging anything and everything through the single narrow prism of being Jewish.

The Israeli version of this mindset is reflected in the question asked again and again in the Israeli media over the past couple of days: Is Obama good for Israel? and some even go as far as asking “Is Obama good for the Jews?” when what they mean in effect is the Jews in Israel.

The height of it was the media’s orgy over the appointment of Rahm Emanuel as the White House Chief of Staff. “Oh my God, an Israeli in the most important role in the USA! Obama is so wonderful for Israel!” Honestly, I thought at first he had an actual Israeli citizen appointed as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

This narrow-minded, shtettle mentality is so annoying to me. I am amazed so many people still use this terminology. Of course, what they actually wonder about is the future US policy in the Middle East, which is an interesting topic. But phrasing it like that just sounds so provincial and limited, and yet is so accepted in the Israeli media. Ridiculous, really, when you consider the  following two points:

1. Who the heck knows what’s good for Israel to begin with? There is so much internal dispute over this question. When America supports an Israeli policy to have more settlements in the Occupied Territories, is that good or bad for Israel? When America does apply pressure on Israel to get into negotiations with the Palestinians, or the Syrians for that matter, is that good or bad for Israel? Ask different people and you’ll get different answers anyway. Reminds me of the responses to Emanuel’s appointment when some people said it was actually proof that Obama is anti-Israeli, because Emanuel is actually, God forbid, a supporter of the Israeli peace movement.

2. Israel is actually, believe it or not, part of the world. If there’s anything the current economical crisis has shown it’s just how tightly bound together our globe is. The policies of the American President regarding the US itself effect the entire world, and ultimately, Israel as well. The question therefore should be the same as it is everywhere else: Is Obama good for America, and subsequently, is Obama good for the world. After all, any global changes that take place following American policy eventually effect us here as well.

So, I’ll wrap up this longish saying that I sincerely hope that Obama will be good for the US. It’s all I ask for really – the rest will follow on its own.

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