President Barack Obama is a reconciliatory man by nature. He is a man who favours compromises and likes to meet others halfway, which is a good thing. But it can turn dangerous sometimes, especially when he needs to put his foot down, as he does now. Obama needs to start acting tough. Israeli leaders put him in a particularly awkward position when they announced plans to build 1,600 residential units in occupied Jerusalem. The announcement was made during a visit by Vice- President Joe Biden to Israel, which made it worse. This wasn't the first time for Israel to embarrass Obama. Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu did just that when he ignored Washington's request to freeze settlement activities. Averse to antagonising the Jewish lobby, Obama swallowed this one. It is a little different this time, for Israel has even more publicly embarrassed the Americans. Some of Obama's aides say that Israel's behaviour gives other nations the impression that it's okay to push America around. The fact that Israel is a close ally to the US adds insult to the injury. The message Israel seems to be giving to countries such as Iran, Venezuela, Russia and China is that it is fine to goad America. This is what prompted officials in the Obama administration to urge the president to stand tough for once. Still, American presidents are not in the habit of basing their reactions to Israel on pure American interests. Most think first of their domestic position and what happens if they lose the support of the Jewish lobby. With the approach of congressional elections, the Democrats fear losing more seats to the Republicans. A loss in congressional elections would make Obama a lame duck for the rest of his presidency. This is the position in which Obama finds himself today. Should he act according to American interests and tell Israel to stop embarrassing him? Or should he turn a blind eye to the insult and avoid confrontation? Most likely, Obama will try to find a compromise solution. It is conceivable that he will talk tough for a while without compromising the essence of America's gut reaction to Israel, that of blind bias and unquestioning support. He may even ask the Israelis to make some concessions, if only to distract attention from the insult he had to swallow. Netanyahu's current visit to Washington may end up in a deal of sorts. Netanyahu has been in close touch with the Jewish lobby in preparation for the visit. And the latter has been sending messages to the Obama administration, the Democratic Party, and the Republican Party as well, telling them that elections are around the corner and that it doesn't pay to antagonise Israel. Israel timed its defiance to Washington well. It fired the warning shots right before the 21 March conference of AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee). The timing is a testimony to Israel's skill in playing Washington's political scene. The AIPAC conference is the event in which all American politicians, Democrats as well as Republicans, outdo one another in turning against the Arabs and swearing fealty for Israel and its security. On Saturday, Arab leaders are going to have their regular summit in Surt, Libya. Will they do it this time? Will they get their act together for once and let the Americans know that their interests are immutable? Not much of a possibility really. Our Arab leaders are not in the habit of calling America's bluff. Therefore, Israel is going to win yet again. And it is going to keep building settlements and grabbing Palestinian land.
