Jerusalem Post Editorial: Obama’s parting shot

[TomSea]

Jerusalem Post Editorial: Obama’s parting shot

In defending America’s decision to abstain in a UN Security Council vote that castigates Israel for settlement building, US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power said the vote was perfectly in line with longstanding US policy.

Technically, this is true. Since 1967, consecutive US administrations starting with Lyndon Johnson’s and continuing through George W. Bush’s have made clear their opposition to settlements.

Nor are US abstentions on anti-Israel votes unheard of. Looking back over previous administrations, the largest number of abstentions on anti-Israel resolutions took place when Republican presidents considered friendly to Israel were in power.

Still, what makes these abstentions different from the vote Power tried to defend was that they were nearly all in response to specific incidents or actions such as Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights and east Jerusalem; the 1981 air attack on the Iraqi nuclear reactor; Israel’s policy of house demolitions; calls for cease-fire during the second intifada or during IDF operations in Gaza or Lebanon; or Ariel Sharon’s much-publicized visit to the Temple Mount.

One must go back to the Carter administration to find a similar abstention – on Resolution 452 – which condemned Israel’s settlement activity and declared settlements to be an obstacle to peace.

Continued: http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Obamas-parting-shot-476512

Some analysis.