Obama’s press on Gilo shows a continued misread of Israel
Thursday, November 19th, 2009 | 
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Posted by John under: Israel in the Last Days
US President Barack Obama is an extremely intelligent man surrounded by equally intelligent advisers, many of whom have years of experience dealing with the Middle East. His continued misreading and misunderstanding of the Israeli public is, therefore, somewhat baffling.
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Israel in the Last Days
“And I will bring again the captivity•Strongs 7622: shbuwth, sheb-ooth´; or shbiyth, sheb-eeth´; from 7617; exile, concretely, prisoners; figuratively, a former state of prosperity:—captive(-ity).
•Strongs 7617: shabah, shaw-baw´; a primitive root; to transport into captivity:—(bring away, carry, carry away, lead, lead away, take) captive(-s), drive (take) away. of my people of Israel, and they shall build•Strongs 1129: banah, baw-naw´; a primitive root; to build (literally and figuratively):—(begin to) build(-er), obtain children, make, repair, set (up), x surely. the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.”
— Amos 9:14
This misread was evident again in the past few days by the US objection to the Jerusalem Municipal Planning Committee’s approval of a plan to build some 900 new units in Gilo – not in a far-flung settlement overlooking Nablus, nor even in one of the settlement blocs like Gush Etzion, nor even a Jewish complex in one of the Arab neighborhoods of the capital, but in Gilo, one of the large new neighborhoods built in the city following the Six Day War. If Israel cannot build in Gilo without US approval, than it cannot build in Ramot Eshkol, French Hill, Ramot, Neveh Yaakov, Pisgat Ze’ev, East Talpiot or Har Homa.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs on Tuesday expressed “dismay” at the decision. The dismay, however, cuts both ways, with many Israelis clearly dismayed that the US – like Europe – now seems to be considering as settlements the post-1967 neighborhoods in Jerusalem. The EU, clearly following Gibbs’s lead and then taking it one step further, released a statement on Wednesday saying, “The European Union is dismayed by the recent decision on the expansion of the settlement of Gilo.”
Truth be told, this is not the first indication of US policy on this matter. Former US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice seemed to be giving the new neighborhoods settlement status in 2007 when she opposed a new project in Har Homa. She didn’t clarify, however, whether other Jerusalem neighborhoods over the Green Line, such as Gilo and Ramot, were settlements in the eyes of the United States.