Matt Bacon  Sports Editor

Over the course of his first term, President Obama has come under heavy fire for his behavior towards Israel, one of America’s closest allies, and a key strategic partner in a region where we are not exactly popular.

In the Middle East, America’s interests are Israel’s interests. Since the founding of Israel in 1948, the two nations have treated each other with sincere respect and admiration. President Obama, however, has fallen short of the mark of showing this respect. In four years of office, he has yet to visit Israel once. The President and Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s Prime Minister, are not exactly the best of friends, and aren’t afraid to make that known. Obama has also stated he believes that Israel should return to its pre-1967 borders.

Now, the president’s administration is coming under fire for not backing Israel on the issue of the Iranian nuclear weapon program. The rogue nation is supposedly very close to crossing a “red-line” that would allow it to produce nuclear weapons in places that cannot be reached by Israeli bombs. While Netanyahu is getting antsy in Israel and turning up the war rhetoric, the Obama administration has made it clear that they have no intention in involving America in an armed conflict between Israel and Iran. Presidential candidate Mitt Romney has accused Obama of throwing Israel “under the bus.”

In reality, it seems as though the President is merely taking a logical stance on the issue. America has been at war since 2001. It is now 2012. Over a decade of time, billions of dollars, and most importantly thousands of American lives have been lost in a conflict that is necessary but also overextended (yes, I’m talking about the war in Iraq.) The conflict has also contributed to a large chunk of our deficit.

So, why would it make any sense to get dragged into yet another conflict? Iran should not be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon, but America getting involved is not the answer. We should no longer be relied upon as the “world’s policeman.” Israel itself has a very powerful military and is arguably the strongest power in the Middle East. In fact, their military is often ranked in the top ten militaries worldwide. The Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency, is arguably the best and most efficient in the entire world. Iran would be no match for Israel in a war, and therefore there is simply no need to get involved in a potential conflict.

Critics of the President on his policy towards Israel also fail to look past his personal shortcomings and relationship with Netanyahu. In truth, Obama has given $3-billion in aid annually to Israel, as well financing and providing technical assistance to something called the Iron Dome Project, which protects Israeli villages from rocket strikes. Even the Israeli Defense Minister, the very highly respected Ehud Barak, said in an interview with FOX News last year “I can hardly remember a better period of American support and backing, and Israeli cooperation and similar strategic understanding of events around us, than what we have right now.” Those do not sound like the words of a nation scorned.

The Obama administration is not perfect in its foreign policy, and no administration is. Even though the President might have some room for improvement, especially in presentation and table manners, it is ridiculous to suggest that this administration is throwing Israel “under the bus.” For any president to do this would be an insult to one of the strongest alliances on the planet. The President is simply looking out for the best interests of America as a whole, and unfortunately in this current situation with Iran, that may not work out in Israel’s favor. But the Israelis are efficient, innovative people, and can certainly use the $3-billion dollars in aid we give them each year wisely if things escalate even more between them and Iran.

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Gareth Jones  Journal Staff

There is nothing to say about the Israel-Palestine conflict that hasn’t already been said. The solution, if any, lies in the hands of momentous social upheaval, or as each side fervently hopes: otherworldly intervention. Until either manifestation of the impossible presents itself, all that seems to be left for the casual observer is to attempt to keep the facts straight, which is rather difficult given the conflict is half-a-world away.

Furthermore, finding an objective opinion on the subject, even amongst the most scholarly echelons of academia is roughly as difficult as finding a seat on the Red Line T at  7 a.m. on Monday morning. Thus, instead of offering an opinion that would doubtless be an eloquent materialization of an already well beaten horse, let us simply examine the facts, as black and white as is currently possible, as we know them so far. An oversimplified timeline of the last 80 years of Palestine puts into perspective the current tumult.

In 1915, Britain made vague promises for an Arab state somewhere in the vicinity of Jerusalem in exchange for a full blown Arab revolt in the Ottoman Empire, which Britain was at war with. In 1917, heavy lobbying from Jewish interest groups in London initiated the Balfour Declaration promising English support of a Jewish state in Palestine, more or less directly in conflict with their 1915 agreements.

Then, 1938 solidifies the outbreak of World War II and a surprisingly small amount of pro-axis sentiment arises in the Arab World. For the most part, Arabs are too caught up in their own affairs to get involved in WWII, and conflict largely remains isolated to Palestine, which increased with the mass immigration of Jewish refugees from Europe. After the war, the conflict escalated as the victors of WWII tried to work out what to do with Palestine, which has been promised in some form or another to more or less everybody. The UN stepped in and drew lines all over Palestine, giving roughly half of the current Israeli border to the Jews.

Thereafter, the UN decision led to civil war, which the Jews won dramatically. In 1967, Egypt, Lebanon and Syria began mobilizing their armies for what looked suspiciously like an invasion. Israel became paranoid and invaded first, resulting in another overwhelming Israeli victory.

From 1973 until now, Israel moved on with its life: enjoying American aid and becoming a leading military presence in the area. Without ever openly admitting to it, in 1979, Israel became capable of nuclear warfare (see the Vela Incident.) Due to Israeli dominance and overbearing interference, the Arab-Palestinian state suffered massive economic strife for 40 years. Much in the same way Hitler piggy-backed off the German Economic recession, the Hezbollah came into power in Lebanon and openly declared war on Israel. Rockets have fallen in Israel every day since.

In essence, this awfully general summary of the last 80 years does nothing except emphasize just how difficult the situation has become. In my opinion, both sides need to stop living in the past. Israel is there. It’s not going anywhere. Neither is Palestine. If the past 2000 years could be forgotten, chances are the two sides could finally dust themselves off and move toward peace.