Netanyahu's Speech to AIPAC was not a Love Poem to Obama

As the Main Stream Media reported it.  Yes, he took the high road and did not disparage Obama as he clearly could have for Obama's speech last week demanding a return to the 1967 borders which essentially would re-divide Jerusalem.  He basically said he thought Obama was a friend of Israel.  That had to be a bitter statement to spit out.

What he also said was, of course, not reported in the Main Stream Media.  It was a clear and cogent explanation of the Israel/Palistine issue.

It’s time to stop blaming Israel for all of the region’s problems.

Let me stress one thing.

Peace between Israelis and Palestinians is a vital need for us.

Peace would be the realization of a powerful and eternal dream.

But it is not a panacea for the endemic problems of the Middle East.

It will not give women in some Arab countries in the Middle East the right to drive a car.

It will not prevent Churches from being bombed.

It will not keep journalists out of jail.

What will change all this?  One word.

Democracy.  Real, genuine, democracy.

By democracy, I don’t just mean elections.

I mean Freedom of Speech.  Freedom of the Press.  Freedom of Assembly.

The Rule of Law.   Rights for women, for gays, for minorities, for everyone.

What the people of the Middle East need is what you have in America, and what we have in Israel.

Democracy.

It’s time to recognize this basic truth:

Israel is not what’s wrong about the Middle East.

Israel is what’s right about the Middle East.

My Friends,

Israel wants peace because we know the pain of terror and the agony of war.

We want peace because we know the blessings peace could bring to us and to our Palestinian neighbors.

But if we hope to advance peace with the Palestinians, then it is time that we admitted another truth.

This conflict has raged for nearly a century because the Palestinians refuse to end it.

They refuse to accept the Jewish state.

This is what this conflict has always been about.

There are many issues that must be resolved between Israelis and Palestinians.

We can and must resolve them.

But I repeat.  We can only make peace with the Palestinians if they are prepared to make peace with the Jewish state.