Republicans and Settlers Unite: Partying at a Site of Controversy

In a sign of increased hostility toward a settlement freeze and the Obama push for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, Israeli and US right wingers are teaming up. This Sunday, at the Shepherd Hotel in East Jerusalem a dinner is being held to showcase support for the settlements in general, and specifically, for building at the Shepherd Hotel. The choice of venue is not random and is meant to be provocative. As part of the Obama effort to restart the peace process, the administration has pushed forcefully for a settlement freeze, including in East Jerusalem, and has specifically voiced its opposition to the Shepherd Hotel building project. But, as Haaretz reports, and with particular reference to the Shepherd Hotel, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu remarked: "Israel will not agree to edicts of this kind in East Jerusalem."

So, the response from the right in Israel and the US is to raise the stakes and hold a party at the primary site of contention. Among the numerous Israeli, Jewish and Republican activists planning on attending the dinner is the 'guest of honor' and former candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008, Mike Huckabee. Huckabee is a former Arkansas Governor and a leading contender for the 2012 Republican presidential nod. Aside from headlining this event, Huckabee, currently a Fox News show host, will also visit various settlements and illegal outposts. Huckabee's excursion is bankrolled by Ateret Cohanim, which directs an East Jerusalem religious-Zionist Yeshiva and actively promotes and encourages Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem. As Israel National News elaborates, Ateret Cohanim just prevailed in a legal fight to allow for the building of 20 apartments on the site of the Shepherd Hotel. This legal decision sparked the current back and forth between the Obama and Netanyahu administrations over East Jerusalem.

According to Dov Hikind, a New York state assemblyman and well known advocate and supporter of the settlements, who is traveling with Huckabee in Israel, "This is an opportunity to shine the spotlight on Obama's policy in Jerusalem, which has just been a horror." In the Jerusalem Post, Hikind detailed the reasoning behind Huckabee's visit:

"Huckabee's arrival is significant because, this is a guy who's a major figure in America, and in my opinion will be a presidential candidate again," Hikind said. "To have a guy like him, you know, from Arkansas, come at this particular time, and say the kinds of things he's going to say, it's going to send a very strong message to the Israeli people and to the American administration."

 In a Ma'ariv article by Eli Bardenstein, Hikind elaborated on the game plan:

"We are planning to sleep in the settlements and visit the region. I believe that there will also be those who will buy houses in the settlements in lieu of buying houses in Florida. This is a very clear message to Obama, who is leading a policy whereby there are areas in Israel that should be clean of Jews. We want to show that many in America are opposed to his pressure on the Israeli government on the subject of settlements."

As apparent, the Huckabee and Hikind visit is part of a larger, coordinated effort to showcase support for the settlement enterprise. Included among the initiatives are the organization of thousands of visits by Americans to both legal and illegal settlements, the synchronization of Jewish and non-Jewish support for the settler movement and the active push for Americans to purchase houses in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. From Chabad, November is the target date to bring thousands of American Jews to the West Bank as part of a timely push against the US administration.

While this visit and the party at the Shepherd Hotel will surely garner media coverage and send a message; it is not a message that will be received with open arms in the US. Most Americans do not support the settlements. As World Public Opinion reported in an April poll of Americans:

Opposition to settlements is found among majorities of Republicans (65%), Democrats (83%) and independents (74%)

Last week, in a precursor to the Hikind and Huckabee fete at the Shepherd Hotel, Virginia Representative Eric Cantor led a group of Republican congressmen to Israel. In a further sign that Middle East politics does not stop at the water's edge, and that it is fair game to openly criticize US foreign policy while traveling abroad, Cantor clearly stated his opposition to Obama's efforts:

We are concerned about what the White House has been signaling of late in their desire to push through in terms of a Middle East peace plan.... That's very troubling.

Huckabee, Cantor, Hikind, who's next? The rightwing in Israel and the US are making their position clear: there is no need for a settlement freeze. This point could not be farther from the truth as the vast majority of Americans attest. Though the Obama administration has pointedly stated its opposition to expanding the settlements, it has been talking with the Netanyahu government about ways to reconcile this issue. Possible points of compromise include a moratorium, a cessation, or a full on freeze in certain areas, among other possibilities. Plainly, it is too early to tell how these ongoing US-Israeli talks will conclude. But, for a sign of where the US would like to go, just follow the Road Map.

In another sign of a concerted effort to showcase support for the settler movement, a recent poll was commissioned by the Traditional Values Coalition (TVC) of self-identified Jewish Democrats. According to Eric Fingerhut at the JTA:

A TVC meeting is just about the last place you'd go if you were looking to find Jewish Democrats. According to its Web site, the TVC represents 43,000 evangelical churches...

This poll revealed that 92% think Obama is doing a good job as president and 58% think he is "doing a good job of promoting peace in the Middle East." Clearly, Jewish Democrats think Obama is doing a good job in the Middle East, no matter how Dick Morris and Eileen McGann portray the numbers.

Without a doubt, the settlement enterprise in East Jerusalem and the West Bank erodes any hope for a contiguous Palestinian state and simultaneously minimizes the long term viability of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. Let's hope Obama has the stomach to take on the vested interests of the settler enterprise, he does after all have the majority of Americans, be they Democrats, Republicans or independents in his corner.