Call to Arab states on Israel links - Obama condemns Holocaust deniers before Buchenwald visit

Call to Arab states on Israel links - Obama condemns Holocaust deniers before Buchenwald visit
By Chris Bryant in Dresden and Tobias Buck in Jerusalem
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
Published: June 5 2009 20:17 | Last updated: June 5 2009 20:17
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1af10054-5204-11de-b986-00144feabdc0.html


Barack Obama on Friday called on Arab states to show willingness to set up diplomatic and commercial ties with Israel in return for “tough commitments” from the Jewish state as he reinforced his determination to launch a fresh drive to broker Middle East peace.

His statement came ahead of a poignant visit to the Buchenwald former concentration camp in Germany, on a day that saw Mr Obama try to assuage concerns – both in Israel and at home – about the direction of his Middle East policy.

It followed the president’s landmark speech to the Muslim world in Cairo on Thursday, which included frank criticism of Israeli policies, in particular on the issue of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Speaking on Friday, Mr Obama made clear that, along with Israel, the Palestinians and Arab states would also be asked to compromise: “[Regarding] the Arab states, what I’d like to see is indicators that they are willing, if Israel makes tough commitments, to also make some hard choices that will allow for an opening of commerce, diplomatic exchanges between Israel and its neighbours.”

While he repeated demands on Israel to freeze settlement growth, the president’s later visit to Buchenwald and his appeal for Arab concessions marked a conscious – if largely symbolic – effort to reach out to Israel after weeks of tensions. Washington is keen to demonstrate that its drive to launch a new phase in relations between the US and the Muslim world will not come at the expense of its commitment to Israeli security.

It was a message brought home by Mr Obama on Friday in Buchenwald and during his Cairo speech, where he spoke emphatically of the dangers of denying the Holocaust. He also described the bond between the US and Israel as “unbreakable” and called on Palestinians to abandon violence against Israel.

However, there was evidence that the recent tensions between his administration and the new right-wing Israeli government are translating into mounting mistrust among ordinary Israelis towards the US president. A poll published on Friday showed that more than one in two Israelis feel Mr Obama’s policies are “not good” for their country.

Mr Obama admitted his widely praised Cairo address had been “just one speech”. “It doesn’t replace all the hard work that’s going to have to be done,” he said, revealing that his envoy George Mitchell would return to the region next week. “I am confident that if we stick with it, having started early, we can make some serious progress this year,” Mr Obama said.

Standing with German chancellor Angela Merkel in Dresden, Mr Obama told reporters that as Israel’s friend, the US had “an obligation to just be honest with that friend about how important it is to achieve a two-state solution”.

But he said he was “very sympathetic” to how hard it would be for Israel to end settlement building.

Mr Obama urged Palestinians to improve security in the West Bank and deal with the continued incitement of hatred against Israel. Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, has made progress on this issue, he said – “but not enough”.

“There are going to be a whole set of things to do with the Palestinians’ ability to govern effectively and maintain security that if they are not solved then Israelis are going to have trouble moving forward.”

In comments likely to reassure Israelis, Mr Obama told NBC News that Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad, president of Iran, should also visit the camp. “I have no patience for people who would deny history.”

Obama condemns Holocaust deniers
President Barack Obama took aim at Holocaust deniers before he visited the Buchenwald concentration camp, Germany, on Friday. “I have no patience for people who would deny history,” he said.

The visit sent a message that Israel is still a priority for US foreign policy in the Middle East after Mr Obama made a major speech to Muslims in Cairo on Thursday.

Accompanied by Ms Merkel and Elie Wiesel, a camp survivor, Mr Obama laid a white rose in memory of the estimated 56,000 mostly Jewish victims of the Nazis at Buchenwald. They paused at a steel plate memorial, which is kept heated to 37C all year-round, the same temperature as a human body.

He later explained that the visit had special significance because his great-uncle, Charles Payne, had helped liberate a nearby sub-camp from the Nazis in 1945.

“I will not forget about what I have seen here,” the president said, referring to the ovens, barracks and barbed wire. “To this day there are those who insist that the holocaust never happened, a denial of fact and truth that is baseless and ignorant and hateful.”