Israel Matzav: Obama sending video to Rabin memorial rally, Netanyahu not invited

Obama sending video to Rabin memorial rally, Netanyahu not invited

In a bid to influence Israeli public opinion, President Obama will send a videotaped message to be played at the annual Yitzchak Rabin memorial rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday night. Israel's sitting Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, has not been invited to attend. This is from Haaretz (the first link above).

The message will relate to the murdered prime minister's legacy and the need to advance the peace process. It was prepared in response to a request from Rabin's daughter, Dalia Rabin.

This is another step in Obama's attempt to speak directly to the Israeli public in light of the very low level of support he has among the Israeli public. Several polls over the past few months show the American president has won the support of only 6 percent to 10 percent of the Israeli public, with people saying Obama does not support Israel.

Obama's advisers are worried about his lack of popularity and the expressed feeling that he is hostile to Israel. They believe this seriously harms his ability to advance the peace process with the Palestinians. Obama's advisers see this as the reason why Israelis view his diplomatic initiatives on both Iran and the Palestinians so negatively.

...

The main memorial ceremony will be the Rabin Square one Saturday night, on the site of the murder. Peres, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and opposition leader Tzipi Livni are expected to participate, as well as Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai and numerous other politicians. A large number of artists will perform at the event, including Aviv Gefen, Ahinoam Nini, Miri Aloni, Rona Keinan and Miri Mesika.

But not Binyamin Netanyahu, who is still blamed by many on the Left for the assassination, because he spoke at a rally at which pictures of Rabin in an SS uniform were handed out. It came out much later that the pictures were prepared by an operative for Israel's General Security Service (Shabak), which was under Rabin's direct command. But the Left, likes to forget that.

Someone ought to let President Obama know that the Rabin memorial rally is the most divisive event on this country's calendar and that his video will be preaching to the choir. Rabin's legacy is such that for the most part, only the Left bothers to show up.

Israel Matzav: Obama sending video to Rabin memorial rally, Netanyahu not invited