New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman (pictured) criticized Israel’s lack of
support for the Egyptian people in an op-ed article Sunday, saying “the children
of Egypt were having their liberation moment and the children of Israel decided
to side with Pharaoh – right to the very end.”
Friedman stated that he
was worried about Israel’s future because in a time when the Middle East is
beginning a period of great change, “Israel today has the most out-of-touch,
inbred, unimaginative and cliché-driven cabinet it has ever had.”
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treatyHe said
that during the crisis the Israeli approach was to attempt to convince the Obama
administration to support Hosni Mubarak against the protesters calling for his
ouster as Egyptian president, and to say “Look at us! Look at us! We told you
so! We are the only stable country in the region, because we are the only
democracy.”
Friedman slammed the government for, on the one hand, saying
Israel is Washington’s only reliable ally because it is a democracy but
contradicting this by saying “whatever you do, don’t abandon Mubarak and open
the way there for democracy.”
The journalist said that Jerusalem’s
concerns about the peace treaty with Egypt being upheld are valid and
understandable but that their behavior concerning the upheaval in Egypt is not
benefiting Israel.
“The ferocity and popularity of Mubarak’s ouster
should have told Israelis that they need to get to work immediately on building
a relationship with the dynamic new popular trend here, not to be trying to
cling to a dictator who was totally out of touch with his people.
“And,
as we sit here today, the popular trend is not with the Muslim Brotherhood.
Indeed, what makes the uprising here so impressive – and in that sense so
dangerous to other autocracies in the region – is precisely the fact that it is
not owned by, and was not inspired by, the Muslim Brotherhood,” Friedman
wrote.
Friedman said that the only Israeli politician who “totally got it
right” was Natan Sharansky who, in a
Jerusalem Post interview with Editorin-
Chief David Horovitz stated “that partnerships with dictatorships are
unsustainable – that people cannot permanently be repressed, that they will push
for freedom the moment they sense weakness in their tyrannical leaderships.”