Rachel Maddow reports on President Obama's amazing speech in Israel, and how Fox News pretended it never happened.
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Oh Fox News, you never disappoint us in that you ALWAYS disappoint us.
By the way I don't think that the portion of Obama's speech in Israel where he talks about Israeli parents can be talked about enough. It is, in fact, perhaps one of the most powerfully emotional, and truthful statements EVER made by a President of the United States to an audience of Israeli people.
Here it is again for you to read through:
Peace will have to be made among peoples, not just governments. (Applause.) No one -- no single step can change overnight what lies in the hearts and minds of millions. No single step is going to erase years of history and propaganda. But progress with the Palestinians is a powerful way to begin, while sidelining extremists who thrive on conflict and thrive on division. It would make a difference. (Cheers, applause.)
So peace is necessary. But peace is also just. Peace is also just. There is no question that Israel has faced Palestinian factions who turn to terror, leaders who missed historic opportunities. That is all true. And that’s why security must be at the center of any agreement. (Scattered applause.) And there is no question that the only path to peace is through negotiations, which is why, despite the criticism we’ve received, the United States will oppose unilateral -- unilateral efforts to bypass negotiations through the United Nations. (Applause.) It has to be done by the parties.
But the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination, their right to justice must also be recognized. (Cheers, applause.) And put yourself in their shoes. Look at the world through their eyes.
It is not fair that a Palestinian child cannot grow up in a state of their own -- (cheers, applause) -- living their entire lives with the presence of a foreign army that controls the movements, not just of those young people but their parents, their grandparents, every single day. It’s not just when settler violence against Palestinians goes unpunished. (Applause.) It’s not right to prevent Palestinians from farming their lands or restricting a student’s ability to move around the West Bank -- (applause) -- or displace Palestinian families from their homes. Neither occupation nor expulsion is the answer. (Cheers, applause.) Just as Israelis built a state in their homeland, Palestinians have a right to be a free people in their own land. (Applause.)
But I -- I’m going off script here for a second, but before I -- before I came here, I -- I met with a -- a group of young Palestinians from the age of 15 to 22. And talking to them, they weren’t that different from my daughters. They weren’t that different from your daughters or sons.
I honestly believe that if -- if any Israeli parent sat down with those kids, they’d say, I want these kids to succeed. (Applause.) I want them to prosper. I want them to have opportunities just like my kids do. (Applause.) I believe that’s what Israeli parents would want for these kids if they had a chance to listen to them and talk to them. (Cheers, applause.) I believe that. (Cheers, applause.)
I have long known that this President will go down in history as perhaps one of the greatest we have ever known, and it is the fear of that fact which inspires the constant attacks from the Republican party which reinforces my opinion every day. (Why do you think Fox News refused to broadcast that speech to its viewers?)
However perhaps even I have not always been aware of just how high this President is setting the bar for his successor. Personally I would hate to be the one to follow this amazing and death defying act.
P.S. Let me just add that when I was searching for a transcript to use in this post, the first one that I found was the official one. I read through it, and it WAS a good speech, but it wasn't anywhere near as incredible as THIS speech.
What made this speech so memorable, and ultimately historic, are the portions that weren't in the official version. The heckler, and his response, and then his off script comments about the Israeli parents were by FAR the highlights of this speech.
So just to drive this point home for all those Right Wing haters out there. The President was the MOST brilliant when he was NOT reading from the teleprompter, rather than the other way around.
And it is that unscripted brilliance which is going to put him light years ahead of other Presidents in history.
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