Muslims in U.S.: Speech hit 'right notes'

Muslims in U.S.: Speech hit 'right notes'
By Marisol Bello, USA TODAY




President Obama's call for Arabs, Israelis and Americans to abandon their suspicions and work together for a more secure future was welcomed more enthusiastically by Muslims on this side of the world than by Jews who expressed concerns about his support for the Palestinian cause.

"He hit the right notes with the right tone," said Ziad Asali, president of the American Task Force on Palestine. "He gave the big picture in a speech that takes the high moral ground. It takes courage to say the things that are not exactly what your audience wants to hear."

His pointed comments about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict drew the harshest reactions here. Calling the bond between the United States and Israel "unbreakable," Obama called on Israel to recognize the need for a Palestinian state and stop illegal settlements in the West Bank, which Palestinians claim as part of their homeland. He denounced the violence against Israel and called on Palestinians to end attacks.


Ibtisam Ibrahim, a Palestinian who is director of Arab Studies at American University, said Obama may have offended some Arabs by emphasizing the strong relationship between the United States and Israel. "It sounded like he was speaking in an Israeli university," Ibrahim said. "We know about the special relationship, and there's no argument about it. We need to hear more about how we're going to end the conflict."


Some Jews were rankled by the president's comments regarding Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

Matt Brooks, executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, said the speech was troubling because it marked a shift from the Bush administration, which was more concerned with ensuring Israel's security. "The reality is that settlements are not an obstacle to peace," Brooks said. "This administration is changing the focus of peace efforts. … You have to stop the barrage of missiles and rockets coming into Israel."

Mordechai Yitzhaky, owner of Katz Kosher Super Market in Rockville, Md., called the president's speech a disaster for the Jewish community. "He never mentioned the Israelis' burden over the last 50 years," Yitzhaky said. "He only talked about what the Israelis are supposed to do to make the Palestinians' lives easier. … A lot of Jewish people in the U.S. voted for him. I think a lot of them will be very disappointed."

Rabbi Michael Beals of the Congregation of Beth Shalom in Wilmington, Del., said Obama wrongly made it appear as if Israel and the United States disagreed over settlements. "He made an issue out of something that's not an issue," Beals said. "It was, 'Look, we're getting tough on Israel.' "

Others who advocate a separate nation for Palestinians praised Obama's approach. "You have to end the blame game," said Jeremy Ben-Ami, executive director of J Street, a pro-Israel lobby that supports a two-state solution. "That kind of finger-pointing and blame game will not allow you to move forward."

Muslims across the country said the speech was a strong overture to the Arab world by a president who has credibility because of his personal experiences with Islam. Obama noted that his middle name is Hussein, his father was Muslim and he lived for several years in Indonesia, which has a predominantly Muslim population.

"He looks like a lot of people in the Middle East. His middle name is like many people in the Middle East," said Yahya Mossa Basha of Detroit, which has one of the largest populations of Arabs in the USA. "No one doubts his intentions."

Other Arabs said the speech laid the groundwork for the United States to establish a better relationship with Muslims here and abroad. "We are a growing minority, and we are misunderstood and misrepresented," said Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "The president is helping to undo and break down stereotypes of Muslims and also break down stereotypes of Americans."

Contributing: Tina Irgang; Maureen Milford, The (Wilmington, Del.) News Journal

Source :http://www.usatoday.com

Obama's Speech "Remarkable"

Bob Schieffer: Obama's Speech "Remarkable"
Posted by Michelle Levi



CBS News' Chief Washington Correspondent Bob Schieffer said the most significant part of President Obama's speech to the Muslim world in Cairo, Egypt today, was that he made it.

"This was a remarkable speech," Schieffer told host Maggie Rodriguez on The Early Show this morning,"[t]he most remarkable thing to me was just simply that he made it. That he would go to Cairo and that he would speak with the candor he did."

"It's also going to be controversial," Schieffer predicted, noting the president's call for "these [Israeli] settlements to stop" and that he thinks the lesson learned in Iraq was sometimes diplomacy trumps force.

Schieffer said that "the fact that he was there, that Muslims got a chance to see him, to hear him... This will have a great impact…I think that was aimed at the next generation."

"This was professor Obama," Schieffer said alluding to the president's former career as a law professor at the University of Chicago.

The history buff host of "Face the Nation" and "Washington Unplugged," admitted that even he learned a few things from the historical speech.

"One thing I didn't know," Schieffer said, "he pointed out that Morocco, a Muslim country, was the first to recognize the United States. He also pointed out there is a mosque in every state in the United States of America."


Source :http://www.cbsnews.com

Obama Offers New Partnership Between the U.S. and Muslim World

Obama Offers New Partnership Between the U.S. and Muslim World
By Tony Karon



Grounding himself in verses from the Koran, President Barack Obama on Thursday promised the Muslim world a new partnership with the U.S. based on mutual interest, mutual respect — and a promise to "say openly the things we hold in our hearts, and that too often are said only behind closed doors." And he delivered by the bucket, in a speech that first wooed his audience with lavish praise of Islam's contribution to global civilization, and then delivered some bracing messages on key points of conflict between the U.S. and its Muslim critics.

• On Afghanistan, Obama emphasized that the Sept. 11 attacks had left the U.S. with no choice but to deny al-Qaeda a sanctuary there — squarely challenging the conspiracy theories that still prevail in Egypt and much of the Muslim world that question whether the attacks had in fact been carried out by extremists, who claimed responsibility for the event. "These are not opinions to be debated; these are facts to be dealt with," he said bluntly. The U.S. would bring its troops home immediately if it could be sure extremists would have no sanctuary in Afghanistan.

Iraq was different, a war of choice that Obama himself had opposed. But he emphasized his responsibility to help Iraqis achieve a better future while stressing that his goal was to leave Iraq to the Iraqis — and he broke with President George W. Bush by saying bluntly that the U.S. had no interest in establishing permanent bases there. He also stressed that all U.S. troops would leave Iraq by 2012, in line with an agreement with the Iraqi government.

On torture and the abuse of detainees at Guantánamo and elsewhere, Obama carefully distanced himself from some of the Muslim world's most toxic grievances against the U.S. war on terrorism. The fear generated by Sept. 11 had prompted some Americans to act in ways that contradicted their country's values and traditions, he said — a line likely to infuriate former Vice President Dick Cheney — but he stressed that he has already outlawed torture and vowed to close Guantánamo by next year, drawing raucous applause.

• The Israeli-Palestinian conflict marks perhaps the most enduring area of division between the U.S. and Muslim countries. On this subject, Obama's speech was an elegant walk on a balance beam: he unapologetically stressed that the bond between the U.S. and Israel was unbreakable, emphasizing that it was based on "the recognition that the aspiration for a Jewish homeland is rooted in a tragic history that cannot be denied." He cited the centuries of Jewish persecution in Europe that culminated in the Holocaust, which killed more Jews than Israel's current Jewish population. "Denying that fact is baseless, ignorant and hateful. Threatening Israel with destruction — or repeating vile stereotypes about Jews — is deeply wrong and only serves to evoke in the minds of Israelis this most painful of memories while preventing the peace that the people of this region deserve."

But he was just as forceful in describing the trauma of the Palestinians that began with their displacement by Israel's creation in 1948, which turned many into refugees and later included suffering the humiliations of occupation. Obama's description of a stalemate involving "two peoples with legitimate aspirations, each with a painful history that makes compromise elusive" offered both sides a narrative in which they could recognize their own interests. "If we see this conflict only from one side or the other, then we will be blind to the truth: the only resolution is for the aspirations of both sides to be met through two states, where Israelis and Palestinians each live in peace and security."

Obama bluntly rebuked Hamas for terrorism, offering the example of the U.S. civil rights struggle as an alternative. He also scolded Israel for its occupation of the West Bank, saying the U.S. did not accept "the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlement activity." He stressed both the Palestinian Authority's responsibility for improving Palestinian governance and Israel's obligation to ease the siege of Gaza and its security regime in the West Bank — though both sides would see the speech as short on specifics. Still, the audience warmed to a U.S. President using more forceful language on Israel than either of his two predecessors.

Source :http://www.time.com

Obama looks to reach the soul of the Muslim world

Obama looks to reach the soul of the Muslim world



By Ed Hornick
CNN

(CNN) -- Winning the hearts and minds of a majority of people is a nearly impossible feat, especially when you're a politician.

And it's even harder when religion is involved, namely Islam, which some estimates put at 1 billion followers.

But President Obama looks to do just that Thursday as he delivers what the White House is billing as a major speech to the Muslim world in Cairo, Egypt.

Obama hopes to start "a new chapter of engagement" between the United States and the Muslim world, speechwriter Ben Rhodes said Wednesday.


This engagement would be based on mutual respect and mutual interest, and Obama plans to speak "openly and candidly" about issues that have caused "tensions in the Muslim world," Rhodes said. "This can't be just [about] what we're against, but what we're for."

Obama asked staff members to "cast a wide net" to gather a range of viewpoints, including those of Muslim-Americans, as he was preparing his Cairo comments, Rhodes disclosed.

But just as the White House lays out its vision, al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden purportedly issued another statement Wednesday, saying U.S. policy in Pakistan has generated "new seeds of hatred and revenge against America."

Al-Jazeera, an Arabic-language TV network, aired segments of what it said was a "voice recording by bin Laden," which was believed to have been recorded several weeks ago, during a mass civilian exodus because of fighting in northwestern Pakistan.

Pakistani troops have been taking on militants in the area, known as the Swat Valley.

Bin Laden's message also likened Obama's actions to those of past administrations.

Obama is proving that he is "walking the same road of his predecessors to build enmity against Muslims and increasing the number of fighters and establishing more lasting wars," bin Laden says on the tape.

"This basically means that Obama and his administration put new seeds of hatred and revenge against America. The number of these seeds is the same as the number of those victims and refugees in Swat and the tribal area in northern and southern Waziristan."

The White House hit back on the bin Laden tape late Wednesday.


"I don't think it's surprising that al Qaeda would want to shift attention away from the president's historic efforts, and continued efforts, to reach out and have an open dialogue with the Muslim world," Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

It was a message reinforced by officials throughout the administration.

"I think the timing is pretty self-evident, and it doesn't take a rocket scientist on this one," Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said.

CNN Security Analyst Peter Bergen says the tape "speaks for itself."

"I think what's interesting about the tape is that it appears to be made several weeks ago. ... The bin Laden tape was not made to kind of upstage the Cairo speech. ... Some in Al-Jazeera may well have kept it back ... for a more newsworthy moment ... right now as the president is in the Middle East," he said.

Bin Laden's comments come as al Qaeda second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri said Obama will not be welcomed in Egypt but rather "welcomed by his slaves who benefit from his aids and bribes."

Bergen says the two men are still "pretty relevant" in the Muslim world, adding that they "do continue to provide strategic guidance to jihadis around the world."

But Democratic Rep. Andre Carson of Indiana, a Muslim, says the latest message shows that al Qaeda is threatened by Obama's appeal to Muslims as having relatives of the Islamic faith and having lived in a Muslim country.

"President Obama's reaching the hearts and minds of the Muslim community both here in the United States and internationally. ... These extremists ... want to pump fear in the hearts and minds, but it's not working," he said.

"I think we have to be mindful and careful about these self-appointed gatekeepers of the religion of Islam. The religion of Islam is a peaceful religion. We certainly have great contributions from Muslims in America and Muslims abroad who want to see the world better."

It's a point agreed with by CNN's senior editor of Middle East affairs, Octavia Nasr.

"One thing is certain: Bin Laden's rhetoric doesn't seem to mirror a mostly hopeful acceptance of President Obama among Muslims and Arabs," Nasr said Wednesday.

Carson, a former Homeland Security official, has advised Obama on Muslim affairs. He says the president needs to strike the right balance of appealing to Muslims while not weakening the United States' relationship with Israel.

Bergen agrees, saying senior Saudi officials have told him that they want some statement on Israel that is "more than just platitudes."

"The president and his team, of course, understand that. And we've seen the ground being prepared over the last week or so with statements on the settlements [in Gaza]."

In advance of his trip, the president has been getting tough on Israel, pushing a two-state solution in meetings with a resistant Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Before embarking on his trip, Obama dropped in unexpectedly on a meeting Tuesday in Washington between Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and National Security Adviser Gen. Jim Jones, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported.

Obama, the newspaper reports, intends to give Netanyahu four to six weeks to update his position regarding construction in the settlements and Palestinian sovereignty as part of the so-called two-state solution.

Netanyahu, speaking to the Knesset Foreign Affairs Committee on Monday, said that a freeze of settlement activity is not reasonable.

But it's not just the settlement issue Obama has to address; it's also tamping down criticism of picking Cairo to deliver the speech.

CNN's Ben Wedeman, who talked to Egyptians in Cairo, said most of the people were eagerly awaiting the president's visit but said some were concerned that Obama, by making Egypt the focus of his trip, could legitimize Mubarak's 28-year rule.

These Egyptians said they feared that Obama might not discuss with Mubarak longstanding problems such as the need for democracy and political reform


"What they want is results, not just words," Wedeman said.

But Nasr argues that Egypt is significant because it is a "major player" in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, which is "at the heart of every Muslim confrontation with the west."

"It is also home to Al-Azhar Mosque, the authority on Islam for the whole world. It is also the birthplace of the Muslim Brotherhood. In the past decades, Egypt has also landed a voice to an array of groups from ultra-conservative Muslim movements to most liberal social issues such as gay rights."

Back home, potential 2012 GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney says Obama needs to stop using foreign soil to apologize for U.S. relations.

"[There's] no harm in speaking with other people. But if you look at his last trip to Europe and also the comments he made on Arabic TV as he became president, I think you can be troubled as I have been," he said Tuesday.


Carson, however, says Obama has to address the "arrogance" of the eight years under the Bush administration.

"We've seen eight years of disrespect. We've seen eight years of arrogance. And we've seen eight years of our wonderful, great nation shoving our opinions down the throats of other nations," he said. "President Obama is the man to help move us forward and heal some of these wounds."

Source :http://edition.cnn.com

Obama delivers strong attack on Israeli settlements in speech to Muslim world

Obama delivers strong attack on Israeli settlements in speech to Muslim world


From The Times
June 5, 2009

James Hider in Cairo

Before a crowd of robed Muslim clerics, dissidents who have served time in jail, students from across the region and besuited government officials from authoritarian regimes, President Obama made an historic speech yesterday to try to mend America’s battered ties with the world’s 1.5 billion Muslims.

From such a diverse audience he received as many cheers for espousing women’s rights as he did for quoting the Koran or championing the principle of a free Palestinian state.

Mr Obama made obvious attempts to win Muslim hearts and minds — reminding them that Thomas Jefferson taught himself Arabic, and praising the Islamic world as a beacon of learning during Europe’s Dark Ages — but refused to shy away from the difficult issues of religious extremism, human rights abuses and nuclear proliferation that plague the region.

“We meet at a time of tension between the United States and Muslims around the world — tension rooted in historical forces that go beyond any current policy debate,” he said, in the grand auditorium of Cairo University, where 2,000 carefully selected guests had gathered. Outside, Cairo’s usually chaotic streets fell quiet under a tight police cordon.

In a frank 50-minute speech — at one point interrupted by a shout of “We love you” — Mr Obama admitted to America’s mistakes, all but conceding that the Iraq war had been an error. He called on Israel to end all settlement activities in the West Bank and made a direct appeal to Hamas, the Palestinian militants who rule Gaza, to end violence and shoulder the responsibility placed on them by their 2006 election victory. He also delved into the complex entanglements between East and West, citing the latter’s Cold War use of Muslim countries as mere “proxies” and the Islamic world’s suspicions of globalism and the changes that it had wrought on traditional societies.

With a tone that owed almost as much to therapy as diplomacy, Mr Obama invited traumatised nations beset by war, repression and suspicion of the outside world to look at themselves honestly and face up to hard truths. Those included the Muslim world’s need to acknowledge the suffering of the Jews in the Holocaust and its effect on Israel’s mentality, as well as the “daily humiliations” of the Palestinians under Israeli occupation.

He also acknowledged his country’s mistakes. “Unlike Afghanistan, Iraq was a war of choice that provoked strong differences in my country and around the world,” he said. “Although I believe that the Iraqi people are ultimately better off without the tyranny of Saddam Hussein, I also believe that events in Iraq have reminded America of the need to use diplomacy and build international consensus to resolve our problems whenever possible.”

He also made digs at the Arab world’s authoritarian regimes, including that of his host, President Mubarak, long propped up by America. He invited his allies to reform and embrace “the rule of law and the equal administration of justice; government that is transparent and doesn’t steal from the people; the freedom to live as you choose”.

And while reaffirming America’s commitment to Israel, he made perhaps the toughest condemnation yet by a US president of the Jewish settlements spreading in the West Bank. “The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements. This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace,” he said. “It is time for these settlements to stop.”

Mr Obama received a standing ovation and most members of the audience left buoyed by a sense that real change was coming. “His criticism of authoritarian regimes really touched my heart,” said Nada Maher, a young Egyptian student. “This means that he’s taking it seriously.”

Professor Mohammed Abdelhadi Imam, of the Islamic al-Azhar University, said: “The most important thing was his call for peace. I feel happy and hopeful for the world after hearing this speech. He was talking from heart to heart.”

There was criticism, however, mostly from the young bloggers who have taken on Egypt’s heavy-handed regime and often been jailed. “He was addressing the religious emotions of the people, not their minds,” said Wael Abbas, a prominent blogger.

Such criticism was dismissed by Abdullah Schleiffer, an American-born Jew who converted to Islam and is now a prominent scholar and broadcaster in the region.

“It is easy to say it’s words but words have a reality. The Declaration of Independence was only words but they changed the world,” he said, noting the radical shift in Mr Obama’s direct address to Hamas, shunned by the international community as terrorists. “Today begins Day 1 of dialogue with Hamas,” he said.

Israel welcomed Mr Obama’s promise of a “new beginning” with the Muslim world but said that safeguarding its citizens remained its priority.

Source :http://www.timesonline.co.uk

Muslims not sure speech means real change

Muslims not sure speech means real change



Obama's speech in Cairo is eloquent, the rhetoric soaring, but many in the audience are left wondering whether the charismatic president can follow it with new policies and actions.
By Jeffrey Fleishman
2:34 PM PDT, June 4, 2009

Reporting from Cairo -- He came with goodwill and pretty sentences, but the question kept echoing: Were they enough?

President Obama's long anticipated speech Thursday to the Muslim world sought to dissolve the mistrust between Islam and the West by highlighting his personal appeal as he called for an end to intolerance and violence and a move toward a shared future. It was a carefully textured blend of history, the president's experience with Islam and the need to quell religious extremism.


The 55-minute address at Cairo University was short on policy details. What it lacked in PowerPoint specificity, the speech made up for by linking Obama's story -- the Christian son of an African Muslim father -- with his administration's goals of ending the Arab-Israeli crisis, sitting with Iran at the negotiating table and calling on Muslims to reject the fanatical voices of Osama bin Laden and others.

Few world leaders today can match Obama's eloquence and charisma, and it was clear that the president wanted the world's 1.5 billion Muslims to see America through the prism of his enormously popular image. The words were a start, but the question here remains: Is Obama the face of genuine change in U.S. foreign policy or will he merely offer a sparkle of promise before he is overwhelmed by troubles from the bombed alleys of the Gaza Strip to the mountains of Afghanistan?

The address did not answer that; it didn't provide enough concrete solutions to wipe away doubt. It did suggest, however, that the president is a conciliator, not a warrior, and that America, especially in Iraq, had made mistakes. Saving face is a cherished Arab virtue, and a man who can keep face while listing his mistakes is respected.


Obama, with an eye to how his remarks would play among conservatives in Washington, emphasized that the U.S. would "relentlessly confront" extremists and urged Muslims to tame its violent minority and set aside the "crude stereotype" of America.

The president was attempting to insinuate himself into the larger debate within Islam -- not among militants, who won't be swayed by an appeal from an American president, but between mainstream conservative and moderate Muslim voices looking to keep their faith but also engage the secular West.

"No single speech can eradicate years of mistrust, nor can I answer in the time that I have all the complex questions that brought us to this point," said Obama. "There must be a sustained effort to listen to each other, to learn from each other, to respect one another and to seek common ground."

That was the message. It began with Obama greeting the crowd with assalamu alaikum, or "peace be upon you," and was bolstered by weaving in quotes from the Koran. And the speech was delivered the way you introduce yourself here to neighbors as a newcomer to town: explaining where you're from, your passions, your dreams, but not delving too deeply into prickly things. That unveiling comes later, during ensuing weeks, months and years.

But many in this region want deeds and progress much sooner, and believe that the speech was more of a balancing act than an aggressive agenda. "He's speaking in the right direction, but we need to see what follows," Ibrahim Hudaiby, a blogger and member of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood. "It's time for action. . . . The devil is in the details."

Obama spoke fervently about the creation of a Palestinian state, while also stressing that the U.S.-Israeli bond was unbreakable. This was the topic many Arab Muslims had waited for, and Obama, as in much of the speech, turned to history: how it resonated, but how the world must not be bound by it.

He said denying the existence of the Holocaust, as some of Israel's enemies have done, is "baseless, it is ignorant and it is hateful." But he quickly noted that "it is also undeniable" that the Palestinians have suffered pain and indignities in their quest for a homeland. He again firmly called for a halt to the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, but he said Palestinians should follow the course of nonviolent protest, such as practiced by blacks in the United States and South Africa.

His remarks on expanding democracy drew applause from the audience, but they were couched in too much diplomacy for Egyptian activists and dissidents whose voices have been squelched for nearly 28 years by Obama's host, President Hosni Mubarak. Some of them had criticized Obama's visit here as an endorsement of an autocratic regime that has imprisoned thousands of opponents.

Obama did not mention any country or Arab leader by name when he declared that government must be run with "a spirit of tolerance and compromise; you must place the interests of your people and the legitimate workings of the political process above your party. Without these ingredients, elections alone do not make a true democracy."

The tenor of his address was not to point blame -- except at extremists -- but to end past animosities between Islam and the West and to start anew. It highlighted his gifts as an orator, but left open the question of how successful a statesmen he may become.

"We have the power to make the world we seek," he said, "but only if we have the courage to make a new beginning, keeping in mind what has been written."

He then quoted from the Koran, the Talmud and the Bible.

But Obama will need to recite more than holy text to convince his audience that his words will be followed by change.

jeffrey.fleishman@latimes.com

Source :http://www.latimes.com

Obama’s Speech Welcomed by Arabs Who Want Now to See Action

Obama’s Speech Welcomed by Arabs Who Want Now to See Action





By Daniel Williams and Julianna Goldman

June 5 (Bloomberg) -- Arabs welcomed President Barack Obama’s call for a “new beginning” in relations with the Muslim world and called on the U.S. to match words with actions, while in Israel analysts said the speech would intensify pressure on their government to halt West Bank settlements.

In an address at the golden-domed Grand Hall of Cairo University yesterday, Obama said both societies must end the “cycle of suspicion and discord” that has defined the relationship. While saying the U.S. bond with Israel is “unbreakable,” he said the Israelis must halt expansion of settlements and recognize Palestinian aspirations for statehood.

“The symbolism was strong, the substance was thin,” said Rami Khoury, director of the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut. “Equating the Palestinians and the Israelis at the same level was very significant.”

The speech, with an audience of about 3,000 in the hall and millions more worldwide, was part of an effort by Obama to enhance U.S. standing with the Islamic world as he realigns U.S. policy in the battle against terrorism, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the confrontation with Iran over its nuclear development plans.

The president laced his 55-minute address with references to the Koran as well as the Bible and the Talmud. He talked about Islamic contributions to culture, U.S. history and his personal story.

‘Always the Truth’

Citing a verse in the Koran that tells Muslims to “speak always the truth,” Obama said that that to move forward, “we must say openly to each other the things we hold in our hearts, and that too often are said only behind closed doors.”

He outlined six friction points between the U.S. and Muslims: violent extremism “in all its forms”; Iran’s pursuit of nuclear arms; democracy in Muslim nations; religious freedom and the rights of women. Obama used some of his most direct language regarding the sixth flash-point, the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians and Muslim enmity toward the Jews.

He said Jews have been subject to centuries of persecution and statements that deny the fact of the deaths of 6 million Jews in the Holocaust at the hands of the Nazis are “ignorant” and “hateful.”

“Threatening Israel with destruction -- or repeating vile stereotypes about Jews -- is deeply wrong and only serves to evoke in the minds of Israelis this most painful of memories while preventing the peace that the people of this region deserve,” he said.

Israeli Settlements

At the same time, he said, “Israelis must acknowledge that just as Israel’s right to exist cannot be denied, neither can Palestine’s. The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements.”

The Palestinian situation in the West Bank and Gaza is “intolerable,” he said. “The only resolution is for the aspirations of both sides to be met through two states, where Israelis and Palestinians each live in peace and security.”

“It’s good to hear that kind of message that America is not going to turn its back on the Palestinians,” said Abdulkhaleq Abdullah, a professor of politics at United Arab Emirates University in Al Ain, U.A.E.

Adouri Mgrditchian, a 24-year-old student at American University of Beirut, said Obama’s trip is “a step in the right direction.”

“But will we see concrete steps?” he asked.

In the Gaza Strip, Sameh Abdallah, a Palestinian public employee agreed: “We heard very positive comments from him, but the judgment is subject to seeing actions on the ground.”

Pressure on Netanyahu

In Israel, Gerald Steinberg, a political science professor at Bar-Ilan University near Tel Aviv, said, “The timing and venue of this historic speech definitely ratchets up the pressure” on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has rejected freezing expansion of settlements.

Netanyahu’s office released a statement calling Obama’s speech “dramatic” and expressed hope that it “would lead to a new era of reconciliation between the Arab and Muslim world with Israel.” The statement didn’t mention settlements.

Netanyahu’s foreign policy adviser, Zalman Shoval, said: “I don’t think anything has improved because of the speech, but it hasn’t deteriorated either.”

‘Political Capital’

Mark Heller, political scientist at Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Strategic Studies, said that Obama’s use of the word “Palestine” -- unusual for American presidents -- “may buy Obama a little bit of political capital in dealing with the Arab League and the Palestinians themselves.”

“When they get into tough issues, he’s going to be able to say, ‘you can’t accuse me of being fundamentally hostile,’” Heller said.

The president said that two of America’s founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, appreciated Islamic culture and society and that 7 million Muslims now live in U.S. He also reminded the audience that his father was from a Muslim family and he spent part of his childhood in Indonesia.

“That experience guides my conviction that partnership between America and Islam must be based on what Islam is, not what it isn’t,” Obama said.

The crowd inside Cairo University’s main assembly hall interrupted with applause 36 times, including at each mention of the Koran. The most sustained applause occurred when he repeated his pledge to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay next year and his support for a Palestinian state.

The audience was silent when he defended the war in Afghanistan as a response to the Sept. 11, 2001, al-Qaeda attacks on New York and Washington. There also was no applause when he said that everyone would be safer if extremists in Muslim communities were isolated and made unwelcome.

Germany Arrival

Obama, who toured the Great Pyramids after his speech, left Cairo and arrived last night in Germany. Today he’ll meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel, tour the site of the Buchenwald concentration camp and meet with wounded U.S. military personnel at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center.

Tonight he flies to Paris before tomorrow’s ceremonies commemorating the allied D-Day invasion at Normandy, which led to the end of World War II.

To contact the reporters on this story: Daniel Williams in Cairo at dwilliams41@bloomberg.net; Julianna Goldman in Cairo at jgoldman6@bloomberg.net;

Source :http://www.bloomberg.com