Center of the world

September 1, 2008 - 8:32 AM by

Since we’re in the headlines so much, and we have a constant stream of high-profile visitors including heads of states and folks like Condoleezza Rice, some Israelis tend to think that our small country is the center of the universe.

And as such, most worldwide decisions are obviously made with at least one eye turned toward Jerusalem. The American Presidential campaign will undoubtedly be determined by the candidates’ views on the Middle East peace process, the issue in the uppermost minds of most Americans.

That skewed way of thinking thankfully received a jolting reality check last week when presumptive Republican nominee John McCain picked Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to be his vice presidential running mate.

Not only have most Israelis never heard of the enigmatic mother of five, neither has anyone in the Israeli government. As Herb Keinon wrote in The Jerusalem Post.

‘…, Jerusalem couldn’t give any cues on Palin, because it has little clue itself about the candidate. If Palin was relatively unknown in the US before being plucked from obscurity and placed on the Republican ticket, in Israel she is completely unknown, her name failing to register not only with regular folks who have other things to worry about, but also even Foreign Ministry officials who pay attention to these matters.

But Palin’s obscurity, her lack of any record on Israel, or even statements on Israel issues, has not changed the overall sentiment in Jerusalem toward the race, and a lack of public endorsement of a ticket doesn’t mean a lack of preference. Privately, the prevalent feeling in Jerusalem’s corridors of power is that in the Obama-McCain race, “more of the same,” the epithet Obama is throwing at McCain, is not that bad. ‘

So, while it won’t be quite like getting Dr. Joel Fleishman – the transplanted NY Jewish doctor from Northern Expolsure, the old TV series on a rural Alaskan town – into the White House, a Palin vice presidency will enable Israelis to learn about the usually overlooked 49th state.

And maybe we can learn all the different Eskimo terms for snow as we look forward to the possibility of awakening one winter morning to see the white stuff in Jerusalem. In any event, at least the choice of Palin gives ethnocentric Israelis a strong hint that not every decision in the US is made from right to left.

Tags: , , , , • Category: General, Politics 

Comments

One Comment on Center of the world

  1. MadMan on Fri, Sep 5th 2008 5:20 PM

    2. It turns out that while you may not have known who she is, She thought of Israel all the time in the governor’s office. Check out this video podcast showing Palin in her governor’s office with an Israeli Flag taped to the window on the right:
    http://alaskapodshow.com/index.php/2008/02/20/my-visit-to-juneau-alaska/

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