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March 15, 2010

Brazil’s president refuses visit to Herzl’s grave

Brazil\’s president said he would not visit the grave of Theodor Herzl during his first official visit to Israel.\n\nPresident Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva, who arrived in Israel on Sunday, refused to visit Herzl\’s grave, which is part of the itinerary for visiting foreign officials this year in honor of the 150th anniversary of the father of Zionism. The Brazilian president is reportedly scheduled to visit the grave of Yasir Arafat during a visit to Ramallah.\n\n“It is an insult to Israel’s citizens and to Zionist communities around the world,” World Zionist Organization head Hagai Merom said Monday. \”Avoiding putting a wreath at Herzl’s grave is the same as refusing to visit the graves of Mustafa Kemal Ata Turk in Turkey or the tomb of Mahatma Ghandi in India.\”\n\nU.S. Vice President Joe Biden visited the grave last week.\n\nLula said prior to his trip that new countries should help mediate between Israel and the Palestinians.

No rap over the knuckles this time

We might have put this behind us.\n\nThat’s what some members of the Obama administration should have been thinking this week as the brouhaha over Israel’s authorization of 1600 new housing units in Jerusalem has been allowed to explode into a diplomatic crisis. Vice President, Joe Biden, touring the region had stinging words of rebuke for his hosts despite repeated apologies from Israeli government leaders. He refused to be mollified, even as he mouthed platitudes about his understanding of the unfortunate timing of the announcement.\n

Biden’s failed mission

In its determination to prove it is not the Bush Administration, the Obama Administration has gone out of its way to curry favor with the Arabs and criticize Israel. Having succeeded in alienating most of the Israeli public, the administration sent Vice President Joseph Biden to Jerusalem to convince Israelis they have a friend in the White House, but Biden couldn’t stick to the script and managed to reinforce their fears rather than reassure them.

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