I think after the events all over the Middle-East this summer, you can understand why many Arabic peoples would aim high and put their case in the halls of the UN. Whether you believe it is a case of real-politik hardball (political cynicism) or heartfelt inspiration, you can understand why there would be a push now.
And just as easily you can see why America and Israel are all-of-the-sudden on the defensive. If you are the real-politik cynic, you already know how obviously bad that hurts both the US and Israel in the eyes of the rest of the world.
I think it is time to recognize the only really obvious thread connecting America and Israel. For while there are many things you can blend into the relationship, the only thing I find actually connecting the two is the self-perpetuating belief in "national exceptionalism". American exceptionalism is what one might called New World Disease. American has evolved over time from a struggling democracy to ....a powerful struggling democracy. And out principal struggle is our own demons. We continually delude ourselves into believing we are the exception to the rule, the light of democracy, the beacon of liberty--all as though it were some kind of constant in our heritage and history. Mostly I think we have been lucky. Whether you agree or disagree with that part of the assessment, I think you would be hard put to reconcile our history of slavery, "White Man's Burden" colonialism, and steady erosion in national faith in own vaunted principles especially in the post WW2 era.
And Israel proclaims the "Chosen People" exceptionalism which, at its core, is why I think Americans declare so much support in Israel. Americans believe in their own exceptionalism and it reinforces a delusional perception of Israel in the minds of so many.
Flaunting exceptionalism is delusional foreign policy.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/09/20/124695/obama-to-palestinians-seek-goals.html
