No speech necessary, but if you make it anyway….

Capital J

By Eric Fingerhut · August 5, 2009

My colleague Ben Harris, over on the Telegraph blog, notes Shmuel Rosner's piece in The New Republic suggesting that, contrary to the advice from Aluf Benn and Bradley Burston, President Obama doesn't need to give a speech to Israelis. But if he does talk, Rosner also has some tips on what he shouldn't say:

First, don't lecture Israelis like you know what's good for them better than they know themselves. You don't. Second, don't try to do an end-run on the Israeli government like you've done in other world capitols by speaking directly to "the people." Don't patronize them by saying that the Israel public knows better than its government what needs to be done. The public elected this government; the public you're talking about is the public of some liberal American Jews, which has little relevance to the current reality in Israel. And third, don't promise peace within a year or two. History is a better teacher of that lesson than I am.