Haim Saban, "The Truth About Obama and Israel": Like the Power Rangers, the "Truth" Comes in Many Different Colors

Haim Saban, who resides in Beverly Hills, California, and whose estimated net worth of some $2.9 billion makes him, according to Forbes, the 128th richest person in America (http://www.forbes.com/forbes-400/#p_1_s_arank_All%20industries_All%20states_All%20categories_Haim), has written a New York Times guest op-ed entitled "The Truth About Obama and Israel" (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/05/opinion/the-truth-about-obama-and-israel.html), in which he tells us that he will vote for Obama in November:

"When I enter the voting booth, I’m going to ask myself, what do I prefer for Israel and its relationship with the United States: meaningful action or empty rhetoric? To me the answer is clear: I’ll take another four years of Mr. Obama’s steadfast support over Mr. Romney’s sweet nothings."

Well, whereas Mr. Saban left Israel and made a fortune in the US in the media and entertainment business, I left the US in order to volunteer for the Israeli army, and until today, at the age of 58, I serve as an officer in two reserve units.

Let me put this delicately: Mr. Saban's "truth" is not my truth. Unfortunately, however, given where I serve, I am severely limited in terms of what I can say. Nevertheless, allow me to make several observations.

As acknowledged by Aaron David Miller of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, who has served as an advisor to six US Secretaries of State, "Barack Obama is no Israel-lover," and "if the president wins a second term, expect a major clash with Benjamin Netanyahu" (see: http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/07/25/warning_turbulence_ahead). So whose "truth" do you believe, that of Mr. Miller or that of Mr. Saban?

Israeli Vice Premier Moshe Ya'alon, a former Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, stated less than a week ago that "Iran did not believe it faced a real military threat from the outside world because of mixed messages from foreign powers, including the United States" (http://www.jpost.com/IranianThreat/News/Article.aspx?id=283363). Ya'alon's remarks came one day after Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, stated that he did not want to be "complicit" if Israel attacked Iran's nuclear development facilities. Whose "truth" is correct, that of Mr. Ya'alon or that of Mr. Saban?

Israelis, by a 2:1 ratio, believe that Romney cares more than Obama about Israel (see: http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=281579). Israelis are not stupid, and their lives could well depend upon which presidential candidate Americans choose in November. Is the "truth" of this overwhelming majority of Israelis less valid than that of Mr. Saban?

More very recent evidence of the Obama administration's "true" friendship for Israel in the face of persistent Iranian threats to annihilate the Jewish homeland? As reported by The Times of Israel (http://www.timesofisrael.com/us-scales-down-annual-military-drill-with-israel/):

"Washington says that it will scale down its participation in what was planned to be the largest ever joint Israeli-American military exercise, Time Magazine reported Friday.

The Austere Challenge 12 exercise, to be held in October, was to feature thousands of soldiers and advanced anti-missile defense systems and simulate simultaneous fire from Iran and Syria.

The report quoted sources in Washington as saying 1,500 US troops — perhaps even 1,200 — would be sent to participate in the exercise instead of the original 5,000. In addition, sources in both Jerusalem and Washington told Time that it was probable that only one Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense warship — instead of two — would be sent to Israel.

The Patriot anti-missile systems set to be dispatched to Israel would reportedly arrive as planned, but not the crews to operate them."

Finally, one cannot help but notice the timing of Saban's guest op-ed in The New York Times, immediately after it became known that the Democratic Party plank no longer recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's capital and no longer acknowledges that Israel is America's staunchest ally in the Middle East, as in years past. According to the Democratic National Committee, the plank is in keeping with Obama adminstration policy (see: http://jgcaesarea.blogspot.co.il/2012/09/new-york-times-editorial-words-not.html). Is this yet another "truthful" act of friendship from Obama and friends?

Mr. Saban, there are obviously many different shades of "truth." I can't afford to fly out to Los Angeles to engage in a philosophical discussion with you, but the next time you are in Israel, you are cordially invited to come to our home for coffee and to exchange views.