A "nachas note"--from Gideon Levy!

Do your children ever bring home "nachas notes" from school? For the tribally challenged among you who may be wondering, "nachas" means something like a combination of pride and pleasure, especially from filial achievements. A "nachas note" from your child's teacher might read "Little Yankel said his berachos so nicely!" or "Little Shaindy shared her snack with another child!" This Ha'aretz editorial was the theme of a post at Mondoweiss entitled "Obama has fallen into Netanyahu's trap." Do tell!

[...] He came into office amid much hoopla. The Cairo speech ignited half the globe. Making settlements the top priority gave rise to the hope that, finally, a statesman is sitting in the White House who understands that the root of all evil is the occupation, and that the root of the occupation's evil is the settlements. From Cairo, it seemed possible to take off. The sky was the limit.

Then the administration fell into the trap set by Israel and is showing no signs of recovery.

A settlement freeze, something that should have been understood by a prime minister who speaks with such bluster about two states - a peripheral matter that Israel committed to in the road map - has suddenly turned into a central issue. Special envoy George Mitchell is wasting his time and prestige with petty haggling. A half-year freeze or a full year? What about the 2,500 apartment units already under construction? And what about natural growth? And kindergartens? [...]

Jerusalem has imposed its will on Washington. Once again we are at the starting point - dealing with trifles from which it is impossible to make the big leap over the great divide.

We expected more from Obama. Menachem Begin promised less, and he made peace within the same amount of time after he took office. When the main issue is dismantling the settlements, the pulsating momentum that came with Obama is petering out . . . A "magic formula" for a settlement freeze may be found there, but the momentum is gone.

Not in Israel, though. Here people quickly sensed that there is nothing to fear from Obama, and the fetters were taken off. Defense Minister Ehud Barak was quick to declare that there is no Palestinian partner, even after the Fatah conference elected the most moderate leadership that has ever been assembled in Palestine. Afterward, in a blatant act of provocation, he brought a Torah scroll into the heart of the Muslim Quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem, in full view of television cameras, just so America can see who's boss around here. [...]

One source familiar with Obama's inner circle likened him this week to a man who inflates a number of balloons every day in the hope that one of them will rise. He will reach his goal. The source compared him to Shimon Peres, an analogy that should insult Obama. The trial balloons the U.S. president sends our way have yet to take off. One can, of course, wait for the next balloon, the Obama peace plan, but time is running out. And Israel is not sitting idly by.

The minute Jerusalem detected a lack of American determination, it returned to its evil ways and excuses . . .

An America that will not pressure Israel is an America that will not bring peace. True, one cannot expect the U.S. president to want to make peace more than the Palestinians and Israelis, but he is the world's responsible adult, its great hope. Those of us who are here, Mr. President, are sinking in the wretched mud, in "injury time."

Will Levy finally disappear into the "wretched mud"? The only thing about "nachas notes" is that sometimes the boost they give you is a little contrived. The subtext of that note might be "Yankel finally behaved himself after disrupting class for 5 days in a row." I hope the pleasure I get from this little missive isn't followed by a letdown.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad