Barack Obama's Speech in Cairo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Barack Obama's Speech in Cairo - Essay Example He is thus open to world publicity and criticism and thus his actions or speeches are subject to world scrutiny. Hence, when Cairo University, which is the source of Egypt's advancement and Al—Azhar, which is a beacon of Islamic learning, hosted him, the world was watching and listening. On his first visit to Egypt as the President of the United States of America, Barrack Obama addressed six issues, which included violent extremism, the Israel-Palestine situation, Iran nuclear weapons, world democracy, economic progress, and women’s rights (USA Today web). This paper will address the issue of the tension situation between Israelis, Palestinians, and the Arab world as elaborated by Obama on 6 April 2009. The issue of the conflict situation in Israel and Palestine is probably one of the issues that have great meaning not only to US, but also to the whole world. Israel is a staunch Christian nation with the Jews drawing their roots from this country. Palestine on the hand is a region occupied by both Muslims and Christians in significant numbers. However, both Israel and Palestine are Middle East countries just like Egypt. They possess very dangerous weapons such as nuclear bombs, which pose a great risk to human life. Again, Israel and America are long time allies based on their military superiority. Obama himself professes Muslim faith but his mother was a Christian and his true religion actually generates another debate. The conflict between Israel and Palestine has been there for ages with some analysts drawing this situation back to the holy books, Quran and the Bible. Hence, this issue somehow ties itself to the war of supremacy between Christianity and Islam though there are other underlying factors. Many countries including America have actually tried in vain to negotiate for a peaceful agreement between these nations. This issue considerably required a careful treading. Therefore, when Obama chose to discuss this issue, the world welcomed th e reprieve and waited for the new intervention on this longstanding conflict. Ironically, even when he was addressing the issue in Egypt, pressure was already building up in the Israel- Palestine border. Subject to these reasons, I find the issue very significant and the audience relevant. In fact, it was the second issue that he addressed on this day. In supporting his call for a permanent solution between Israel and Palestine, Obama accounted 10 points to this effect. He confirmed that America had strong relations with Israel based on cultural, historical ties, and articulation of diplomacy. This fact is widely known and analysts claim that this bond is hard to break because it relies on military supremacy. He also acknowledges the fact that this conflict has claimed many lives and muted unwarranted sufferings. In light of this, he claims that the Jewish people from Israel faced persecution for centuries, more than Six million Jews killed, many more enslaved and tortured, and that these are painful memories for the Israelis (USA Today web). On the other hand, Palestine have endured the pain of dislocation for 60 years, many Palestinians have lost their lives, endured humiliations, lacked security while many wait in refugee camps for aid. A situation he claims is now unbearable in both Israel and Palestine. He equally confirms that America is ready to help in finding a solution. He personally commits himself to pursue this cause with uttermost patience and dedication as the task dictates. In fact, he was to visit Israel the