Obama's speech in Cairo was billed as an address to the Muslim world to repair years of torn relationships, but it was much more, and Obama deserves praise for refusing to sacrifice its commitment to Israel or American liberty in the process.

The President pointed out that Americans, Israelis and Muslim's share traditions of justice, knowlege and co-existence, and that we all have a duty to be vigiliant in living up to those share values.

"When a new flu infects one human being, all are at risk. When one nation pursues a nuclear weapon, the risk of nuclear attack rises for all nations. When violent extremists operate in one stretch of mountains, people are endangered across an ocean. When innocents in Bosnia and Darfur are slaughtered, that is a stain on our collective conscience. That is what it means to share this world in the 21st century. That is the responsibility we have to one another as human being."

Obama's conciliatory tone was followed up with a call on Islamic-dominated governments to stop Holocaust Denials and Anti-Semitism:

"Denying that fact [the Holocaust] is baseless, it is ignorant, and it is hateful. Threatening Israel with destruction -- or repeating vile stereotypes about Jews -- is deeply wrong, and only serves to evoke in the minds of Israelis this most painful of memories while preventing the peace that the people of this region deserve."

Obama also called for a two state solution between the Palestinian Authority and Israel, and warned Palestinians that it would not be brought about by violence:

"Palestinians must abandon violence. Resistance through violence and killing is wrong and it does not succeed. For centuries, black people in America suffered the lash of the whip as slaves and the humiliation of segregation. But it was not violence that won full and equal rights. It was a peaceful and determined insistence upon the ideals at the center of America's founding. . . . It's a story with a simple truth: that violence is a dead end. It is a sign neither of courage nor power to shoot rockets at sleeping children, or to blow up old women on a bus. That's not how moral authority is claimed; that's how it is surrendered."

Obama also reminded Islam not to measure their faith by the rejection of the West and to allow women to have the freedom to make choices regarding their role in society, by respecting and expanding women's rights and investing in education for both genders.

In closing, the President called for accountability and reminded everyone that we share values that we should not run away from:

"The Holy Koran tells us: "O mankind! We have created you male and a female; and we have made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another."

The Talmud tells us: "The whole of the Torah is for the purpose of promoting peace."

The Holy Bible tells us: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God."
Pulling us together brings Israel closer to peace than reminding us of what divides us.