RUTHFULLY YOURS

In recent weeks, Indonesia has endured a tsunami and volcanic eruption. On the positive side, it has a booming economy, a vibrant democracy and a welcoming investment climate. And because this Muslim-majority country has a long tradition of religious moderation and secularism, it serves as a model, or rebuke, to much of the rest of the Islamic world.

So what did President Obama talk about upon arriving in Jakarta yesterday? Israeli construction projects.

Why Mr. Obama chose to pick this fight from the distance of Southeast Asia is anyone’s guess. Israel’s decision to proceed with the building of some 1,000 housing units in the Har Homa neighborhood of municipal Jerusalem—a “settlement” only in the most jaundiced sense of the term—was made in October. Israeli governments of both the right and left have encouraged similar building projects since Jerusalem was reunified in 1967. And construction of the new housing will not begin for months if not years.

None of that deterred Mr. Obama, who warned the Israeli government that “this kind of activity is never helpful when it comes to peace negotiations.” The State Department also chimed in, saying it was “deeply disappointed,” while Palestinian spokesman Saeb Erekat added that the new construction proves “that Israel chooses settlements, not peace.” This is the same Mr. Erekat who recently wrote an admiring letter to Ahmed Sa’adat, the mastermind of the 2001 assassination of an Israeli cabinet member.

All Israel has done is insist that Jews have a right to live anywhere in their capital city, something that might be controversial in Ramallah but ought not to be in Washington. Mr. Obama’s public endorsement of the Palestinian view of what constitutes a settlement only puts the negotiated peace he seeks further out of reach.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian government forbids Israeli citizens from visiting their country. If Mr. Obama wants to bridge the distance between Jakarta and Jerusalem, maybe he can start with that one.