On the eve of his departure to Washington DC to address Congress about the possible nuclear deal being brokered between the U.S. and Iran, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made one last stop to East Jerusalem. Saturday evening he went to the historic Old City in the occupied territories and prayed at the Western Wall. Netanyahu told Israeli reporters there, “I respect U.S. President Barack Obama,” signaling he intends to smooth over the row with the U.S. administration and Democrats regarding his visit.
“I believe in the strength of the relationship between Israel and the US and in their strength to overcome differences of opinion, those that have been and those that will yet be,” continued Netanyahu in his final statement before his flight.
Over the past few weeks a myriad of controversies have surrounded Netanyahu’s invitation from GOP Speaker of the House John Boehner. Susan Rice called the breach in protocol and Netanyahu’s clear disagreement with the Obama administration over Iran “destructive” to the U.S.-Israel relationship. Vice President Joe Biden and over 40 congressmen will not be at the speech. Arab dignitaries also rejected a request for attendance made by the Israeli government. Then last week Netanyahu rebuffed a separate invitation from Democrats to give them a private discussion, further casting the speech as a partisan issue.
Also on Saturday Secretary of State John Kerry gave an interview with ABC’s The Week, conveying that the U.S.’s relationship with Israel was not going to suffer, despite some very public hurdles. He noted the U.S. has “intervened on Israel’s behalf, in the last two years, more than several hundred — a couple of hundred times in over 75 different fora in order to protect Israel.” He added, “we don’t want to see this turned into some great political football,” continuing that although Netanyhu was not invited to the U.S. with approval from President Obama, “the administration is not seeking to politicize this.”
Even still, speaking in Geneva today, Kerry let on that Israel and their opposition to the Iran deal would not override what the U.S. wants. “Israel’s security is absolutely at the forefront of all of our minds, but frankly, so is the security of all the other countries in the region, so is our security in the United States,” said Kerry.
Close as I can see, Obama is still a politician — he is not a lame duck setting out to push a private and independent do-gooder agenda — and all that’s happening here is that USA (Obama) wants to push Iran via current (or worse) sanctions rather than by war and is willing to let Israel lose a bit (and AIPAC lose a lot) in the process.
But, in the end, there is this tension: Dems need Zionist money and some Zionists (but how many?!) need to feel that they are not showing an unseemly dual loyalty (or single loyalty to Israel). Would it strengthen Obama and the Dems in the long run to weaken AIPAC, etc.? Only if, in their view, there is something to be gained from moving toward 2SS and away from apartheid. And that must be the answer. From Eisenhower onwards, presidents have complained about Israel, but done so ineffectually (praising with faint damns, in effect), and now there might be a chance to show American voters, who are tired of war and its expenses, what kow-towing to Israel has meant in the past and will mean in future if American presidents do not oppose Israel on some important issues. In other words, there may be a window opening for actual USA action to compel Israel away from occupation/settlements.
Not every detail of all this is clear to me. After all, in overarching philosophy, there is no difference between Israel and USA: both are lawless predators run by oligarchs and run most of all by defense-oligarchs (military industrial media congressional complex).
So maybe the whole hoo-haw is nothing more than turning down Israel on war with Iran. And, thus, not an attempt to weaken AIPAC. Be a shame if so.
RE: “On the eve of his departure to Washington DC . . . Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made one last stop to East Jerusalem. Saturday evening he went to the historic Old City in the occupied territories and prayed at the Western Wall.” ~ Deger
MY COMMENT: Give the man his due, Netanyahu stages good photo ops! ! !
“Israel’s security is absolutely at the forefront of all of our minds, but frankly, so is the security of all the other countries in the region, so is our security in the United States.”
Yes, Bibi, it’s all about you and your mission from G-d. Just as the it’s all about the rest of the Middle East, and the US, too.
Netanyahu leaves reasonable men no alternative but to try plain-speaking: No, Bibi, it’s not all about you and your megalomaniacal delusions that your every move and thought are what saves Israel from non-existence. It’s about thoughtful realism in a difficult environment, and your drama Queen antics are highly counter-productive.
NPR and the remainder of our print and broadcast media use “Jerusalem” without making clear if they mean Jerusalem, Israel or Jerusalem, Palestine. Our media took care to distinguish between West Berlin and East Berlin when the city was divided. Mondoweiss can set an example of more accurate reporting for the benefit of all of our media by always using Jerusalem, Israel or Jerusalem, Palestine, let alone West Bank, Palestine and Gaza, Palestine. After all, Israel has the right to expand city settlements so long as they are in Jerusalem, Israel and not in Jerusalem, Palestine. Failing to distinguish between Palestine and Israel is deliberately misinforming.