Capitol riot provides shock to Netanyahu, Friedman… and American exceptionalism

The riot at the Capitol January 6 and the utter collapse of the Trump administration has of course embarrassed the United States around the world, and it is putting Israel supporters in an awkward position. They relied on Trump to deliver one gift after another to Israel. They are not sure quite how to pick their way through the wreckage with a new administration on the threshhold.

Israeli Jewish leaders expressed (hypocritical) shock and concern about the damage to American democracy of the violence in the Capitol. But Netanyahu still thinks it’s a Trump Trump world. He used an appearance on the day of the riot with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin to inveigh against the Iran deal, and any idea Joe Biden has of reentering the deal, or lessening sanctions for that matter.

“I thanked him for the efforts he led in imposing sanctions against Iran and said that this policy must continue to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.If we go back to the dangerous nuclear agreement with Iran, many other countries in the Middle East will hurry to arm nuclear weapons. This is an error – and it must not happen!”

Longtime peace processor and Dem Aaron David Miller says Netanyahu hasn’t woken to the new reality. “Not sure Netanyahu gets it – without Trump, he’s not in Kansas anymore.” And: “Netanyahu should be first to recognize elections have consequences…. Biden wants a deal with Iran. Get over it.”

Call it chutzpah or hubris, but Netanyahu has decided that Biden is Obama 2.0, and “Obama people” will shape his Israel policy; and so he will be picking a fight with Biden from day one, says settlements-watcher Daniel Seidemann. “The tenders on the doomsday settlement of Givat Hamatos [between Jerusalem and Bethlehem] will be opened on January 18, two days before the inauguration. It’s no accident. The date was choreographed by Netanyahu with malice aforethought. He’s picking a fight from day one.”

In the wake of the riot, David Friedman, Trump’s ambassador to Israel and advocate for Israeli settlers, is furiously backpedaling, and acknowledging Biden’s win.

“Our republic was severely tested this week. But we proved our resilience in the face of unprecedented stress. Our democracy will emerge stronger… I would like to congratulate President-elect Biden and his incoming administration. I humbly offer any assistance that may be requested to aid in transition.”

Martin Indyk, longtime Israel lobbyist and former ambassador, mocks: “Seriously? Two months after @JoeBiden was elected President!? And who was responsible for the ‘unprecedented stress’ to American democracy in the meantime?”

Trump donor Steven Schwartzman of the Blackstone Group, a big Israel lobbyist, has publicly rebuked Trump for his role in the riot. “The insurrection that followed the President’s remarks today is appalling and an affront to the democratic values we hold dear as Americans.”

Some Palestinians are making hay of the riot. Ahmad Tibi, the legislator, tweeted a photo of the disorder and reminded us of Netanyahu’s closeness to Trump. Which will now damage him.

We should remember who Trump’s Siamese twin has been in the last four years. Netanyahu’s complete identification with Trump will return like a boomerang. [automated translation from Hebrew]

Ayman Odeh, the Palestinian legislator, is looking forward to the new reality in Washington. He tweeted a photo of a meeting he had with Georgia Senator-elect Raphael Warnock a few years ago. “It was a profoundly meaningful experience I will remember. I look forward to welcoming Rev. Warnock to join the movement for peace that will fulfill the right of self-determination for all by creating a Palestinian state alongside Israel.”

Palestinian leader Hanan Ashrawi marveled at the fact that forces in the U.S. are seeking to “sabotage” democracy at a time when “people in Palestine & in many other places in the world are struggling to achieve democracy.”

Jewish Insider quotes a number of Israeli officials who are struggling to reconcile their slavish support for Trump with the utter collapse of the Trump administration. Dani Dayan, the former Israeli consul, says the naming of an Israeli settlement after Trump Heights was  “extremely embarrassing.” Dayan then said that in overall policy, “Trump was a diplomatic miracle.” But as for American democracy, “not only now but from the beginning [of his candidacy], it has been a train wreck.” 

Let’s move on to the shock to American exceptionalism and the idea that the U.S. has political gifts to export. Iranian leaders used the riot to call out American authoritarianism for the danger it represents to the world. Javad Zarif, foreign minister:

A rogue president who sought vengeance against his OWN people has been doing much worse to our people—and others—in the past 4 years. What’s disturbing is that the same man has the UNCHECKED authority to start a nuclear war; a security concern for the entire int’l community.

Zarif also mocks the sudden exodus of Trump loyalists who have had too much. “Those who succumbed to Trump’s lawless bullying for 4 yrs—to protect their skin at OUR people’s expense—now condemn his assault on the rule of law.”

Neoconservatives are concerned by the loss of face internationally. The American Jewish Committee said that US democracy was dishonored by the “mayhem” and “bloodshed” of the mob of “insurrectionists,” but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t give up the project of regime change to other societies.

The American beacon of democracy will and must continue to shine, giving hope to those who strive for freedom in desperate corners of the world and posing an unrelenting challenge to tyrants. 

A number of commenters have landed on media figures’ comparison of the scenes in Washington to overseas capitals the U.S. has destroyed. After ABC global affairs corrrespondent Martha Raddatz likened Washington to Baghdad and Kabul, Jamil Dakwar wrote:

Besides her obnoxious and orientalist comparisons to places where the U.S. was directly responsible for chaos and violence, she clearly never been to BLM or Indigenous protests where militarized and violent law enforcement response to peaceful protests were akin to war zones.

Aaron David Miller even reflects that lesson. “[T]the next time we think about preaching to the rest of world about American exceptionalism and the virtues of our democratic system we better take a long look in the mirror first.”

The riots have helped open the door to new ideas. Dima Khalidi of Palestine Legal says this is the time to pressure Biden to listen to Palestinian voices, and reject the IHRA definition of antisemitism, which includes harsh criticism of Israel.

Any change in poli­cies relat­ed to Pales­tine will require Biden to lis­ten to Pales­tini­ans, some­thing that nei­ther he nor past U.S. pres­i­dents have done in a gen­uine way. And then he must drown out the intense pres­sure that the Israel lob­by is exert­ing on him to con­tin­ue the dev­as­ta­tion that Trump wrought 

There has been other fallout from the riotous mob. There were several Israeli flags brandished by the protesters. (ABC report, Dan Cohen report).

And there was antisemitism. At least one participant wore a tshirt with the slogan “6MWE” “Six Million Wasn’t Enough.” While another wore a hoodie saying “Auschwitz Camp, Work Brings Freedom.” That led Deborah Lipstadt the Holocaust scholar to say that there’s antisemitism both on the left and the right. Simone Zimmerman, director of B’Tselem USA, says, “those who claim that antisemitism fueling the right is in any way comparable to instances of AS on the left need to take a long hard look in the mirror.” Yesterday— if not the last 4 yrs! — should’ve made it clear how flawed & dangerous this is. (Changing the subject, Democratic Majority for Israel has challenged Zimmerman to condemn the alleged antisemitism of Hezbollah and Hamas.)