Both Likud Party members in Israel as well as their Americans supporters – including members of both parties in the U.S. Congress – are beginning to complain that the Obama administration is unduly "interfering" in Israeli politics by insisting on a full cessation of settlement growth. The Jerusalem Post today reports: "US President Barack Obama's administration's criticism of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's policies has crossed the line into interfering in Israeli politics, top Likud ministers and MKs said Tuesday." Yesterday, Politico's Ben Smith similarly documented that "the administration’s escalating pressure on Israel to freeze all growth of its settlements on Palestinian land has begun to stir concern among Israel’s numerous allies in both parties on Capitol Hill."
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Identically, if Israel wants to be free of what it and some of its U.S. supporters call "interference" from the Obama administration, that’s very easy to achieve: Israel can stop asking for tens of billions of dollars of American taxpayer money, huge amounts of military and weapons supplies for its various wars, and unyielding American diplomatic protection at the U.N. But as long as Israel remains dependent on the U.S. in countless ways, then Obama not only has the right -- but he has the obligation -- to demand that Israel cease activities which harm U.S. interests.
Continuing settlement expansions that the entire world recognizes as illegal – what Time’s Joe Klein accurately calls "taking territory that the rest of the world, without exception, considers Palestinian" -- clearly harms U.S. interests in all sorts of ways, as Obama himself has concluded. He would be abdicating one of his primary responsibilities in foreign policy -- maximizing U.S. national security rather than those of other countries -- if he failed to demand that Israel cease this activity and if he failed to use U.S. leverage to compel compliance with those demands.
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I care about what is best for the United States of America and Israel's treatment of the Palestinians (stop right there; the Palestinians don't have jet fighters, attack helicopters, warships, or Abrams tanks) - the whole conflict - hurts American interests, both in the region and around the world.
Israel contributes nothing to this country. It does not pay taxes to the U.S. government and its people cannot vote here. Our relationship with them is a one-way street and I'm sick and tired of supporting a regime of spoiled children who feel they can do what they please with impunity. Don't forget, we're also paying off the Egyptians (billions per year as well) to keep up their end of the peace deal.
It's time for some tough love. It's time to link our monetary and diplomatic support to real change in Israel's behavior.
Our relationship with the Jewish state is much like the one we have with Great Britain. It is special and should continue. I do not advocate 'cutting them loose' but any relationship is a give-and-take and Israel has done very little 'give'. Just as I wouldn't put my personal reputation on the line for someone, friend or no friend, who would abuse and tarnish it, so should America not have to take responsibility for Israel's actions when they go counter to what the majority of the world believes.
Israel has to show they truly want peace and the election of people like Benjamin Netanyahu does just the opposite. While I don't like to paint with a broad brush, and I know many (maybe the majority) in Israel don't support the policies, we collectively took the heat for George Bush also, though many of us did our best to get him out. The message Israel sends to the world via their choice of leaders (the same old Likudnik hawks time and again) is one of arrogance and hubris, especially when it comes to their bullshit justifications for the settlements.
My people had the same bullshit excuses and even had a name for it - Lebensraum. If the Israelis don't want history to judge them in the same light as they do the Germans of 60 years ago they'll get their shit together. There has to be a two-state solution to the I-P conflict or the violence will continue for future generations and it's about time the Israeli government wraps its collective head around that fact. If they can't agree to that, then it's time to cut back on the support we give them.
As I said, Israel is a treasured ally but good friends don't constantly make demands without reciprocity. The President of the United States has finally made a demand of his own, for the good of both nations, and it's high time Israel honored it - to act like the good friend they say they are.
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