Here Is One More Attempt to Undermine the Administration’s Peace Efforts
The mayor of Jerusalem is making round on Capitol Hill this week and he has a stern message for U.S. lawmakers: America’s demand for a settlement freeze in East Jerusalem is illegal.
Nir Barkat, the millionaire businessman and mayor of Israel’s largest city, will meet with a slew of lawmakers, including House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and both Republican and Democratic Israel caucuses.
Barkat, who is believed to be a future candidate for Israeli prime minister, is taking his criticism straight to Congress, where the administration’s position about Israel has come under fire from both parties.
Barkat’s talking points, an aide told POLITICO: The U.S. would not ask certain religions or races to stop building in a city, so it should not demand the same of Israelis in East Jerusalem…
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0410/36387.html#ixzz0mPZ93uLf
The Mayor then goes on to say he really doesn’t know if Obama is “anti-Israel.” I really can’t believe this. Actually, yes I can.
The word in foreign policy circles is that the push for resumed talks was gaining speed behind the scenes so what do Israeli local officials do when that happens? Well, they try to undermine those efforts of course! Anything to prevent final status negotiations is now the order of the day!
The only silver lining is that officials in Israel are apparently angry because Barkat’s trip wasn’t officially authorized by the government. That’s kind of hard to believe, but, whatever. Kind of like it was hard to believe Netanyahu knew nothing about the settlement expansion plans during Biden’s visit. But I digress. I think what is important about the story is how an Israeli official (Barkat) feels so comfortable coming to the U.S., meeting with select members of Congress and the media and trashes the President of the U.S. I find that totally unacceptable and I am going to find out exactly which members of Congress (in addition to the ones listed in the article) he met with and I am going to write to them. Not that they care, but it will make me feel better.
Oh, and by the way, the claim that the U.S. is acting illegally by requesting Israel to temporarily (and voluntarily!) halt illegal settlements, is total BS, obviously. There is only one nation on earth that believes the settlements beyond the Green Line in E. Jerusalem are not illegal- Israel. The next time a cop stops you for speeding, try claiming that in your personal opinion, the speeding laws are unjust and therefore you don’t recognize them as legal. Let me know what happens 
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Thanks for posting this. I have to say I’ve always been interested in this issue but unfortunately it’s not something I have followed really in-depth. I’ve really learned quite a bit coming to this blog, you tend to highlight things other blogs don’t and I appreciate it.
Ehud Barak just visited with the President on Monday and the Secretary of Defense and Secretary of State yesterday. This guy is undermining the work of his own government official, because I’ll assume Defense Minister Barak was sent here on business and not just to enjoy a DC springtime with the administration.
So now it’s illegal to make a request of Israel. What’s next, I ask you? Will they try to charge President Obama for being part of Hamas because his middle name (which some in Israel’s media have apparently been having as much fun with as the GOP) is not, in fact, Steven?
I am a supporter of Israel 100% but this sort of thing just makes Netanyahu look bad, like he doesn’t really have control of his government. What makes this difficult is many don’t think he wants a resolution of this issue and thus it’s hard to believe that he is really bothered by the actions of someone like Barkat. So long as there are no peace negotiations the right wing Likud is happy.
This will not go over well in most parts of Israel even if many members of the US Congress rally behind Barkat.
After Barkat said what he did about Obama, we should get a public apology from the Israeli government. SOS Clinton should formally call in Amb. Oren to demand to know what the hell is going on. She won’t of course, because Congress has demanded a public showing of eternal love with Israel, but that is what she should do. If it were any other country talking this way about such a sensitive issue over which the US has become so involved, that would likely happen.
I will also write the democratic members of Congress who meet with Barkat and I will let them know that I am a Democrat, and a US and Israeli citizen who wants to know why they seem more loyal to a foreign leader than the one that heads this country and their party. I also will recommend they introduce themselves to a majority of Israeli public opinion which is opposed to these constant slaps in the fact to the US. It is clear that Israel wants “regime change” in Washington and they are willing to try to scare everyone’s Jewish grandmother into thinking Obama is a an Israel-hating closet Muslim. It really is shameful.
Professor Stephen Walt is controversial but he actually brings up some very good points- and quite often too- in this article over at Foreign Policy he looks at an essay by Aaron David Miller about the peace process and brings up some of the major issues that the U.S. government and the media don’t really want to delve into. But the fact is, unless we discuss this openly and honestly, Israel, the US and the Palestinians are in for even worse times ahead. Sometimes real political courage is about addressing the most controversial and uncomfortable aspects of a problem and that includes saying things that need to be said:
http://walt.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/04/28/a_question_for_aaron_miller
Over the past few weeks Secretary Gates, Secretary Clinton, NSA James Jones and even the President himself have been literally falling over themselves to reassure Israel (and members of Congress) that yes, we still consider Israel our BFF etc. etc. In fact, Clinton is scheduled to give yet another speech tomorrow where she will reaffirm our “strong,” “unshakeable” ties with Israel (at the American Jewish Committee Annual Gala).
I find this frustrating because lets be honest- in reality, not one damn thing has happened that should make Israel second guess our commitment to their security. Rather, the US made a simple request that was denied, end of story. We have not forced Israel to do anything. We have not withheld funds. In fact, this administration has now been so kind as to refer to the continued settlement in East Jerusalem as “disputed” rather than illegal, despite the fact that we know damn well it’s illegal because that’s always been the view of the U.S. and the entire world except Israel. Some of our allies and even our enemies may be wondering right about now why the U.S. goes around condemning them for violating international law while essentially rewarding Israel for doing it. If they are wondering that, one could hardly fault them for it.
I also can’t help but wonder what the Palestinians are thinking right about now. It is probably something along the lines of “oh, shit, we’re screwed!”
Well, sorry for rambling. I’m tired, don’t feel well and probably should avoid Mideast Peace news stories for a while because they put me in a foul temper but these stories have a way of finding *me*, not the other way around, honest! I don’t even go looking for them!