THERE IS little doubt that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is among those bemoaning Barack Obama’s reelection. The two have had a testy relationship since Obama pressed Israel to halt settlement construction in the West Bank early in his presidency. Netanyahu’s administration responded with a diplomatic slap in the face: They announced new construction the same day Vice President Biden arrived in Israel.
In the run-up to the US presidential election, Netanyahu made few efforts to hide his preference for Republican challenger Mitt Romney, who echoed his own hawkish rhetoric on Iran. (Netanyahu and Romney also have the Boston Consulting Group, financier Sheldon Adelson, and Republican pollster Arthur Finkelstein in common.) That left Obama with more reasons to distrust Netanyahu.
Comments
It is incredible how the right wing leadership of Israel continues to push the envelope as do the extreme forces on the Palestinian side. In a way they deserve each other. The problem is the innocents on both sides of the divide suffer immensely. So far the voting public in Israel as well as the Palestinians have chosen a conflicted life. Each wants something that stands in the way of creating peaceful nations. Each harbors beliefs of the other that are not original but born out of the aftermath of WWII. It will take more enlightened leadership for each to bring some proper settlement. Leadership is elected and therefore it is the very people who have accepted this state of affairs that have the power to change it.
no, what you must understand peter canellos and your editorial board is NEVER EVER AGAIN. mike arnold
This sounds like a feeble year-end review from a supervisor ("I know you don't like Janey, but you two have to find a way to work together...") rather than a critique of interest-based international diplomacy. The marriage is actually between the Israelis and Palestinians, and it's a mutually abusive one in which the Israelis do most of the abuse. We are more like an uncle to a troubled and arrogant nephew, and we should keep trying (as President Obama has) to end the abusive Israeli occupation of the West Bank. Gaza is another story, of course, which has no easy solutions. The highly incompetent Bush administration pushed for elections there, and we ended up with Hamas. Netanyahu's reckless incompetence only makes the situation worse, and he should pay a high price for his interference in US electoral politics.
No nation on earth would allow another entity to continually rocket thier territory. The Israelli's have shown amazing restraint in dealing with the continual attacks from Gaza. However, it seems that when the Israeli's do retaliate the "world" is outraged. Think of how the U.S. reacted after attacks in it's history. We retaliated, and rightly so. We should expect no less of Israel.
No nation on earth would allow another country to blackade it, banning items including cumin. No country on earth would allow another country to dictate whether it could build an airport. No country on earth would allow another country to unilaterally take its land, displace its people and resettle that land with itw own citizens. As Spiderman's uncle said, Much is asked of those to whom much is given. The Israeli's are clearly the top dogs; they have the obligation to stop the settlements and to treat the Palestinians fairly. Only after they do that can they justly complain about the Palestinian provocations.
yes we noticed how Pres. Obama treated Netanyahu when he first was elected....not to good was it...Why hasn't Pres. Obama said anything to the Palestinians about the rockets that constantly have been launched into Israel for the last 4 years...now Egypt...backing Palestinians...thanks to Pres. Obama's help in getting rid of Muraback and the Muslim Brotherhood came into power....the middle east will burn and Pres. Obama blames a video....maybe now he will face the problems facing the world because the last 4 years he focused on his re-election campaign.
In the end Israel is prepared to go it alone against the overwhelming Islamic forces that are theologically driven to annihilate their tiny nation. They would welcome any help that is offered, but if there is none then so be it. This crisis is not about "bad chemistry" between Netanyahu and Obama, it is about bad chemistry between Islam and Jews, it is about bad chemistry between Islam and infidels in general.
Ridiculous hyperbole. It's amazing that commenters here are so shocked when Muslim countries elect openly Muslim leaders. George Bush is a born-again Christian and that was seen as a positive by the right wing, but similar religiosity in someone like Egypt's Morsi is seen as almost an existential threat.
"Overwhelming Islamic forces" - do you mean the Palestinian Air Force (3 hang gliders with a pilot armed with a pistol)?
Why should Netanyahu make amends with Obama? Netanyahu controls US foreign policy in the Muddle East.
"flags"wrote that Israel is "prepared to go it alone". I don't consider billions in foreign aid and all of the high-tech weapons they want, "going it alone". If a real war starts in the Middle East, do we doubt that most of the Arab nations will cast their lot with the Hamas. We will be drawn into a conflict that we do not want and can ill afford.
TheyThey, both sides, must revisit the Oslo Accords.
It would be a huge mistake for Obama to ever trust Netanyahu. Nicholas Sarkozy was spot on when he called Netanyahu a "liar"--a pathological one at that. One only has to read the Israeli media to see that Israelis themselves overwhelming view Netanyahu as a liar, especially when it comes to his dealings with the world outside Israel. Unfortunately, judging by their voting at the polls, far too many Israelis would prefer a liar who so totally oppresses the Palestinian people so that they can go about their daily lives worrying about their sun tans rather than their sins/crimes to an honest leader who works for a just peace--something which will eventually require Israel to acknowledge its crimes against the Palestinian people. Much like apartheid South Africa, significant progress towards healing the wounds may best be served by a Truth and Reconciliation Commision. Query whether even that will rehabilitate Netanyahu's pathological ways.
Globe wants us to conveniently forget that Obama, in a moment of candor, suggested that Israel should return to pre-1967 borders. Bibi remembers that statement, and he knows that Obama retracted it ONLY because he was in Campaign Mode. Why should ANY Israeli leader trust Obama after Obama said that?
"The United States and Israel will have a better chance of dismantling Iran’s nuclear program if they work together". The Globe is DISHONEST here. Every action that Obama has taken demonstrates that he has NO INTENTION of dismantling Iran's nuclear program. Obama will ACCEPT a nuclear Iran. ..An incredibly WEAK Commander in Chief. ...Sanctions are not stopping Iran's military in any fashion. Obama REFUSES to allow more oil drilling on public lands..Besides helping the US economy, more US oil sales would force down the price of Iranian oil. Obama puts the anti-Israel Muslim brotherhood in power in Egypt and Libya. He hates the US miitary and wants its budget cut. ...Globe forgot to mention that Iran's leaders have openly CHEERED Barack Obama's reelection.