An Astonishing Turn in U.S. Policy Toward Israel?

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Kislev 16, 5777

December 16, 2016

Amona: will the end come this weekend?

It appears that time has run out for the brave residents of Amona. It would not be any surprise if security forces descended on the community this weekend and forcibly threw the residents out of their homes.

Your humble servant has to say that he found PM Netanyahu’s statement today about the situation completely revolting:

Dear residents of Amona, my heart is with you.

You are in a difficult period, you and your families, and all the people of Israel. The government is committed to the settlement of Judea and Samaria. We are committed to each other more than any other government in Israel’s history.

So ministers and I have made every possible effort . . . to find a solution that will save Amona. We spent day and night, had dozens of discussions, suggested creative solutions–solutions outside the box, but unfortunately our proposals were not accepted.

One thing must be clear: Israel is a state of law. All of us are required to follow Court rulings, including the Government of Israel. But the law must be equal. The same law that requires the evacuation also requires the removal of illegal construction in other parts of the country.

So I have instructed authorities to expedite the demolition of illegal construction in the Negev, Wadi Ara, in Galilee, in the center – throughout the country. And we will do so in the coming days. There will not be a double standard regarding the enforcement of building laws for the Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel . . . I will fight that Israel will have one law for all . . . which has not been true for decades.

I call on everyone to act responsibly; not in any way to harm IDF soldiers and security forces. These are our children . . . are dear to us all, and they keep the rest of us safe. There is no place for violence.

I appeal to Amona parents: your protest is understandable, but [it should not be violent].

I call on all leaders to demonstrate national responsibility at this time. It is a supreme value and is a source of our strength. We are one. We are brothers.

Shabbat Shalom.

What is revolting about this statement?

1. That Netanyahu would in essence blame the residents of Amona for not accepting the government solution.

2. That Netanyahu would claim, in the face of an almost complete freeze in construction in Judea and Samaria, that his government is committed to Jewish communities there.

3. That Netanyahu has suddenly discovered after some nine years in office that something must be done about the illegal construction being done by Arabs.

TODAY’S BLOG:

An Astonishing Turn in U.S. Policy Toward Israel?

When you think about the last eight years of the Obama Administration and Israel, three distinct layers of involvement come to mind.

One layer has been positive–though not quite as positive as many would have us believe. Faced with a fiercely pro-Israel American Congress which was determined to help Israel maintain its military advantage in the Middle East, the Obama Administration led from behind–reluctantly and disingenuously signing onto military aid packages so that it could receive the credit instead of Congress.

Take for example the recently signed 10 year military aid bill which did not actually increase military aid but maintained it at current levels. As part of that agreement, Obama demanded that Israel agree to a provision that precluded it from asking Congress for increases on top of what was specified in the agreement should the need arise. In essence, Obama maintained the status quo, with conditions.

However, even in this area of military assistance, Israel’s relationship with President Obama was rocky. None of us will ever forget how during the 2014 conflict with the terrorists in Gaza, President Obama refused to ship military resupplies to Israel.

Always, there has been a sword of Damocles hanging over Israel’s head.

Second, and more positive, the Obama Administration (at least up until this point) has stood beside Israel in international venues such as the United Nations and fought against anti-Israel resolutions. Given that without U.S. support many of those resolutions would have easily passed, Israel has been grateful for this support.

The third level, however, regards the fact that President Obama and his Secretaries of State Hillary Clinton and John Kerry, have waged daily war with Israel and its democratically elected government. No day goes by that spokespeople at the U.S. State Department or do not criticize, castigate, and attack Israel. They are often joined in this attack by the White House Press Secretary.

Most of those attacks have been directed against Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem and Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. However, the verbal attacks have been translated into action. 

Not only did the Obama Administration overtly meddle in the last election here in an attempt to replace PM Netanyahu (just think about the utter hypocrisy of Obama now criticizing Russia for meddling in the U.S. election), but also the Obama Administration went out of its way not to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem–and to even deny American citizens born in Jerusalem from listing “Jerusalem, Israel” on their passports.

And how can we forget how President Obama came to Israel, refused to speak in the Knesset for fear of criticism from Israeli lawmakers, and preached to a hand-picked audience about Israelis’ responsibility to make concessions to the Palestinians in order to have peace. It was just this kind of overweening arrogance that Israelis found revolting in the American president.

And how can we forget how President Obama went out of his way at the beginning of his presidency back in 2009 to degrade longtime pro-Israel organizations such as AIPAC while elevating such patently anti-Israel organizations as J Street.  It was degradation and elevation that increased throughout the last eight years.

It is particularly in the context of this third layer that yesterday’s news of the new American Ambassador to Israel landed like a bombshell in Israel and the United States.

That new Ambassador is to be David Friedman.

Here is a sample of David Friedman quotes; think about how they compare with those of people in the Obama Administration.

On President-Elect Trump and whether there should be an independent Palestinian state:

“The answer is – not without the approval of the Israelis. If the Israelis don’t want to do it, so he doesn’t think they should do it. … He does not think it is an American imperative for it to be an independent Palestinian state.”

This quotation speaks for itself.

On President-Elect Trump and the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria:

“[President-Elect Trump believes]that Israel should continue to build settlements. This is land that Israel has held for almost 50 years. The population of Judea and Samaria is 400,000 people. You add in East Jerusalem you have almost a million people. These people aren’t going anywhere and Israel’s not going to make the same mistake that it made in connection with the evacuation of Gaza.”

“I don’t think he believes that the settlements are illegal.”

These quotations speak for themselves.

On J Street: 

“They are just smug advocates of Israel’s destruction delivered from the comfort of their secure American sofas — it’s hard to imagine anyone worse.”

“They are not Jewish and not pro-Israel.”

These comments need no comment.

Finally, talk about a breath of fresh air, here’s what Friedman said yesterday in accepting Trump’s nomination:

“I am deeply honored and humbled by the confidence placed in me by President-elect Trump to represent the United States as its Ambassador to Israel. I intend to work tirelessly to strengthen the unbreakable bond between our two countries and advance the cause of peace within the region, and look forward to doing this from the U.S. embassy in Israel’s eternal capital, Jerusalem.“

In sum, your humble servant does not want to put the cart before the horse; President-Elect Trump is not president yet, and David Friedman has not been confirmed as Ambassador to Israel. More than this, it remains to be seen if Trump’s promises during the campaign will actually be kept. Nevertheless, we may be looking at an astonishing turn in American-Israeli relations: a turn devoutly to be hoped for.

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