Netanyahu Triple-Slaps the U.S. & Congress does the AIPAC Shuffle

By Yousef Munayyer

The Israeli Government waited just long enough for the United States to turn the other cheek before administering another resounding slap to its face. The first insult of course came when Vice President Joe Biden was visiting the region and became the highest ranking Obama Administration official to visit Israel. As he was to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli government announced the expansion of a West Bank settlement of Ramot Shlomo by 1600 homes.

The harshest words used by the administration toward Israel ever were hurled after this jolting announcement. With Netanyahu due in DC in just days quick work had to be done to smooth things over. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reportedly told Netanyahu on the phone that he had to fulfill certain requirements to make everything hunky-dory again.

After keeping Clinton waiting for a week Netanyahu finally called her back. He reportedly told her about how complicated the bureaucracy around settlement announcements was and how he had no idea such a thing could happen. The call came as she was traveling to Russia for a Quartet meeting where the 4-party body issued a statement condemning the expansion of the settlement and demanding its reversal.

But with 8,000 lobbyists in Washington (8000/535 = 15 lobbyists per member) the rhetoric, as empty as it was anyway, would change quickly. One congressman after the other made the annual pilgrimage to the convention center to vow their undying support for Israel.

US elected officials openly criticized President Obama for allowing the disagreement with Israel to be so public. When Clinton spoke at the AIPAC convention, she droned on with the usually talking points about the unbreakable, unshakeable, unwavering bond between Israel and the United States but she also mentioned that Israel had to make hard choices and end settlement expansion. That same evening, the Israeli PM Netanyahu was at center stage saying that it really didn’t matter what the US thought about settlements because Israel will continue to build.

The next morning, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader John Boehner, fresh off a weekend of trashing each other over health care, held a joint photo op with Netanyahu to say that, on support for Israel, they “speak with one voice.”

For a moment it was interesting to think about who was going to enter the impending contentious bilateral meeting with more confidence. President Obama had just secured a major domestic victory by signing historic health care reform. Netanyahu had just slapped America’s VP in the face in Israel and came to Washington welcomed by a congress of lap dogs.

That moment was brief, however, as the answer became very clear when another announcement about a settlement project was made just before the bilateral meeting between Netanyahu and Obama.

About 30 minutes before the scheduled meeting, stories began to break about the Shepherd Hotel in Sheikh Jarrah. The US made their feelings about this project explicitly clear last summer when Israeli Ambassador to the US Michael Oren was summoned over the approval of this project at the local level.

So in a matter of days, Netanyahu kicks the barrel out from under Biden in Jerusalem, defies Clinton at AIPAC, and completes the trifecta by preempting a meeting with Obama with this most recent announcement. Unless your still buying into the its-the-bureaucracy’s-fault-I-had-no-idea excuse.

If the United States cannot reign in Israel, in a region where it is supposed to dominate, what are other major powers going to think? With thousands of troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, the United States has never appeared more vulnerable than this very moment. The US shouldn’t rely on Russia for any help with sanctions on Iran, they would much rather watch the American empire crumble. And China? They’re getting a kick out of financing it all.

The US’s failure to coerce Netanyahu sends messages far beyond the Middle East but to the rest of the world as well.

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