The “Chickenshit” Returns

 by Jonas E. Alexis

Things continue to get worse for Benjamin Netanyahu, and even his own Zionist club is telling him that he really messed things up over the last two weeks or so. According to the Obama administration, Netanyahu has obviously stepped out of line–again.

“We thought we’ve seen everything,” one unnamed US official declared. “But Bibi managed to surprise even us.”[1]

How did he surprise the Obama administration? The unnamed official continued,

“There are things you simply don’t do. He spat in our face publicly and that’s no way to behave. Netanyahu ought to remember that President Obama has a year and a half left to his presidency, and that there will be a price.”[2]

Cyber Law and Business Report host Bennett Kelley, writing in the Huffington Post, has recently put it this way,

“Welcome to the Unbearable Rudeness of Bibi…

“When Prime Minister Netanyahu speaks of the United States, however, it is to say that ‘American policy in the Middle East is based on lies and distortions’ or to boast that America is easily manipulated and moved ‘in the right direction [so] they won’t get in the way.

“He has also bragged about double-crossing President Clinton by reluctantly agreeing to adhere the Oslo accords but then taking measures to render it meaningless.

“Secretary of State James Baker temporarily banned then-Deputy Foreign Minister Netanyahu from the State Department for his ‘lies and distortions comments,’ while Netanyahu’s manipulation comments only prove President Clinton’s initial impression after meeting with the new Prime Minister in which he said ‘[h]e thinks he is the superpower, and we are here to do whatever he requires.’

“(Further supporting Clinton’s assessment was the recent statement of one of Netanyahu’s cabinet members who told the U.S. ambassador that Israel expects ‘unconditional’ support ‘even when you think we’re wrong.’)

“Time and time again, Netanyahu has shown little respect for American Presidents, its institutions or interests despite the fact that we provide Israel with over $3 billion in aid annually, use our diplomatic capital to block anti-Israeli measures at the United Nations and have had to endure a devastating oil embargo and terrorist attacks at home and abroad because of our support for Israel.

“In 2010, Netanyahu announced the expansion of new settlements in occupied East Jerusalem on the same day that Vice President Joe Biden arrived to restart the peace process (ignoring the U.S.’ request to to implement a settlement freeze as part of the resumption of peace talks with the Palestinians).

“Then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemned the announcement as an insult, while Vice President Biden privately scolded Netanyahu that he was “undermin[ing] the security of our troops who are fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

“Netanyahu has lectured the President in front of the White House press corps and compared the administration’s refusal to set a firm deadline for Iran to act on its nuclear program or face military action to the Roosevelt’s administration rejecting calls from Jewish leaders to bomb Auschwitz…

“Netanyahu latest stunt seeks to fuel claims that President Obama is not ‘pro-Israel,’ an astounding charge since former Defense Secretary Gates, who served under three Republican Presidents and Obama once reminded Netanyahu that ‘no U.S. administration had done more, in concrete ways, for Israel’s strategic defense than Obama’s’ (a view shared by former Prime Ministers Shimon Peres and Ehud Barak).

“For Netanyahu to disrespect the United States just after Secretary of State Kerry had called nearly 50 head of state to head off action against Israel at the United Nations is astounding.  Waterboys are treated with more respect than that.”^[3]

Indeed. Now listen to the Times of Israel very carefully here:

“Officials in Washington said that the “chickenshit” epithet — with which an anonymous administration official branded Netanyahu several months ago — was mild compared to the language used in the White House when news of Netanyahu’s planned speech came in…

“Haaretz reported that Obama had personally demanded that Netanyahu tone down his pro-sanctions rhetoric in a phone call between the two last week. The president has said a sanctions bill would cripple negotiations with Iranian leaders at a critical stage, and has threatened to veto such a bill should it come through.

“The Washington Post reported that Netanyahu’s apparent disrespect for the US leadership was particularly offensive to Secretary of State John Kerry, who over the past month had made frenzied efforts on Israel’s behalf on the world stage — making dozens of calls to world leaders to convince them to oppose a UN Security Council resolution which would have set a timeframe for the establishment of a Palestinian state.”[4]

Poor Kerry. He thought he was doing Netanyahu a great service by defending his psychopathic behavior, but then Netanyahu turns around and stabs him on the back.

Kerry, of course, was not happy:

“‘The secretary’s patience is not infinite,’ a source close to Kerry told the Post. ‘The bilateral relationship is unshakable. But playing politics with that relationship could blunt Secretary Kerry’s enthusiasm for being Israel’s primary defender.’”[5]

Even Nancy Pelosi, of all people, didn’t think it was wise for John Boehner to invite foreign potentate Netanyahu to address Congress. It gets worse: Fox News thought that Netanyahu messed things up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHWbqwh4PB0

Lisa Goldman, the director of the Israel-Palestine Initiative at the New America Foundation, lamented,

“After watching this I think Bibi [Netanyahu] and [Israeli ambassador to the US Ron] Dermer might have finally gone too far. They miscalculated the American Zeitgeist and didn’t realize that when a foreign power, even a favorite ally, shows a lack of respect for US institutions, a red line has been crossed.”

There is more. Jonathan S. Tobin, the flaming Jewish neoconservative, thinks that Netanyahu made a mistake, but he defended his brethren by saying that

“After six years of insults, provocations and staged spats aimed at Israel by the Obama administration that did nothing to advance U.S. interests or the cause of Middle East peace, it’s not clear that they can do much to hurt Netanyahu that would not hurt the president more.”[6]

I can tell Tobin how the President Obama can hurt Bibi. If the Obama administration decides to stop sending at least $3 billion a year to Israel and use that money to help rebuild America, that would be a real change. We certainly would give the administration a standing ovation.

Will he do it? Will he stop listening to Benjamin Netanyahu’s machination of the West in general and America in particular for the rest of his political term?

Only time will tell.

[1] “Netanyahu ‘spat in our face,’ White House officials said to say,” Times of Israel, January 23, 2015.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Bennett Kelley “The Unbearable Rudeness of Bibi,” Huffington Post, January 24, 2015.

[4] “Netanyahu ‘spat in our face,’ White House officials said to say,” Times of Israel, January 23, 2015.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Jonathan S. Tobin, “Obama’s Hollow Threats of Revenge on Bibi,” Commentary, January 23, 2015.

Jonas E. Alexis, Assistant Editor

Jonas E. Alexis has degrees in mathematics and philosophy. He studied education at the graduate level. His main interests include U.S. foreign policy, the history of the Israel/Palestine conflict, and the history of ideas. He is the author of the new book Zionism vs. the West: How Talmudic Ideology is Undermining Western Culture. He teaches mathematics in South Korea.

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