A reader writes:
As an Israeli citizen, I want to thank you for this post. You should know that many Israelis actually do understand that we should go back to 67' borders, but the environment here is so toxic – Not unlike what the far right has done in America - that you just can't say anything out loud or you'll be denounce as almost Antisemitic. What's going on here is awful, Bibi is taking us straight to hell. It's amazing to think that if Ulmert was still in charge, he would have cut a deal with Obama a year ago. What a waste to finally have an American president who is so sincere, serious and decent, at a time when there's no leader, no vision and no hope in Israel.
Another:
Though this is not surprising in the least, imagine for a moment that the leader of a country that is openly contemptuous of a sitting Republican president pays a visit to America, is given a warm reception by the Democratically-controlled Congress (indeed, even given the opportunity to address a Joint Session of both houses), and invited to address the leading liberal/Democratic think tanks and lobbying groups.
Can you picture the interminable cries of treason from the right? Can you picture the steam-blowing outrage from Fox News, Rush, etc regarding the warm reception given to a leader antagonistic toward a Republican White House?
And yet, when the roles are reversed, nothing.
Surprise! The Washington Post actually sides with a foreign government against the president.
All the blame must be laid not at the feet of Netanyahu (who is rendered blameless for his belligerence and contempt for the American president) nor of the Palestinians (although they come in for a shellacking at the start). No: it's Obama committed a foul by actually stating out loud that the 1967 border is the obvious line around which a territorial settlement can be made. He violated the Washington consensus that the American president must let Israel direct and guide his entire relations with every other power in the Middle East. Hence this:
This is not a big change in U.S. policy. Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, along with previous Israeli governments, have supported the approach. But Mr. Netanyahu has not yet signed on, and so Mr. Obama’s decision to confront him with a formal U.S. embrace of the idea, with only a few hours’ warning, ensured a blowup.
So until a foreign leader signs on in advance to US policy, the American president is unwise to state a position. Even after years now of trying to get the slightest serious concession from Israel. There is a mindset here that treats Israel not simply as an ally but as unique among all allies in being able to dictate to the US what its foreign policy will be. That is unhealthy for all parties. But so much of the Washngton machinery is devoted to it.
The Dish 