–bumped–
Secretary Clinton also spoke this morning with Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu to reiterate the United States’ strong objections to Tuesday’s announcement, not just in terms of timing, but also in its substance; to make clear that the United States considers the announcement a deeply negative signal about Israel’s approach to the bilateral relationship – and counter to the spirit of the Vice President’s trip; and to reinforce that this action had undermined trust and confidence in the peace process, and in America’s interests. The Secretary said she could not understand how this happened, particularly in light of the United States’ strong commitment to Israel’s security. And she made clear that the Israeli Government needed to demonstrate not just through words but through specific actions that they are committed to this relationship and to the peace process. – State Dept.
I’d have given my last bottle of cold beer to have heard V.P. Joe Biden’s “condemnatory language unfit for print”. It was uttered after he was summarily humiliated by Mr. Netanyahu’s sloppy arrogance on announcing settlements in Arab East Jerusalem.
From the Washington Post we learn that Sect. Clinton has expressed the damage done:
Clinton called the prime minister “to make clear the United States considered the announcement a deeply negative signal about Israel’s approach to the bilateral relationship and counter to the spirit of the vice president’s trip,” State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters at his regular news briefing. Clinton, he said, reinforced “this action had undermined trust and confidence in the peace process and in America’s interests.”
Crowley added: “The secretary said she could not understand how this happened, particularly in light of the United States’ strong commitment to Israel’s security, and she made clear that the Israeli government needed to demonstrate not just through words but through specific actions that they are committed to this relationship and to the peace process.”
Laura Rozen quotes from “Missed Opportunities,” by Ben Caspit in today’s Maariv:
It was supposed to be a visit that would restore our trust. It was the visit that destroyed trust. Binyamin Netanyahu kicked over the bucket that contained no milk. Biden was supposed to fill it. Instead, Biden burned with anger. “They stabbed me in the back,” the vice president said last Tuesday in meetings that he held. “They hurt me, President Obama, the United States, the peace process, trust, and everyone who believed that something could be done here.” He was furious. On Tuesday, he spoke with President Obama. The conversation included condemnatory language unfit for print. He was on the verge of canceling dinner with the Netanyahus. Again and again, he changed the speech that he was to give on Tuesday at the university. He did not know what to do with himself, where to take his frustration, his feeling of betrayal, of lost opportunity. [...]
… Next year [Palestinian PM Fayyad] will show the world a quiet PA, a law-abiding PA with institutions and reforms with one military, one law, one authority. And then, he will ask for recognition of the Palestinian state in the 1967 borders. As it seems now, he will get this. From everyone except from us. [....]
MJ Rosenberg’s take on Biden’s speech is worth a read; one section on the realities of Arab East Jerusalem is important to emphasize:
[...] The Palestinian Authority has not engaged in violence for years. But Prime Minister Netanyahu would not accept a settlement freeze that included Arab East Jerusalem. And that is precisely where most of the settlement expansion is taking place, as Palestinians are being forced out of their homes to make way for settlers.
Also, what Israel calls Jerusalem includes a chunk of the West Bank. When Israel annexed Jerusalem after the 1967 war, it tripled its size by fiat so that Palestinian areas — areas never considered part of Jerusalem –were magically transformed into neighborhoods in the holy city.
The United States has never recognized these areas — or any part of East Jerusalem — as part of Israel. And neither does any country other than Israel. …
[...] Biden also stated, to an Israeli audience, that the Palestinian state must be viable, contiguous, and would encompass the territories won during the ’67 war. And he indicated unprecedented support for Palestinian aspirations, on an equal par with Israel’s security.
Mr. Netanyahu has played this very badly, making the situation even worse, especially as Obama and the U.S. continues to attempt to get strong sanctions against Iran. What was done this week was recklessly stupid.
AIPAC conference is March 21-23. Get ready for praise for Netanyahu against Obama’s rightful policy of pressure against more settlements in Arab East Jerusalem. As is customary, Sect. Clinton plans to speak.
Graphic (screen capture) of Huffington Post
excellent
We’ll see how that last paragraph works through.
The picture presently atop Huffington Post is really delicious.
Naughty boy, serious scolding. Excellent.
Now uploaded so *all* can see.
The quote from the article (via Rozen) is also interesting:
… Next year [Palestinian PM Fayyad] will show the world a quiet PA, a law-abiding PA with institutions and reforms with one military, one law, one authority. And then, he will ask for recognition of the Palestinian state in the 1967 borders. As it seems now, he will get this. From everyone except from us. [....]
This just spectacular. Let’s hope Biden’s comments somehow are leaked . Perhaps btwn HRC
& Biden , Democrats might be contaminated with SPINE.
Wow, I am actually shocked that the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the Vice President spoke out against it. I am on the fence with this one. I don’t believe that Isreal should be building new apartment buidings and settlements in the west bank especially since the vice president was in the country at the time to try to talk about peace. Its a gamble to speak out against Isreal in either party especially in the democratic party because I don’t how lawmakers and the jewish community is going to take it. It is going to be interesting to see how AIPAC reacts to this. I just don’t want Isreal’s enemies to use it to there advantage or take the language the wrong way.
I’m thrilled. I am not against Israel at all – I’m against Israel being a little bully against the goodwill and faith of this country.
Me too, djjl. Not against Israel, but….what you say.
I think that is time for the American Jewish community to start speaking out against some of the things Israel is doing. This might be the thing that breaks some critisism loose.
Go Joe and Hill…spine we need spine.
I mentioned a devout Jewish couple from Georgetown/DC a few years ago in Grenada at a med school meeting. She and her husband were pro HRC but sometime later emailed me that their Congregation was very pro Obama. In the last few weeks she’s contacted me and commented on their Congregations disillusionment with Obama. I got an email today that specifically discussed her Congregation’s concern that Obama was enabling Israel’s worst inclinations. I think Netanyahu may be stepping a little to far over the line for his nation’s own good.
It’s good to see a little condemnation for a change, a little anger can be a healthy development for this “special” friendship. I can well imagine Biden’s language, which is salty anyway, and yeah, I’d give my last cold beer to hear it, too.
And, good for Sec/State Hillary Clinton, who has always towed the line on deference to Israeli policy, one flaw in her otherwise brilliant politics–in my humble opinion. 
We’ll see where this leads; I’m not hopeful that this leads to any sort of new relationship; I cynically predict this will change nothing. All will continue as before–but if Israel attacks Iran, Israel may finally get what is coming to it from the US–a DIVORCE.
This whole thing is fascinating because it’s really a great example of Netanyahu shooting himself in the foot and demonstrating that the Emperor really has no clothes. He struts around like a peacock talking about all the concessions Israel has made for peace when in fact, his fragile right-wing coalition has been exposed as doing just the opposite all the while it is becoming more and more apparent that the PA, weak though it is, is doing everything in its limited ability to crack down on violence and combat Hamas. It doesn’t help that the nationalist nutbag of a foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, regularly brags that the US will do whatever Israel tells it to do. While some might argue that is in fact the case, that sort of attitude may be less tolerated by not only the WH but also the American people. Nobody likes to see their country essentially told to go f*ck themselves by another government and we are now seeing that low and behold, that sentiment may even hold true with respect to our ally, Israel. That said, a brief review of right-wing blogs will reveal that Biden, Clinton and Obama are now being painted as “anti-Israel,” a patently absurd claim.
Also, Bibi has managed to alienate perhaps his two strongest supporters in the administration- Biden and HRC- a fact that has not been lost on Israelis if you read Haaretz for any indication. It’s interesting to see the reaction of Israelis who seem uber-disgusted with Netanyahu right now.
I will admit to being disappointed to see that HRC will be the keynote speaker at the upcoming AIPAC summit- not only is the timing horrendous but it strikes me as strange to have the nations top diplomat speaking at this uber-political, lobbying love-fest. Biden spoke last year, which was appropriate given he’s a purely political figure within the administration as opposed to a Cabinet member who is charged with being the public face of Mideast diplomacy. It may seem like a minor distinction (politician vs. unelected Cabinet member in charge of diplomacy) but I actually think it is an important one. Granted, given Biden is probably in no mood to the be the speaker this year and Obama will be on foreign travel, I don’t really know who would be the best pick…
This article makes it appear as though behind the scenes, Biden perhaps went into overdrive to give a wink-wink-nod-nod to Bibi- that is if what this article says is true- that Biden actually apologized to Bibi for condemning the settlement announcement. Talk about giving mixed signals:
http://www.jpost.com/Features/FrontLines/Article.aspx?id=170829
I think the real test is what happens next- will the administration be willing to follow words with action if as Haaretz predicts, more settlement expansions are currently being planned? I personally find this tough talk to be long overdue but unless it changes behavior, it’s hard to see it as really indicative of a new willingness to hold Israel accountable for flagrantly undermining the peace process and continuing to build settlements so as to ensure that the Palestinians will never be able to control even 3 inches of Jerusalem.
Hell, on the right wing blogs they call me a Nazi. The Zionists love to use language in a way that benifits them and becomes a weapon which can be used against their perceived enemies. What is said generally has very little truth attached. It merely serves their purpose. Much of the time it sounds hypocritical and schizophrenic. Case in point, Netanyahu on how he didn’t know that his housing minister was going to announce the building of 1600 new living units on the day vice president Joe Biden arrived. Which means that either Netanyahu is a very stupid man who is not in control of his own government or he is a liar. I’ll chose liar. Peace
The Jerusalem Post is a Rupert Murduck operation. Reading it is like watching FOX news. Both present fiction not fact. Peace
Imhotep- JPost may be a rightie organization but it’s a mistake to ignore it altogether. What matters is whether or not the Israeli government is trying to do damage control by claiming that behind the scenes Obama tried to make nice as if it wasn’t such a big deal. Whether or not its true matters but it also matters if the Netanyahu government is trying to push that perception.
I also don’t put much stock in the Daily Worker and the Weekly Standard. At least not to get my “news.” Of course Netanyahu is spinning this whole deal. He stepped in it right up to his nose. The only reason that he is in power today is because he threw himself on the floor kicking his legs and flailing his arms while screaming at the top of his lungs, “If I can’t be the Prime Minister, than I won’t let anybody else be the Prime Minister either.” Netanyahu is a few bricks short of a full load. I predict a no confidence vote any week now. Peace
Imhotep, the reason that you have Nazi sympathies or at least seem to be sympathetic to Nazi ideology is your comment about Jews being responsible for being exiled and massacred over the past two thousand years, which has nothing to do with the state of Israel or its policies.
“Israel is the one in violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, while Iran is a signatory and allows inspections. Israel allows no inspections in this nations active nuclear, chemical and biological weapons development. …The Jewish Lobby has such a grip on America that the Congress sends Israel the equivalent of $30,000 dollars for every Israeli man, woman and child.. — David Duke http://www.davidduke.com
Imhotep’s favorite philosopher on Israel.
Hmmm…some philosopher. At least when Duke wore a white sheet and pointy hat we knew what we were in for. Except for the name he now tries to blend in his business suits and somewhat less outwardly inflammatory rhetoric.
There are some raging anti-Semites who love to throw flames on the fire (like David Duke) and then there are some who simply want to have a legitimate discussion of our foreign policy regarding the Middle East and we sometimes get lumped in with the David Dukes of the world, which is ridiculous.
I don’t know why anyone would quote Duke as a source for anything- it’s true that Israel is not a signatory for the NPT but Duke is hardly interested in nuclear nonproliferation, or rational debate for that matter-he has an underlying agenda- trying to hide his white supremacist, anti-everything rhetoric in a veil of legitimacy.
What’s interesting is I find the Israeli media to be much more tolerant of substantive debate regarding Mid East peace than the US mainstream media at times. The U.S. really does a pathetic job of covering international issues in general but they really do horrible job when it comes to the entire Mid East region. The debate on Iran is a good example- when was the last time you actually heard someone with some knowledge of nuclear physics/science talk about the likelihood that Iran could pull together a full-blown nuclear weapons program in anything but its dreams? That problem played itself out in the run-up to the Iraq War when the media didn’t really connect the dots and figure out why there was such a big discrepancy between what the IEAE was saying and what the Bush admin. was claiming. But I digress….
but isn’t there a modicum of accuracy in the above statement?
liberastheycome, I should ignore you, but you are too outrageous to ignore. Like most crazy people you just make shit up. And like all assholes the only stuff you pass is gas. I’ll make a deal with you. If you stop calling me a Nazi I won’t call the FBI and tell them that you’ve escaped from some mental institution. Deal? Peace
Imhotep, I don’t have any indication that you are a Nazi, in fact I would never use that word to describe a person; like the moron tea-partiers who call Obama a Nazi, it is just ridiculous and the term should be reserved for actual National Socialists under the Third Reich, or to neo-Nazis.
I do however think that you are a facist right-wing fundamentalist, judging by your uneducated statements concerning Jewish people being responsible for all of the suffering heaped upon them over the past 2,000 years. This is bigoted and I have never heard you retract this statement.
If anything, your statements on the Middle East are as Taylor says, over-the-top hysteria that only blames one side (Israel) without taking a step back and understanding the true issues in the region. Neither Israel or the Palestinians or the Arab/Muslim states are made of angels and both sides have much to give if a true peace is to occur with a two-state solution, which I support. Do you? I didn’t think so. This is why I associate you with the David Dukes, Mahmoud Ahmadinejads and Col. Qadaffi’s of the world: inflammatory and utterly unhelpful to promoting the cause of Peace.