Daniel

Pipes

March 29, 2010

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The New Era

Four years ago, based on political trends, I wrote of my expectation that bipartisan U.S. support for Israel is coming to an end. Rather than the friendly argument over who is the better friend of Israel, Bill Clinton or George W. Bush, "a major shift [in policy will occur] whenever the White House changes hands from one party to the other."

That moment appears to be upon us. Indicative of this almost un-noticed shift is a throw-away line by Janine Zacharia in the Washington Post where she notes that, given Binyamin Netanyahu's poor relations with the Obama administration, some Israelis expect he will "search for ways to buy time until the midterm U.S. elections in hopes that Obama would lose support and that more pro-Israel Republicans would be elected."

That an Israeli leader awaits one U.S. party to defeat the other marks the dawn of a new age, and not one favorable to his country. As I put it in 2006, "As the political consensus breaks, Israel will be the loser."

George Mitchell on Israeli Building in Jerusalem

Rick Richman clarifies just how preposterous this "crisis" is by transcribing an interview George Mitchell gave in January 2010, where he indicates he has no problem with the Israelis building in Jerusalem. After noting that the 10-month moratorium on building does not include eastern Jerusalem, Mitchell notes with equanimity the announcement of new building there and explains that "for the Israelis, what they're building in is in part of Israel." The exchange then goes on:

GEORGE MITCHELL: Now, the others don't see it that way. So you have these widely divergent perspectives on the subject. Our view is let's get into negotiations. Let's deal with the issues and come up with the solution to all of them including Jerusalem which will be exceedingly difficult but, in my judgment, possible. The Israelis are not going to stop settlements in, or construction in East Jerusalem. They don't regard that as a settlement because they think it's part of Israel. …

CHARLIE ROSE: So you're going to let them go ahead even though no one recognizes the annexation?

MITCHELL: You say "Let them go ahead." It's what they regard as their country. They don't say they're letting us go ahead when we build in Manhattan.

Comment: The comparison of Jerusalem to Manhattan is priceless.

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