ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS IT’S TIME TO FIND NEW ALLIES
HOW BAD ARE THINGS BETWEEN ISRAEL AND THE U.S.? ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS IT’S TIME TO FIND NEW ALLIES
Nov. 21, 2013 8:10am
Sharona Schwartz
Providing further evidence of the strain in relations with the Obama administration over Iran’s nuclear program and peace talks with the Palestinians, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman said this week that Israel needs to look for other allies besides the U.S.
Asked about U.S.-Israel relations at an academic conference in Sderot on Wednesday, Liberman said, “The link between Israel and its main strategic partner the United States has weakened.”
“Israel’s foreign policy for many years went in one direction toward Washington, but my policy has more directions,” Liberman said, according to the Jerusalem Post.
“There are enough countries that we can be a help to and therefore our foreign policy must be to search for allies,” the foreign minister said. “The Americans have a lot of problems and challenges around the world that they need to solve and they have problems at home. We need to understand them and our place in the global arena.”
“We need to stop demanding, complaining, moaning and instead seek countries that are not dependent on money from the Arab or Islamic world and who want to cooperate with us in the field of innovation,” Liberman further said according to French news agency Agence France-Presse.
“It’s naive to think that countries will help us because of altruism,” he added.
Tension between Washington and Jerusalem has been high as the Obama administration is reported to be willing to accept a sanctions-easing interim deal with Iran that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called “bad and dangerous.”
Israel is not the only country in the region to feel a cooling in relations with the U.S. After the Obama administration announced it was partially suspending military aid to Egypt following the ousting of Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated President Mohammed Morsi, Russia has reportedly been discussing a major arms deal with the North African nation.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry further miffed Israelis earlier this month by meting out harsh criticism of the construction of Jewish housing in West Bank settlements during an Israeli television interview. In the interview, Kerry also warned of a “third Intifada,” or Palestinian uprising, and of the potential for increased international pressure to boycott Israel, suggesting Israel needs to make painful concessions to the Palestinians.
One Israeli government official speaking anonymously to Channel 2 called Kerry’s words “intimidation tactics.”
In his Wednesday talk, Liberman slammed those calling on Israel to make “painful concessions,” saying those demands “come from people who don’t know the history or the facts.”
“Settlements weren’t an obstacle for peace with Egypt or Jordan. On the other hand, we evacuated settlements in Gaza and got [rocket] fire. Historically, there is no connection between settlements and peace agreements,” he said.
Labor Party Member of Knesset Nachman Shai accused Liberman of “throwing out the baby with the bathwater.”
“Public arguments with the U.S. happened in the past, but there is no other country on Earth with such a broad common denominator with Israel or that is so important to us,” Shai said, according to the Jerusalem Post. “The U.S. stands next to Israel in dozens of incidents and issues every day and is our safest defensive shield.”
The foreign minister returned to his position last week after being cleared of corruption charges.
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013...nd-new-allies/
Proof that the ADL is disingenuous and that the Daily KOS is nothing but a propaganda rag.
Quote:
GOP picked one line out of Obama's speech
to declare him a foe of Israel
Earlier today, President Obama delivered aspeech on American policy in the Middle East and North Africa. The GOP's 2012 field naturally seized upon this as an opportunity to go on the attack. Mitt Romney led the charge, accusing him of throwing Israel "under the bus," but most of the rest of the GOP field joined in the assault.The basis of their attack? Obama said any peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians should be based on 1967 borders. What they forgot to mention was that he also said there should be mutually agreed upon land swaps, a recognition of the fact that a return to the precise pre-1967 borders would be unacceptable to Israel.
While Republicans are accusing President Obama of being anti-Israel, it's worth pointing out that the Anti-Defamation League praised the speech not just as being constructive for Middle East peace and good for Israel, but also as being an expression of American values and ideals:
We welcome President Obama's compelling speech on the priorities for American policy in the Middle East. We applaud his strong outlining of the principles which motivate that policy, including supporting the universal rights of free speech, equality and religious freedom, opposing the use of force and political repression, and promoting political and economic reforms. These are a reflection of American values and promote American interests.We further commend his strong affirmation of the importance of the deep and unshakeable U.S.-Israel relationship, and his clear articulation of the moral and strategic connections between America and Israel. We support the President's vision of a negotiated Israeli-Palestinian settlement with strong security provisions for Israel, and a non-militarized Palestinian state.
As ADL's statement underscores, the idea that Barack Obama is pursuing some sort of anti-Israel agenda is completely absurd. But then again, so is the field of Republican candidates for 2012.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/0...erican-values#
