Israel Matzav

Koch: The trust is gone

My parents knew Ed Koch growing up. Koch and my parents were among the leaders of a youth group that was a forerunner of one of today's Jewish youth groups. My parents told me that Koch was a straight shooter, and that certainly has always seemed to be the case from when I've seen Koch in action.

Koch also loves Israel. The comments I made about Alan Dershowitz last night (Democrat, liberal, loves Israel) apply even more to Koch. He's a liberal Democrat whose love for Israel - at least in my experience - is absolute. He's a throwback to the liberal Democrats of the '60's. And he's slamming the Obama administration for its treatment of Israel (Hat Tip: Soccer Dad).

What is most disturbing about the truly harsh and inflammatory rhetoric of both Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton directed at the government of Israel, is that it is speculated President Obama himself may have ordered Biden and Clinton to make the statements they made. The Times of March 16th reported, "...the President was outraged by the announcement of 1,600 housing units in an ultra-Orthodox neighborhood in East Jerusalem during Mr. Biden's visit, administration officials said. Mr. Obama was deeply involved in the strategy and planning for Mr. Biden's visit and orchestrated the response from Mr. Biden and Mrs. Clinton after it went awry, these officials said." President Obama and his administration's overly harsh public reaction to the construction in East Jerusalem appears to have emboldened Israel's enemies and provided a cover for their extremist views. It has also created a serious crisis of confidence among the Israeli public that it can depend on this administration for its security.

There will be an effort this week when Prime Minister Netanyahu meets with President Obama to mend fences. There will be huggy-kissy pictures with Hillary and handshakes by Bibi Netanyahu with Joe Biden and the President, but the relations will never be the same again. Humpty Dumpty has been broken and the absolute trust needed between allies is no longer there. How sad it is for the supporters of Israel who put their trust in President Obama.

Indeed. I would say that the trust is shot at least until there's a new President in the US.

What could go wrong?

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:26 PM