Israel Matzav

It starts: Kerry warns threatens Netanyahu that if talks fail, Israel will face a 'delegitimization campaign on steroids'

At least US Secretary of State John Kerry is being up front about his plans. Jeffrey Goldberg reports in his Tuesday Bloomberg column that Kerry has warned threatened Prime Minister Netanyahu that if the talks fail, Israel will face a 'delegitimization campaign on steroids.'

There are some early signs that Netanyahu is realizing the price his country may one day pay for its settlements, in particular those near Palestinian population centers. He met recently with some of Israel's leading manufacturers, who expressed their worry that their products may one day be boycotted in Europe, a worry he shares. Kerry, capitalizing on this anxiety, has warned Netanyahu in recent weeks that if the current peace talks bear no fruit, Israel may soon be facing an international delegitimization campaign -- in his words -- "on steroids."

According to officials I have spoken to, who requested anonymity so they could speak freely, Kerry thinks the one thing Netanyahu fears as much as Iran's nuclear program is the growing power of the international movement that seeks to isolate, scapegoat and demonize his country. (One caveat: Kerry, like most Americans who know Netanyahu, understands that the prime minister's narrowest but most potent fear is of being unseated.)

Although Netanyahu is worried that the campaign to make Israel appear to be an illegitimate state could hurt the country's robust economy, he is said to be even more worried that this campaign will erode Israel's ability to defend itself. The theory is simple: A country seen as illegitimate, not only by the powerful Arab lobby at the United Nations but also by Western powers, will have little standing if it is forced to retaliate against sustained attacks from groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah, both of which remain committed to Israel's extermination.

Netanyahu thinks that the campaign to delegitimize Israel could force Western powers to rein in Israel, or at the very least, rush to condemn it before it has the chance to defend itself.

Netanyahu's two fears are related. Israel will find it increasingly difficult to one day act against the Iranian nuclear program if it is hobbled by the hostility of the international community. For years, I've been arguing that Israel would find more sympathy in its campaign against Iranian nukes if it was more willing to compromise with the Palestinians. Netanyahu, unlike other prominent figures on the Israeli right, has agreed in principle to a two-state solution, but he hasn't done very much to bring it about -- he has only grudgingly and temporarily suspended expansions of the settlements located on land that would almost surely be part of the future state of Palestine.

But Netanyahu has lately been leaning in the direction of the Israeli political center. And by doing this he is making the truculent base of his party, the Likud, quite nervous. Netanyahu, I'm told, has taken to disparaging some of the politicians to his right as "insane." These are the politicians who delude themselves into thinking that their country is a superpower, and can behave as one.

There are a number of points that bear noting here. First, someone in the State Department, possibly even Kerry himself or someone acting on his orders, leaked this to Goldberg, who is known to be obsessed with the 'Palestinians.' What's missing is the second half of Kerry's statement, which any US administration of the last 65 years - other than an Obama or Carter administration - would have made: If that happens, we will defend you, particularly if we know that it's not your fault. Note that the fallout from Ehud Barak's failed peace making was the intifada and a lot of international sympathy. And Barak brought himself to the table - he was not forced by a hostile American President and Secretary of State.

Second, to say that Netanyahu 'hasn't done much' is unfair and inaccurate, and if that's what the State Department believes, we ought to withdraw from these talks now. Netanyahu froze 'settlement' construction for ten months during Obama's first administration, and he's in the process of releasing 104 'Palestinian' murderers, with the first 26 going free tonight. No, I don't like those steps, but the fact that he's done this is precisely why it's ridiculous to say that Netanyahu 'hasn't done much.' He's done too much.

Third, does the State Department refer to the Jewish towns in Judea and Samaria as 'colonies' or was that Goldberg's gloss? And if that was Goldberg's dehumanizing gloss, does he have any business calling himself 'pro-Israel'? (I used to regard Goldberg as a part of the sane Left - I'm now having second thoughts).

Fourth, the biggest impediment to anything moving forward is 'Palestinian' intransigence, and this kind of leak from the US State Department is going to encourage them to be more intransigent and to hold out for everything they've always demanded. This kind of leak destroys the 'peace process' and undermines the trust that Israel must have in the United States in order to feel confident that the United States will back it when necessary. Just as well - the US is not going to back us while the Obama junta is in power.

What could go wrong?

Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, delegitimizing Israel, Jeffrey Goldberg, John Kerry, Middle East peace process

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 5:48 PM