US/Israeli Relationship In ‘The Worst Shape I Have Ever Seen’
Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan remarked on “Face The Nation” Sunday that the U.S./Israeli relationship is “in the worst shape I have ever seen them.”
Noonan cited Netanyahu’s invitation by Speaker John Boehner without “the sign off” from the White House and Obama’s “abrasive” congratulatory call to the prime minister after his reelection victory as preeminent reasons for this downfall in relations.
NOONAN: From the moment Prime Minister Netanyahu was invited to speak before the Congress, by the Republicans of Congress without alerting, getting sign off by the White House, by an administration that, if you love them or don’t love them, they are in charge of U.S. diplomacy and niceties and traditions ought to be respected. From that moment straight through what has happened in the past week with regard to what Netanyahu said during the election, and what the White House feels about it, some day history will show us a transcript of the Barack Obama-Bibi Netanyahu victory phone call which the president called Netanyahu, in which pieces are starting to come out. It sounds like it was a fairly abrasive conversation, not marked by trust on both sides.
I think U.S.-Israeli relations right now are in the worst shape I have ever seen them in. The worst shape they have been in since 1948 when America was instrumental in inventing Israel. I think that the relationship has had ups and downs but always has been held together by mutuality of affection and rough shared interests.
