Experts gathered at an event hosted by the Israel Council on Foreign Relations (ICFR) in Jerusalem to exchange views on the current state of US-Israeli relations.
Three out of four panelists had harsh words for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is about to embark on a controversial trip to Washington to address Congress. ICFR board member Shlomo Avineri, the doyen of Israel’s foreign relations community, stressed that while he regards Obama as a “failed American president with regard to foreign relations…if you want to change US policy, challenging the president in Congress is the wrong way to do it.”
Avineri said that he believed that Netanyahu, who knew America better than any past prime minister, was using the trip to bolster his standing before the upcoming Israeli elections. Avineri, referencing Obama’s own autobiography, said that the American president was using the same modus operandi he did as a social organizer in South Chicago, i.e. engaging local thugs in an attempt to mollify them. “However,” he added, “that does not work in international politics.” Avineri said that in any case, he doubted that an agreement with Iran would be reached.
Eytan Gilboa, a professor at Bar-Ilan University, said that he had personally advised Netanyahu against speaking to Congress, as he did not believe that there was sufficient support among American lawmakers to overcome a presidential veto; the Republicans to whom Netanyahu was appealing do not have a majority of 67 senators and some Democrats had already been alienated. He sharply criticized the appointment of Israel’s American-born ambassador in Washington, Ron Dermer, who had been closely associated with Republican politics, calling it “a huge mistake.” Gilboa added, “Dermer is ‘burned’ and will no longer be able to function in Washington.”
Prof. Efraim Inbar, of the BESA Center, a leading Israeli think tank, was the only panelist who expressed support for the Israeli leader’s planned speech before the two houses of Congress. He emphasized the existential threat posed by a nuclear Iran. Inbar said that “Israel has to take a clear stand where its own national interests are concerned.” He said that he did not think the present crisis would affect Israel’s long-term relationship with America, which public opinion polls demonstrate is as strong as ever.
The meeting was chaired by veteran Israeli statesman and ICFR President Dan Meridor. Calling the relationship with the US “crucial,” he stressed that as a member of a previous government he could say that whatever the president’s shortcomings, “under Obama… the strategic intelligence relationship between Israel and America has never been as intimate and intense as it was in the last four years.” He spoke of the traditionally bipartisan support for Israel and expressed fears that the prime minister’s demarche could produce an effect opposite to the one intended.
The ICFR operates under the auspices of the World Jewish Congress.
