Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is such “a stubborn head” that he “refuses to understand anything.” So says Secretary of State John Kerry, reports the French weekly Le Canard Enchaine.
Though satirical, Le Canard is known for excellent ties with French political insiders — especially with the Foreign Office in Paris, where, according to the paper, Kerry mocked the Israeli leader to several foreign ministers while seeking a Gaza cease-fire last week.
Bad enough to bad-mouth an allied leader to Europeans who’ve been less than supportive of your ally. Worse to do it also in the presence of officials of two nations that are patrons of the terrorists that ally is now fighting. Worst of all to do it where your foolish comments will get leaked to the public.
That Le Canard dropped its scoop Wednesday, after a host of Obama officials had spent days insisting that Kerry supports Israel, is just more salt in the wound.
This is not just about Israel. It’s about every nation pondering what it means to be a US ally.
The Jewish state, after all, is actively fighting a bitter enemy, as its reputation as a civilized nation is smeared around the world, its legitimate war compared to the Nazis’ extermination camps.
At such times, Israel needs America’s backing. Instead, the administration keeps bashing Israel behind its back.
Normally, lefty Israeli papers like Haaretz and Yediot Achronot would feast on Kerry’s Bibi-bashing. But this week they were mostly busy denouncing Washington’s Mideast maneuvering, calling Kerry either a bumbler or a closet Hamas sympathizer.
As Ari Shavit wrote in Haaretz, Obama’s America is once again proving that it’s “the best friend of its enemies, and the biggest enemy of its friends.”
Israeli and US officials did their best to paper over any rift. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf displayed her mastery of diplomatic language by calling Israeli media reports “complete crap.”
To Kerry’s backstabbing, add Obama admonishing Israel publicly to end Gaza operations “immediately” (even unilaterally). Then again, Washington has reportedly started replenishing some Israeli arms.
So is the US-Israeli alliance strong, or a thing of the past?
Well, if you have to ask . . .
Obama & Co. are enamored of the notion that America, by “engaging” with foes, can steer all to the safe shores of peace. That’s why Kerry invited Hamas’ allies Qatar and Turkey to Paris.
Oops: Egypt President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was furious Kerry had invited the backers of his internal enemy, the Muslim Brotherhood, so he vetoed any Egyptian participation.
The Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, was livid that nobody from Ramallah was asked to come. The Saudis, Jordanians and other Arab governments with long US ties seethed at home.
Amid rapid Mideast change, America’s uncertain actions have fed a growing consensus in the region that we’re siding with the Brotherhood and Hamas, and by proxy also with Iran.
Obama hints at times that it’s smart to create a “new equilibrium” among conflicting Mideast powers. Maybe, but the result is that no one really knows where America stands anymore, so no one listens to our advice.
Kerry enraged our Arab allies. Israel’s security Cabinet unanimously rejected Kerry’s cease-fire, which came with “check” signs for nearly every demand from Hamas — an outfit Kerry’s State Department lists as a terrorist organization.
Then Kerry turned against Hamas. Now he backs Egypt’s call for it to first end all shooting from Gaza before talks even open on such Hamas demands as a re-opening of Gaza’s border with Egypt. Kerry even backs Israel’s demand that any long-term agreement must include a complete disarmament of Gaza.
Bingo: Thursday, Kerry announced agreement on a 72-hour pause in the fighting. But even if it lasts, can Israel rely on us to back it going ahead?
Maybe, but for now, with Obama all but absent, all Israel and the rest of the world have is Kerry and his zig-zagging ways.
Does your stubborn head understand any of this? If so, you’re a rare breed indeed — because no one in the Middle East, or beyond, does. All they’ve learned so far is not to count America as a player anymore.
Twitter: @bennyavni