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Former Israeli Envoy Weighs In on Frayed Relations Between Obama and Netanyahu Former Israeli Envoy Weighs In on Frayed Relations Between Obama and Netanyahu
(about 4 hours later)
JERUSALEM — Divvying up blame for the icy relationship between President Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has been a favored parlor game in both countries for years. JERUSALEM — Divvying up blame for the icy relationship between President Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has been a favored parlor game in both countries for years.
Israelis put the roots at Mr. Obama’s 2009 Cairo speech, in which he used the word “Palestine” and described the “daily humiliations, large and small, that come with occupation.” Americans bridle at Mr. Netanyahu’s 2011 lecture at the president in the Oval Office. This spring, there was Mr. Netanyahu’s speech to Congress against Mr. Obama’s Iranian nuclear deal, followed by the president’s harsh condemnation of the prime minister’s pre-election comments about Arab-Israelis and that he would not allow a Palestinian state if re-elected. Israelis put the roots at Mr. Obama’s 2009 Cairo speech, in which he used the word “Palestine” and described the “daily humiliations, large and small, that come with occupation.” Americans bridle at Mr. Netanyahu’s 2011 lecture at the president in the Oval Office. This spring, there was Mr. Netanyahu’s speech to Congress against Mr. Obama’s Iranian nuclear deal, followed by the president’s condemnation of the prime minister’s pre-election comments about Arab-Israelis and that he would not allow a Palestinian state if re-elected.
Enter Michael B. Oren, Israel’s former ambassador to the United States and a newly elected member of Parliament, who previewed his upcoming book tour with a provocative essay in The Wall Street Journal this week headlined “How Obama Abandoned Israel.” Dan Shapiro, America’s current ambassador to Israel, joined the fray on Israeli radio on Wednesday, calling Mr. Oren’s “an imaginary account of what happened” and, for good measure, adding, “He is now a politician and an author who wants to sell books.” Enter Michael B. Oren, Israel’s former ambassador to the United States and a newly elected member of Parliament, who previewed his coming book tour with a provocative essay in The Wall Street Journal this week headlined “How Obama Abandoned Israel.” Dan Shapiro, America’s current ambassador to Israel, joined the fray on Israeli radio on Wednesday, calling Mr. Oren’s “an imaginary account of what happened” and, for good measure, adding, “He is now a politician and an author who wants to sell books.”
Tit, meet tat. But the game went on.Tit, meet tat. But the game went on.
As news sites in both cities erupted with new calculations of conduct unbecoming, Mr. Oren was tossed under the bus by the head of his political party, Moshe Kahlon. The forthcoming book, “Ally: My Journey Across the American-Israeli Divide” (Random House) was written “long before” Mr. Oren joined the party, Mr. Kahlon wrote in a letter to Ambassador Shapiro, and is “a personal memoirs” that “presents a personal perspective.” As news sites in both countries erupted with new calculations of conduct unbecoming, Mr. Oren was tossed under the bus by the head of his political party, Moshe Kahlon. The forthcoming book, “Ally: My Journey Across the American-Israeli Divide” (Random House), was written “long before” Mr. Oren joined the party, Mr. Kahlon wrote in a letter to Ambassador Shapiro, and is “a personal memoirs” that “presents a personal perspective.”
And, for good measure: “I was always very candid and vocal expressing my deep and sincere appreciation for President Obama’s efforts to stand by Israel and defend its interests.”And, for good measure: “I was always very candid and vocal expressing my deep and sincere appreciation for President Obama’s efforts to stand by Israel and defend its interests.”
Score: 2 to 1 against Mr. Oren, or for Mr. Obama. Next round:Score: 2 to 1 against Mr. Oren, or for Mr. Obama. Next round:
Haaretz, the Israeli daily newspaper, sent a news alert Thursday afternoon announcing that Mr. Netanyahu had refused Mr. Shapiro’s request for a similar apologia. (The article ran under a picture of the prime minister sandwiched between Mr. Oren and Mr. Shapiro, all three smiling, credited to Israel’s current ambassador to Washington, Ron Dermer, who has his own category in the parlor blame game). Haaretz, the Israeli daily newspaper, sent a news alert Thursday afternoon announcing that Mr. Netanyahu had refused Mr. Shapiro’s request for a similar apologia. (The article ran under a picture of the prime minister sandwiched between Mr. Oren and Mr. Shapiro, all three smiling, credited to Israel’s current ambassador to Washington, Ron Dermer, who has his own category in the parlor blame game.)
Mr. Shapiro and Mr. Netanyahu’s spokesman declined to discuss whether there had indeed been such a request. But an hour later, a statement came from someone who would allow himself to be identified only as “a senior official in the prime minister’s office,” echoing Mr. Kahlon’s disavowal.Mr. Shapiro and Mr. Netanyahu’s spokesman declined to discuss whether there had indeed been such a request. But an hour later, a statement came from someone who would allow himself to be identified only as “a senior official in the prime minister’s office,” echoing Mr. Kahlon’s disavowal.
Mr. Oren “is not a member of the government,” this official noted, and the essay “reflects his own views.” Mr. Netanyahu “has consistently expressed his appreciation,” he went on, “for all that President Obama has done for Israel’s security.”Mr. Oren “is not a member of the government,” this official noted, and the essay “reflects his own views.” Mr. Netanyahu “has consistently expressed his appreciation,” he went on, “for all that President Obama has done for Israel’s security.”
For those interested in substance, Mr. Oren’s “abandonment” argument rests on the idea that Mr. Obama abandoned “two core principles of Israel’s alliance with America” — “no daylight,” and “no surprises.” For those interested in substance, Mr. Oren’s “abandonment” argument rests on the idea that Mr. Obama abandoned “two core principles of Israel’s alliance with America” — “no daylight” and “no surprises.”
He quoted the president telling American Jewish leaders in 2009 that “when there is no daylight,” Israel “just sits on the sidelines and that erodes our credibility with the Arabs.” As for surprises, he pointed to Mr. Obama’s May 2011 statement endorsing the idea of negotiating a two-state solution with the Palestinians based on the pre-1967 lines with land swaps as backdrop for Mr. Netanyahu dressing him down in the Oval Office. He quoted the president telling American Jewish leaders in 2009 that “when there is no daylight,” Israel “just sits on the sidelines and that erodes our credibility with the Arabs.” As for surprises, he pointed to Mr. Obama’s 2011 idea of negotiating a two-state solution with the Palestinians based on the pre-1967 lines with land swaps as backdrop for Mr. Netanyahu’s dressing him down in the Oval Office.
Mr. Oren did not return messages on Thursday. He was expected at his book party Thursday evening in Midtown Manhattan for another round of the parlor game. Mr. Oren did not respond to messages on Thursday. He was expected at his book party Thursday evening in Manhattan for another round of the parlor game.
There is plenty of fodder in the 400-page book, whose index includes 20 entries under “Netanyahu, Obama and.” There is a separate listing for “Oval Office ‘lecture,’ ” where Mr. Oren recounts his unrequited proposal that the prime minister return to the White House for a makeup beer. There is plenty of fodder in the 400-page book, whose index includes 20 entries under “Netanyahu, Obama and.” There is a separate listing for “Oval Office ‘lecture,’ ” where Mr. Oren recounts his unrequited proposal that the prime minister return to the White House for a makeup beer.
“The strain was palpable from my first days on the job,” Mr. Oren wrote. “Netanyahu refused to be politically correct, while Obama was P.C. incarnate.”“The strain was palpable from my first days on the job,” Mr. Oren wrote. “Netanyahu refused to be politically correct, while Obama was P.C. incarnate.”
He noted that one of Mr. Obama’s first acts upon entering office was to replace a bust of Winston Churchill with one of Abraham Lincoln, while Mr. Netanyahu hung a Churchill portrait behind his desk. But he says the two have much in common — just not concerning how to make peace with the Palestinians or to prevent Iran from gaining the ability to build a nuclear bomb.
“Both men were left-handed,” the book says, “both believed in the power of oratory and that they were the smartest men in the room.”