Tel Aviv Diary: Obama Exacts Cold Revenge on Netanyahu
They say that revenge is a dish best served cold. It’s clear that President Obama got his revenge on Prime Minister Netanyahu this week. Netanyahu was forced to hail the new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between Washington and Jerusalem as a historic achievement for Israel. It is in nominal terms the largest commitment of aid that the United States has ever given to any country.
Politically Netanyahu cannot afford to admit that the agreement is far from perfect and his spokesman constantly repeated what an excellent agreement it is.
PM Netanyahu: This agreement illustrates a simple truth:
relations between Israel and the US are strong and steadfast
[Israeli Embassy – Video]Obama too hailed the agreement stating
“The new MOU constitutes the single largest pledge of military assistance in U.S. history, totaling $38 billion over 10 years, including $33 billion in FMF funds and an additional $5 billion in missile defense funding. Both Prime Minister Netanyahu and I are confident that the new MOU will make a significant contribution to Israel’s security in what remains a dangerous neighborhood.”
○ Publication of article in Newsweek | Opinion |
By putting a provision in the agreement that Israel will not lobby Congress for additional funds and will return any it receives, he undermines the very existence of AIPAC the American Israeli Public Affair Committee. AIPAC made a fatal mistake, when it decided to publicly fight the Iran accord. If Israel cannot request and will in fact return any funds allocated to it by Congress one of the key functions of AIPAC is eliminated.
Furthermore one of AIPACs key achievements of the last few decades was Israel’s ability to use part of the assistance to fund local purchases. This has been eliminated.
Lastly Obama gets to reassert the primacy of the Executive Branch in the making of foreign policy. For decades Congress has `interfered’ in US relations with Israel by allocating addition funds that various administrations have been reluctant to give. By forcing Israel to sign a letter stating that it will return any additional money Obama has removed Congress’s ability to interfere in the process.
US, Israel sign largest ever military aid deal, hail ‘unbreakable bond’ | Times of Israel |
Israeli and US officials hailed the “unbreakable bond” between the two nations as they signed Washington’s largest defense aid package to any country in history.
The defense package, also known as the memorandum of understanding, “constitutes the single largest pledge of bilateral military assistance” ever, the State Department said ahead of the signing ceremony in the State Department Treaty Room.
The new package will grant Israel $3.8 billion annually — up from the $3 billion pledged under the previous agreed-upon MOU — starting in 2018 and through 2028.
The acting head of Israel’s National Security Council, Yaakov Nagel, who arrived in Washington on Tuesday, signed the agreement on behalf of Israel. US National Security Adviser Susan Rice and US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas Shannon signed on behalf of the US.
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The signing of the US-Israel military aid deal in the State Department on September 14, 2016 (Credit: Israeli Embassy, Washington)
U.S. $38-Billion Israeli Military Aid Package Props Up Occupation | Tikun Olam |
Of course, there’s the distinct possibility that Obama sees this deal as the sweetening of the pot that was required to silence pro-Israel critics of the Iran nuclear deal. Republicans are complaining about the $400-million “ransom” Obama paid to get our hostages back from the Iranians. This aid package puts the ransom to shame. We just bought ourselves Israeli acquiescence to a nuclear deal against which they screamed bloody murder. Except it didn’t. Bibi never toned down his opposition. He continued to bellyache about it to anyone who would listen, including the entire U.S. Congress to which he whined in a GOP-orchestrated insult to the president.
Which is to say that I’m not sure what this $38-billion in buying. But I do know one thing: it’s unnecessary and destructive of the possibilities for real peace in the region.
Susan Rice added insult to injury in her own spin, er-take, on the agreement:
“We don’t have any plans to do anything particularly dramatic at this point.
We continue to want to see a two-state solution remain a live option. It’s vitally important.”When the word “dramatic” is used as a substitute for a concrete U.S. policy you know you’re in trouble. Further, she says she wants the two-state solution to remain a live option when it is DOA, and has been for years. How can it be `vitally important’ when it’s hopeless and you know it? This even insults the English language it’ss so patently transparent.
Hundreds of Israeli intellectuals to world Jewry: ‘End occupation for Israel’s sake’
