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Those Darned Disobedient Israelis

(Commentary) Seth Mandel - White House frustration with Benjamin Netanyahu has been a running theme this week, thanks to early peeks at Bob Woodward's forthcoming book on President Biden. The coverage revolves around the notion that Israel is disobedient. "We supply Israel with billions of dollars in military aid, and yet Prime Minister Netanyahu seems to be charting his own course," CBS's Bill Whitaker said to Vice President Harris. "The Biden-Harris administration has pressed him to agree to a ceasefire; he's resisted. You urged him not to go into Lebanon; he went in anyway." Since the administration has said in the past that Hamas was the holdup to a ceasefire deal, what exactly is Netanyahu being accused of resisting here? Moreover, military aid to Israel is spent in the U.S., stimulating the domestic economy and ensuring America benefits from Israeli research and development. On Monday, the New York Times carried a long reflection on Biden's inability to control events in the Middle East over the past year. "The administration has been repeatedly thwarted in reining in Mr. Netanyahu, who has sidestepped or dismissed entreaties from the White House to de-escalate the conflict and leave room for a postwar creation of a Palestinian state." Reporter Michael Shear asks, "How do you pressure an ally facing a threat to its existence? How far should you go if that ally ignores your advice?" Nobody has been asking Biden why the Iranians don't listen to him. Turkey is a recipient of U.S. aid and a member of NATO. Does it take marching orders from Washington? How about the Palestinian Authority? Does the U.S. have no sway over anybody? We only seem to ask the question about U.S. influence over the one country under assault and surrounded by genocidal enemies: Israel.
2024-10-10 00:00:00
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