US-Israeli Relations After the Election

[bedstuy]

Also, finding it really funny to see liberals and progressives sitting around discussing what the appropriate punishment is for a sovereign state refusing to oust its leader on the order of the US President.

A foreign government openly trying to push out a country's leader causes a backlash of nationalism. Water is wet.

What are you talking about?  What did Obama do that was out of line?  If Netanyahu doesn't like what Obama is doing he should cut Israeli military aid to the US.  Oh wait, we send Israel military aid, so maybe respect is due.

Netanyahu has tried to strong-arm President Obama and flagrantly insulted him with that speech.  And, don't forget, Netanyahu basically endorsed Romney and openly disrespects Obama.  He acts like Israel defends the US, not the other way around.  We are the superpower and we provide for Israel's defense.

Israel is acting like a trust fund kid that gets angry when their parent buys them a BMW in charcoal gray instead of black.  What exactly has Obama done to hurt Israel?  Nothing.  Obama is pro-Israel and has held to the same position on Israel as previous Presidents.  Certainly, Obama is more pro-Israel than George H.W. Bush or Bill Clinton.

Do I think Obama should punish Israel because Netanyahu is surly, right-wing egomaniac?  No.  The fundamentals of our relationship with Israel go beyond personality politics.  And, Obama is a bigger man than Bibi.  But, no US President has ever tolerated this kind of disrespect from what is essentially a country on the US trust-fund and no President has ever made our policy unconditional support for settlements in the West Bank. 

[bedstuy]

Also, finding it really funny to see liberals and progressives sitting around discussing what the appropriate punishment is for a sovereign state refusing to oust its leader on the order of the US President.

A foreign government openly trying to push out a country's leader causes a backlash of nationalism. Water is wet.

What are you talking about?  What did Obama do that was out of line?  If Netanyahu doesn't like what Obama is doing he should cut Israeli military aid to the US.  Oh wait, we send Israel military aid, so maybe respect is due.

Netanyahu has tried to strong-arm President Obama and flagrantly insulted him with that speech.  And, don't forget, Netanyahu basically endorsed Romney and openly disrespects Obama.  He acts like Israel defends the US, not the other way around.  We are the superpower and we provide for Israel's defense.

Israel is acting like a trust fund kid that gets angry when their parent buys them a BMW in charcoal gray instead of black.  What exactly has Obama done to hurt Israel?  Nothing.  Obama is pro-Israel and has held to the same position on Israel as previous Presidents.  Certainly, Obama is more pro-Israel than George H.W. Bush or Bill Clinton.

Do I think Obama should punish Israel because Netanyahu is surly, right-wing egomaniac?  No.  The fundamentals of our relationship with Israel go beyond personality politics.  And, Obama is a bigger man than Bibi.  But, no US President has ever tolerated this kind of disrespect from what is essentially a country on the US trust-fund and no President has ever made our policy unconditional support for settlements in the West Bank. 

They both took their shots at each other. They both missed. Fair play on that front, although Obama went further than simple tacit backing - he aided Herzog through a PAC.

But the election is over now, and if Obama starts to rachet up pressure on Israel solely as a result of their election results, it starts to look a lot like he's actually punishing a US ally for not going along with his orders on their vote. That's not the action of any sort of ally.

Now, Obama hasn't actually taken any sort of punitive action yet, and most of this is just Fox News scaremongering. However, if he does, that's a completely different matter and I expect to see the Democrats step up to keep this President from using his lame duck period to permanently destroy US foreign relations with an ally.

As to your last point, no, no President has ever backed West Bank settlements - but no President declared Jewish areas of eastern Jerusalem to be settlements either, especially since they're likely to remain with Israel in a land swap. That's really where all this tension began, with Obama picking  a fight he thought he could win at the start of his term and losing handily. Both sides have been escalating the tension since, but at this point it's a battle of personalities between two temporary leaders. The things discussed in this thread would cause permanent consequences long after they're gone.

Obama aided Herzog through a PAC?  Plz substantiate.  BTW, American political operatives have consulted in Israeli politics for years so it would be no surprise if the Israeli Labor party hired consultants who had previously worked for Obama.

Also, when have Democrats been anti-Israel?  I live in one of the most liberal congressional districts in the country.  We had a primary race between pro-Israel and anti-Israel candidates and the anti-Israel guy got smoked like a fine gouda cheese.  Is anti-Israel sentiment a growing problem on the left globally?  For sure.  But, in the US most Jews are Democrats and we're still solid on Israel. 

And another thing, supporting Israel right or wrong is contrary to Jewish values.  If Israel does something wrong, Jews should call them out.  If Obama disagrees with Bibi on specific details, that's normal and fine.  Bibi should show respect, because he's the junior partner in this relationship.  I'm a Zionist and I support Israel, but if that means I have to subscribe to anything that fanatical, crazy settlers want, you've lost me and most reasonable people.  And, ultimately, Israel needs people like me on their side.