Israel Matzav: The Gaffester won't change anything

The Gaffester won't change anything

The gaffetastic Joe Biden will be visiting Israel for three days starting on Monday during which he will be making what is billed as a 'major policy address' at Tel Aviv University. Like John Kerry before him, Biden is coming here to try to convince the Israeli government to get behind the Obama administration's ineffective Iran policy. But Biden is also trying to resurrect Israel's Left, says Caroline Glick in her weekly column in the JPost, because Netanyahu is not likely to go along with a policy that includes exempting China from sanctions against Iran's energy industry. Biden is being sent here because he's seen as the most 'pro-Israel' senior member of the Obama administration. In the process of explaining why Biden's mission is unlikely to succeed, Glick also takes a swipe at Biden's 'pro-Israel' reputation.

In light of the gaping disparity between the Obama administration’s policies and those of the Israeli government, the apparent goal of Biden’s address is to shore up the position of the Israeli Left as an alternative to Netanyahu. Apparently, the picture emerging from all of the senior US officials’ meetings with Netanyahu is that Israel’s leader still feels comfortable defying them. Presumably, they now believe that the only way to force him to toe their line is by making him believe that the price of defiance will be his premiership.

This of course is a difficult task. The Left after all was roundly defeated in last year’s election. Making it a credible alternative is no mean task.

The Israeli Left for its part is doing its best to tie its own fortunes to the administration. Opposition leader Tzipi Livni placed herself squarely in the Obama camp this week during her confrontation with Netanyahu at the Knesset. Belittling the results of last month’s Gallup poll that showed that Israel enjoys the support of two-thirds of Americans, (and 80 percent of Republicans vs 53% of Democrats), Livni blamed the premier for Israel’s international standing. By not bowing to Obama’s demands and ending all Jewish construction in Jerusalem and accepting the radical peace proposals she and former prime minister Ehud Olmert made to the Palestinians during their tenure in office, Livni claimed that Netanyahu is ruining Israel’s diplomatic position in the US and throughout the world.

...

Biden was selected for the job because he is widely perceived as the most pro-Israel senior member of the administration. The fact that before becoming vice president Biden had one of the most pro-Iran voting records in the Senate has done nothing to mitigate this perception. Indeed, despite the fact that Biden voted repeatedly against sanctions on Iran, claimed that Iran’s quest for nuclear bombs was understandable and called for the US to sign a nonaggression pact with the mullocracy while threatening to move for president George W. Bush’s impeachment if he were to order a military strike against Iran’s nuclear weapons programs, Biden continues to be viewed as a solid supporter of Israel.

And indeed, in line with this perception, he can be expected to declare his undying love for the Jewish state several times during his speech at Tel Aviv University. Yet still, and sadly for the Israeli Left and for the Obama administration, his charm offensive will fail to get the girl. The most his visit is likely to yield is a momentary rise in support among Israelis that will quickly recede. And there are four reasons this is the case.

Read the whole thing.

Scott Johnson adds:

Glick notes that during his trip Biden will give what is being billed as a major policy speech at Tel Aviv University. She also gives four good reasons why Biden's mission is a lost cause. The fact that Joe Biden is a pompous buffoon doesn't make Glick's list, but it also deserves consideration.

Heh.

Tel Aviv University is possibly the most Leftist campus in the country (Haifa University is probably as Leftist, but they're off the map), so if Biden is going to meet up with a less-than-hostile audience, that would be the place to find it.

It's looking more and more like Israel is going to have to go it alone on Iran. All the simulations to date assume that if Israel succeeds in striking Iran, it will then be reined in by the US. But what if we're not? Hmmm.

Israel Matzav: The Gaffester won't change anything