Most Israelis blame Obama
In case you were wondering whom Israelis blame for the current crisis in our relations with the United States: In turning an incident into a crisis, Obama has convinced many Israelis that he was merely seeking a pretext to pick a fight with Israel. Netanyahu was inadvertently shabby; Obama, deliberately so.
According to a banner headline in the newspaper Ma'ariv, senior Likud officials believe that Obama's goal is to topple the Netanyahu government, by encouraging those in the Labor Party who want to quit the coalition.
The popular assumption is that Obama is seeking to prove his resolve as a leader by getting tough with Israel. Given his ineffectiveness against Iran and his tendency to violate his own self-imposed deadlines for sanctions, the Israeli public is not likely to be impressed. Indeed, Israelis' initial anger at Netanyahu has turned to anger against Obama. According to an Israel Radio poll on March 16, 62 percent of Israelis blame the Obama administration for the crisis, while 20 percent blame Netanyahu. (Another 17 percent blame Shas leader Eli Yishai.)
When you consider that the entire purpose in sending Biden here was to stand in for Obama and help convince Israelis that we can trust this administration, the fact that 62% of Israelis - a huge number - blame Obama for the crisis means that it would be fair to characterize Biden's mission as an epic fail.
What could go wrong?
Israel Matzav: Most Israelis blame Obama
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment