Myths And Facts On U.S.-Israel Diplomatic Row
A diplomatic crisis between the Israeli government and the United States erupted last week. It began when the Israeli government announced that it would expand settlements in East Jerusalem (the Palestinian part of the city) while Vice President Joseph Biden was visiting Israel. Both the timing of the announcement (Biden was in Israel) and the substance (the United States has consistently opposed settlement activity) infuriated the Obama administration. Additionally, the United States does not recognize East Jerusalem as part of Israel; no country, other than Israel itself, does. The pro-Israel lobbying group, AIPAC, and several members of Congress jumped to criticize the White House for provoking the conflict which, in fact, began because the Israelis announced new settlements.
The Current State Of Affairs
MYTH: Obama Administration Provoked Current Imbroglio With Israel. In a statement released on Monday, March 15, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the leading "pro-Israel" lobbying organization, directly puts the blame on the Obama administration: "Members of the Obama administration have recently made statements regarding the U.S. relationship with Israel, which have heightened tensions with America's only democratic ally in the region." [AIPAC Press Release, 3/15/10]
FACT: Tensions Started When Israel Announced Construction Of More Settlements In East Jerusalem. According to the New York Times, "Hours after Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. vowed unyielding American support for Israel's security here on Tuesday, Israel's Interior Ministry announced 1,600 new housing units for Jews in East Jerusalem. Mr. Biden condemned the move as 'precisely the kind of step that undermines the trust we need right now.'" [New York Times, 3/9/10]
The Expansion Of Settlements
MYTH: Decision To Expand Settlements Is A Bureaucratic Misunderstanding. Speaking on the Senate floor on Monday, March 15, Senator Lieberman (I-CT) said, "From all that Israeli government has says and I have no reason to doubt them, a bureaucratic decision was made within one department of the government, the Ministry of the Interior, to issue a permit..." [Senate floor, 3/15/10]
FACT: Israel Prime Minister Himself Says The Expansion Of Settlements In East Jerusalem Will Continue. According to the Israeli daily Ha'aretz, "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said that Israel would continue to build in Jerusalem in the same way that it has over the last 42 years. 'The building in Jerusalem - and in all other places - will continue in the same way as has been customary over the last 42 years,' said Netanyahu at a Likud party meeting. Israel drew angry reactions from the U.S. and the Palestinians by announcing last week the construction of 1,600 new housing units in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo during a visit by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden last week." [Ha'aretz, 3/15/10]
Israel's Effect On U.S. National Security
MYTH: Obama Administration Argument With Israel Is "Jeopardiz[ing] Our National Security." Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) told Politico, "For this administration to treat our special relationship with Israel, one of our closest and most strategic Democratic allies, in this fashion is beyond irresponsible and jeopardizes America's national security." [Politico, 3/15/10]
FACT: The Ongoing Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Endangers Our National Security. According to Globes, an Israeli business publication, "Commander of the US Army Central Command (CENTCOM) General David Petraeus sent a team of senior officers to meet with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen to express their concerns about the lack of progress in finding a solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict. The senior officers came armed with a PowerPoint presentation putting forward the position that, in the eyes of Arab leaders the US is powerless to confront 'stiff necked' Israel, and that this was harming the status of the US in the region. Petraeus also sent a position paper on this issue to the White House several weeks before Vice President Joe Biden's visit to Israel." [Globes, 3/15/10]
- Expansion Of Settlements Threatens American Troops Serving In The Region. Writing in Foreign Policy, Mark Perry explains, "When Vice President Joe Biden was embarrassed by an Israeli announcement that the Netanyahu government was building 1600 new homes in East Jerusalem, the administration reacted. But no one was more outraged than Biden who, according to the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth, engaged in a private, and angry, exchange with the Israeli Prime Minister. Not surprisingly, what Biden told Netanyahu reflected the importance the administration attached to Petraeus's Mullen briefing: 'This is starting to get dangerous for us,' Biden reportedly told Netanyahu. 'What you're doing here undermines the security of our troops who are fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. That endangers us and it endangers regional peace.' Yedioth Ahronoth went on to report: 'The vice president told his Israeli hosts that since many people in the Muslim world perceived a connection between Israel's actions and US policy, any decision about construction that undermines Palestinian rights in East Jerusalem could have an impact on the personal safety of American troops fighting against Islamic terrorism.' The message couldn't be plainer: Israel's intransigence could cost American lives." [Foreign Policy, 3/13/10]
