THE PRICE OF FRIENDSHIP WITH BIDEN'S WASHINGTON
On June 22 1982, Joe Biden was a Senator from Delaware and confronted then Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin during his Senate Foreign Relations committee testimony, threatening to cut off aid to Israel. Begin forcefully responded,
“Don’t threaten us with cutting off your aid. It will not work. I am not a Jew with trembling knees. I am a proud Jew with 3,700 years of civilized history. Nobody came to our aid when we were dying in the gas chambers and ovens. Nobody came to our aid when we were striving to create our country. We paid for it. We fought for it. We died for it. We will stand by our principles. We will defend them. And, when necessary, we will die for them again, with or without your aid.”
Years later another great Likud Leader Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is Beginesque. He stood up forcefully against Iran. He was a powerful messenger of truth. He was willing to stand alone. He demonstrated strength, moral clarity and courage.
Naftali Bennett - Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid - not so much as Caroline Glick discusses below.
And - as his supporters learned the hard way - Bennett cannot be trusted. He says one thing and do the complete opposite. Just like he signed a written promise that he will never form a government with Lapid and went ahead and did it anyway - deceiving his supporters - defying the will of the Israeli people and making a mockery of "democracy" in Israel to further his own political ambitions.
For the sake of their own survival - and for the survival of the free world we urge all Israelis to wake up and demand that democracy prevail in Israel - and that this dangerous government which seized power based on lies and deception perish quickly
Caroline Glick wrote on June 4, 2021.......
Israeli Leaders who believe that maintaining friendly ties with the Biden administration is their most important goal will necessarily be less willing to approve operations that will anger the likes of Biden and his nuclear team.
In a week of unprecedented political upheaval, it's hard to pay attention to anything other than what is before our face. As Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked's voters watch in shock as they betray every single thing that they claimed to stand for and form a government that gives unprecedented powers not only to post-Zionist parties but to the anti-Zionist Islamist party, it is hard to think about larger issues – like how Israel's posture on Iran is about to change and what it means for the country.
But on Tuesday, in the midst of everything, the key strategic difference between Prime Minister Benjamin and members of the camp defined by hatred of Netanyahu came into full view.
In his speech at the ceremony marking the changing of the guard at the Mossad, as director Yossi Cohen transferred the baton of leadership to David Barnea, Netanyahu referred to Iran's nuclear program as an "existential threat." He then stated frankly, "If we must choose, and I hope this won't happen, between our great friend the US and eliminating an existential threat – eliminating an existential threat takes precedence."
Shortly thereafter, Defense Minister Benny Gantz, (long a core member of the Netanyahu haters camp), rejected Netanyahu's assertion. "The US was and will remain Israel's most important ally in preserving its security and its security superiority in the region," Gantz said.
He went on, "The Biden administration is a true friend of Israel. Israel does not have and will not have a better partner than the US. Even if there are disputes, they will be solved in a direct dialogue, behind closed doors and not with defiant statements that are liable to harm Israel's security."
In other words, Gantz accused Netanyahu of endangering Israel's national security by speaking openly of the dispute with the Biden administration regarding Iran's nuclear program.
The disparity between the two men's views on US nuclear diplomacy with Iran isn't new. Gantz served as IDF chief of general staff while the Obama administration was negotiating what became the 2015 nuclear deal, otherwise known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA. That is the same deal that the Biden administration is now seeking to resuscitate.
Throughout his service, Gantz refused to back Netanyahu when the premier attacked the JCPOA for giving Iran the right to build a nuclear arsenal.
When Gantz completed his military service in the summer of 2015, the battle in the US over Senate approval of the deal was at its height. As tens of thousands of American Jews took to the streets to protest the deal, Gantz flew to Washington to support it. In a speech at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Gantz said of the deal: "I see the half-full part of the glass here. Keeping away the Iranians [from a nuclear arsenal] for 10 to 15 years is a good thing."
He also hinted that Netanyahu was "hysterical" in his response to JCPOA saying, "I refuse to get hysterical."
It's important to note that the nuclear deal did not postpone Iran's acquisition of military nuclear capability for 10-15 years. It placed limitations on Iran's nuclear operations, but made them largely unenforceable by empowering