It would be improper to accuse Moshe Ya’alon of biting the hand that feeds Israel, as that would imply that the country is a beggar nation lacking any ability to sustain itself. Perhaps a better phrase would be that Moshe Ya’alon bit the hand of Israel’s best friend that has stood by its side through thick and thin and at immense cost to itself. The friend who led the charge at the United Nations to make Israel a reality. The friend that maintains Israel’s qualitative edge in military equipment, who flew hundreds of tons of supplies to Israel during the Yom Kippur War, whose loans, grants, and aid have built some of Israel’s most vital infrastructure. The. Friend.
No other country has stood by Israel like the United States. No other country bears a burden in supporting another than the United States does with Israel.
Disagreements between friends happen. There’s nothing wrong with that. As Ammianus Marcellinus said, “praise should be welcomed to the ears of the great only if an opening is also sometimes given to censure that what has been done amiss.” America is going to voice its displeasure over the Israeli settlements, saying something along the lines of them being an obstacle and/or impediment to peace. Israel will air trepidation over the framework deal America and other parties made with Iran on the latter’s nuclear program. No harm done, because they’re just friends having disagreements.
Even Prime Minister Netanyahu, so prone to lecturing those who haven’t seen his light, generally refrains from firing a direct shot at the President of the United States and his government. President Obama respects the same line. General disagreements in public are kosher, but the strong words and intensity are kept for the private meetings between the respective heads of government and their envoys.
Then there’s Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, who has now twice in recent weeks openly insulted the United States Government and Secretary of State John Kerry. He didn’t lay out a cogent argument in favor of a policy he favors; he offered direct insult. That’s the line that has been crossed.
“If your image is feebleness, it doesn’t pay in the world… I hope the United States comes to its senses. If it doesn’t, it will challenge the world order and the United States is the one that will suffer…We had thought the ones who should lead the (military) campaign against Iran is the United States… But at some stage, the United States entered into negotiations with them, and unhappily, when it comes to negotiating at a Persian bazaar, the Iranians were better.” This comes after he accused Secretary of State Kerry of having an inexplicable obsession with the peace process, also calling his efforts “messianic.” While he publicly apologized the first time, he has offered no such thing this time around, offering only a half-hearted mea culpa, saying that “in my statements, there was no antagonism or criticism or intent to harm the United States or [Israel’s] relations with it.” Apparently this was only done after a talk between Kerry and Prime Minister Netanyahu.
His “apology” justifiably failed to arouse the sympathy of the American government. One official quoted in The Jerusalem Post called it “part of a disturbing pattern in which the Defense Minister disparages the US Administration, and insults its most senior officials.” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki noted that “an apology would be a natural next step.”
And it is. Moshe Ya’alon isn’t some mid-level Ministry of Defense official; he’s THE Minister. He doesn’t need to be eloquent with Laurence Oliver-like diction and poise, and no one is asking him to. All that’s being asked is that he publicly and formally apologize for an unjustified and wholly unfair attack on the United States Government. Just because he is the Minister of Defense doesn’t mean he shouldn’t conduct himself with some sense of tact.
Some have tried to defend the Defense Minister as if his words were some sort of much-needed act of bravery. Herb Keinon wrote in The Jerusalem Post that “the US cannot seem to tolerate words of criticism from Israel.” Well, it can, and it has. Ya’alon is tame compared to the diatribes Begin and Shamir were wont to go on. Keinon goes on to say that this most recent Ya’alon insult was nothing personal, but then goes on to lay out pretty convincingly yet unwittingly how it was intensely personal.
Keinon’s most egregious insult to common sense, though, comes when he says “How about when that openness and honesty is not Washington criticizing Israeli policy, but rather Jerusalem passing judgment on Washington’s policies?” First of all, Israel has never been shy about sharing its opposition to American policies, exhibit A being one Moshe Ya’alon’s entire political career, exhibit B being the rest of the Netanyahu government besides Tzipi Livni. Second, when was the last time America offered such insult as Ya’alon did?
It is quite fair to ask what would happen if a Cabinet-level Secretary said something about Israel comparable to what Ya’alon did about America. That person would be run out of town, escaping only because the Congress was stopping at Home Depot to get wood and nails for the crucifixion about to take place. Israel would cry foul like an NBA player who just felt a breeze blow past him and another player on the basketball court. No, the problem is not that America reproaches Israel too much, because if anything they do it too little. The problem is that Israel’s prominence in American foreign policy has birthed has turned the Start-Up Nation into the Up-Start Nation.
I can’t emphasize it enough: disagreements are fine. Policies can and should be debated. But it is an entirely different game for a key member of the Israeli government to aim direct insults at the American Government. Similar behavior by someone like Defense Secretary Hagel or Secretary of State Kerry would not be tolerated. It should be the same in the Israeli government. Common sense dictates that Moshe Ya’alon offer a public and direct apology to the United States Government. John Kerry is on his way to Israel now, so maybe he can do it when he greets the Secretary of State at the airport.
