As U.S.-Israel Relations Sink, Who Will Blink First?
Israeli police detain a left-wing Israeli activist. - Israeli police detain a left-wing Israeli activist during a protest Friday in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah against Israeli settlements and occupation. The protest came after Israel announced controversial plans to build new homes for Jews. (Alessio Romenzi / AFP/Getty Images)
The Obama administration's Middle East envoy is supposed to return to the region this week, but with U.S.-Israeli relations in crisis, George Mitchell's plans are now in flux.
The U.S. is still fuming about Israel's announced plans to build in a part of Jerusalem that Palestinians hope will be their future capital, an announcement that coincided with a fence-mending trip to Israel last week by Vice Presiden Biden.
Now the pressure is on Israel to do some fence-mending of its own, according to Daniel Kurtzer, a former ambassador to Israel who teaches at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.
"Israel did a really in-your-face move with the vice president in town and, I think, it needs to find a way to offset that by responding to what Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asked for in her phone call with [Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu," Kurtzer says.
Netanyahu has apologized for the timing of the construction announcement, but he made clear that he is not planning to cancel plans to build 1,600 housing units in East Jerusalem, as Clinton reportedly requested during a March 12 phone call to the Israeli prime minister.
Clinton's spokesman, P.J. Crowley, would say only that the U.S. is still waiting for a formal Israeli response to Clinton's requests, which he said involved not only the housing project but also the "willingness to engage seriously" in the peace process and address the core issues.
Meanwhile, Israeli media reported Monday that in a conference call Saturday night with other Israeli diplomats, Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren said that ties were at a 35-year low.
Time is short for Netanyahu to try to defuse this crisis. He is due in Washington next week to speak to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel lobby, which is urging the Obama administration to tone down its criticism of Israel.
Clinton, who is also to address the AIPAC conference, has made clear that the Israelis need to restore confidence in the bilateral relationship and in the peace process the U.S. is trying to revive.
Kurtzer says the "proximity" or indirect Israeli-Palestinian negotiations that the U.S. wants to start are "unambitious." Still, U.S. credibility is at stake.
"Our ability to move this peace process forward carries with it an implication that we actually have some power. And when an ally basically sticks it to us, it's a terrible sign of weakness, and in that respect, U.S. interests in the region are set back," he says.
According to her spokesman, Clinton told Netanyahu in the nearly 45-minute phone call that Israel's actions are hurting U.S. interests. Military officials at U.S. Central Command are said to be particularly worried about that and presented their concerns in an unusual briefing to Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in January.
David Makovsky, a scholar at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a pro-Israel think tank, says the Obama administration should understand that there is anti-Americanism in the region not just because of the U.S. position on Israel.
"We do recognize that terrorists exploit this issue, but even if we had progress on this issue, does anyone really believe that al-Qaida would disappear or sectarian differences in Iraq would disappear or Iran would not seek a nuclear weapon?" he asks.
Makovsky says that Netanyahu has some work to do to improve relations, perhaps by firing the interior minister who announced the controversial housing plan.
"There should be a step taken to demonstrate that Israel does not take the United States for granted," he says. But he also cautions the United States not to use this dispute to "call into question the broad contour of the bilateral relationship."
Biden said in a speech in Israel last week that there has been progress in the Middle East only when there is "no daylight between the United States and Israel." Makovsky says those words still stand.
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ROBERT SIEGEL, host:
From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel.
MELISSA BLOCK, host:
And I'm Melissa Block. The Obama administration's Middle East envoy is supposed to go back to the region this week, but his plans are now in flux. The U.S. is still fuming about Israel's announcement that it will build in a part of Jerusalem that Palestinians hope will be their future capital. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologized about the timing of the announcement, but the Obama administration is looking for more. NPR's Michele Kelemen reports.
MICHELE KELEMEN: Vice President Joe Biden was on a fence-mending trip to Israel when the interior minister announced the housing project. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called it an insult, and now the pressure is on Israel to do some fence-mending, according to Daniel Kurtzer, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel.
Mr. DANIEL KURTZER (Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel): Israel really did an in-your-face move with the vice president in town and, I think, needs to find a way to offset that by responding to what Secretary of State Clinton asked for in her phone call with Netanyahu.
KELEMEN: The Israel prime minister made clear today that he's not going to cancel plans to build the 1,600 housing units in east Jerusalem, but State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said there are other things the Israelis can do.
Mr. P.J. CROWLEY (Spokesman, State Department): They involve not only, you know, specifics about, you know, the project in question that was announced last week but really more so about, you know, the willingness of the parties to engage seriously in this process and jointly create conditions for its success and be willing to address the core issues at the heart of the peace process.
KELEMEN: U.S. envoy George Mitchell has been trying to start so-called proximity talks. Former Ambassador Kurtzer, now at Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School, says those indirect talks were unambitious to begin with. Now, U.S. credibility in the region is at stake.
Mr. KURTZER: Our ability to move this peace process forward carries with it an implication that we actually have some power. And when an ally basically sticks it to us, it's a terrible sign of weakness. And in that respect, U.S. interests in the region are set back.
KELEMEN: Secretary Clinton told Netanyahu that Israel's actions are hurting U.S. interests. Military officials in CENTCOM are said to be particularly worried about that and presented their concerns in an unusual briefing to the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Michael Mullen in January.
That sort of talk worries David Makovsky, of the pro-Israel Washington Institute for Near East Policy. He says there's anti-Americanism in the region not just because of the U.S. position on Israel.
Mr. DAVID MAKOVSKY (Washington Institute for Near East Policy): We do recognize that terrorists exploit this issue, but even if we had progress on this issue, does anyone really believe that al-Qaida would disappear, or sectarian differences in Iraq would disappear, or Iran would not seek a nuclear weapon? And I could go on and on and on and on.
KELEMEN: Makovsky does think that Netanyahu has some work to do to fix the situation, perhaps by firing the interior minister who announced the controversial housing plan.
Mr. MAKOVSKY: There should be a step taken to demonstrate that Israel does not take the United States for granted. And I think the United States should make clear that it has an issue here, but it is not calling into question the broad contour of the bilateral relationship, and that's why Vice President Biden's speech stands.
KELEMEN: Biden said in a speech in Israel last week that there's been progress in the Middle East only when there is, quote, "no daylight between the United States and Israel."
Time is short for Prime Minister Netanyahu to try to diffuse this crisis. He's due in Washington next week to speak to AIPAC, a pro-Israel lobby which has so far taken his side, urging the Obama administration to tone down its criticism. But Secretary Clinton has made clear that the Israelis need to restore confidence, and she's also addressing the AIPAC conference.
Michele Kelemen, NPR News, the State Department. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.
