Obama: Government Leaders Should Never Meet With Opposition Parties

Last summer, June to be precise, President Obama gave an interview to Israel’s Channel 2 in which, among other things, he attempted to explain to Israelis his over the top temper tantrum over Prime Minister Netanyahu’s March speech to Congress. According to the Times of Israel report on the interview, Obama said, “If I turned up at the Knesset without checking with the prime minister first, or negotiated with Mr. [Isaac] Herzog [leader of the Israeli opposition], there would be certain protocols breached.”

I noted at the time that his analogy was inapposite. Then-Speaker of the House John Boehner, who invited Netanyahu to address Congress, was not just the leader of the “opposition,” but the leader of a branch of government that is equal to, not subservient to, the Presidency. Nevertheless, it was a candid statement about the way that the US conducts its foreign policy – the Obama administration would never seek to circumvent the democratically elected leader of an ally, right?

Right?

Herzog and KerryTEL AVIV – Israel’s Labor party voted Sunday in support of leader Isaac Herzog’s plan calling for an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank, the Jerusalem Post reported. . . .

Herzog’s plan includes completing the security fence around settlement blocs. Settlers from isolated communities would be evacuated and absorbed into the settlement blocs. Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem would be outside the fence. . . .

Herzog presented the plan in Rome to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who expressed interest.

And last week, the Times of Israel reported on the same meeting,

Kerry expressed interest in the plan and said it contained elements similar to his own initiative of advancing security and cooperation in the Middle East, according to the statement.

When the Israeli Prime Minister accepts the invitation of the US Speaker of the House to address a coequal branch of government on matter vital to Israeli security, that is a “breach of protocol” worthy of a two-month long temper tantrum. Yet the US Secretary of State is happy to discuss another matter vital to Israeli security with the leader of a party that can’t get enough votes to advance its political platform within Israel.

Yet another example of the Obama administration’s hypocrisy.

9 thoughts on “Obama: Government Leaders Should Never Meet With Opposition Parties”

  1. Yes, the countdown to a new president is on. But a change in American presidents may present the opportunity to find out if the problem is only with Obama or whether Bibi might be part of the problem as well. If the Democrats win the White House again, it will be interesting to see how well Bibi will get on with either Bernie (first Jewish president) or Hillary (first woman president). My guess is that it really isn’t Obama that Bibi has a problem with but with the whole Democratic Party here in America. Not many neo-cons on this side of the political spectrum I’m afraid.

    1. Bernie, the first Jewish president, would have to double down on rejecting Israel in order to prove to his Leftist supporters that he’s not part of the Elders of Zion. Just watch and wait…

      1. I’m a Leftist supporter of Bernie Sanders and see no contradiction between my support for both Sanders and Israel. American support for Israel is really not controversial or politically divisive for Americans. Now Bibi is a whole other kettle of fish and I do see him as problematic for our relationship with Israel going forward. Maybe it’s time for a fresh start from both the American and Israeli leadership perspective.

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