I recently reported that Obama administration officials were quoted by Israeli media as saying that they did not want to be photographed with Israel’s Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. Yet at the same time they had no qualms being photographed and meeting with the anti-Semitic and anti-American leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood.
At the time I wrote:
Lieberman is the foreign minister of Israel, America’s strongest and most reliable ally in the region, thus US officials should be prepared to meet and take photos with him, especially if they are willing to meet with the anti-Israel and anti-American Muslim Brotherhood.
The Obama administration still has time to schedule a meeting before Lieberman arrives, however, should they refuse to meet with him they will be making a move that will surely cause problems with a key Democratic constituency with which they already have problems.
Barak Ravid is now reporting in Haaretz that Lieberman will meet with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during his upcoming visit to the United States.
For the first time since 2010, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman will meet with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington next week.
This is only the second time that Lieberman will be visiting the United States capital since he assumed the position of foreign minister almost three years ago. He is due to depart for the U.S. on Monday, and will be meeting with senior officials in Congress and leaders of Jewish organizations.
Haaretz has found that Clinton was initially supposed to be absent during Lieberman’s visit, or at least that is what the State Department told the Israeli ambassador to the U.S.
Michael Oren. However, Clinton’s plans changed in the past several days and her office notified Israel’s foreign ministry that she does, after all, want to meet with Lieberman.
