Here’s a lesson in how political optics and poor timing can conspire to exacerbate diplomatic squabbles into really big deals.
Last week, Vice President Biden went on a trip to Israel. He was nominally there on a goodwill visit to reinforce the strong ties between the two countries, particularly as George Mitchell, the administration’s Special Envoy to the Middle East, sought to reengage the Israelis and Palestinians in indirect diplomacy.
Biden’s trip started well. He did a press conference with PM Benjamin Netanyahu and proclaimed America’s “absolute, total, unvarnished” commitment to Israeli security. Then he visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum on March 9, writing in the guest book that Israel is the heart, life and hope of the world’s Jews and that it saves lives every day, before laying a wreath and lighting a candle on behalf of the administration. So all’s going swimmingly, right?
Then, this little bombshell fell: Israel’s Interior Ministry announced that 1,600 new housing units would be built in East Jerusalem. The Obama administration has long pushed for a freeze on settlement construction in the West Bank as a prerequisite to peace talks, a position that Will Marshall and I backed in this opinion piece just before Obama was inaugurated.
The announcement turned the trip on its ear — Biden delayed attending a dinner with Netanyahu and issued this uncomfortably harsh statement: “I condemn the decision by the government of Israel to advance planning for new housing units,” saying that it “undermines the trust we need right now and runs counter to the constructive discussions that I’ve had here in Israel.” It was a tough but necessary statement – as I’ve written before, the administration must “restore America’s credibility as an honest broker in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” Biden’s statement is testament to that. Had Biden not been in the country when this news broke, the tone coming from D.C. would have been more muted.
Privately, Biden has reportedly been even more blunt. The fallout continues to be ugly — Michael Oren, Israel’s ambassador to the U.S. claims that U.S.-Israeli relations are at their worst in 35 years. Things will heat up this week in the U.S. as AIPAC‘s annual conference is scheduled. Will the White House snub them?
It has been quite a storm, and one that might be traced to internal Israeli politics. The Interior Ministry — the department that approved the settlements — is controlled by a far-right religious party and could have timed the announcement to embarrass and out-flank Netanyahu during such a high-profile visit.
Assuming so, it worked like a charm — the move forced the Obama administration into an uncomfortable position, derailed any semblance of peace talks for the time-being, and put Netanyahu on the spot to reiterate his strong support for Israel building settlements wherever it wants.
Where do we go from here? Frankly, this is going to be a difficult one to recover from. The White House should channel its No Drama Obama persona and remember that that’s the most constructive long-term role it can play, even when internal Israeli politics try to derail the process. The Obama administration should continue to view itself as an honest broker and retain a cool head in marshalling Israelis and Palestinians back to the negotiating table, making it make clear to the Palestinians that they shouldn’t use the flap as an excuse to give up on talks.
