Relations

“The effectiveness of public diplomacy is measured by minds changed, not dollars spent or slick production packages.” Joseph S Nyr, Jr

The relationship between the USA and Israel has always been one of friendship but recently this relationship has begun to show signs of deterioration. With the recent visit of Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington, DC, the announcement of the 1,600 apartments that are to be built for Jews in East Jerusalem was certainly ill timed. For the Obama administration this was unacceptable as it has all of the signs of occupation. In a speech that Hillary Clinton gave at the Aipac (The American Israel Public Affairs Committee) conference in Washington, DC, she denounced the building of settlements in Israel and said that it would not be tolerated. She ended of her speech by saying,

“As Israel's friend, it is our responsibility to give credit when it is due and to tell the truth when it is needed.”

The building of apartments in Jerusalem will greatly hinder the peace making process in Israel and with everything there is to loose in a situation like this Israel does not seem to be taking it seriously but is more concerned with the current situation in Iran. While Iran’s condition could possibly compromise their security surely they should be looking closer to home first.

Roger Cohen wrote an interesting article in the New York Times on this situation and the relationship between these two countries. He likened it to the Cold War US/Soviet relationship by saying,

“It fell to Benjamin Netanyahu the Israeli Prime Minister, to play the role Khrushchev once played in toughening up a young American President.”

Could this be why Israel decided to announce their construction plans while Netanyahu was on a state visit? Was he trying to test the boundaries of the new administration? Quite possibly. This issue did overshadow the Iran talks though and recently Netanyahu has been trying to push this to the forefront. If this was his intention is has backfired considerably.

The influence of the US on Israel has always been considerable and it doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon. Until an effective peace process has been implemented America will continue to influence Israel’s dealings with Palestine and so it is in the best interest of Israel to cooperate and come to some sort of agreement.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/22/hillary-clinton-warns-israel-peace

http://www.aipac.org/

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8587814.stm

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/30/opinion/30iht-edcohen.html?ref=opinion

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NP4S0iMpai8