US: Israel Comments About "Messianic" John Kerry Leaving it Alone are "Offensive"

Israeli defense minister quoted wishing John Kerry would win a Nobel Peace Prize and go home

Reason

The State Department responded to the comments of Israeli defense minister Moshe Yaalon, who in a newspaper interview called John Kerry a "messianic" figure and said the only way he could "save" Israel was by winning a Nobel Peace Prize and going home.  

From Reuters:

"The remarks of the Defense Minister (Moshe Yaalon) if accurate are offensive and inappropriate especially given all that the United States is doing to support Israel's security needs," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a brief statement that constituted a rare rebuke to close ally Israel.

Bonus: Yaalon is scheduled to visit the U.S. this month.

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

He'd just toss that Nobel over the White House fence anyway.

[Ed]

Only the ribbon

[Pro Libertate]

Whatever happened to people with some skill in foreign policy getting the State gig? Jesus, a random group of sixth graders could do a better job than this.

[Hugh Akston]

Like who?

[Pro Libertate]

Random.

[Episiarch]

ProL is a huge Henry Kissinger fan. He thinks he has the bravery of a hero and breath as fresh as a summer ham.

[Pro Libertate]

Not a sixth grader, and all I like about him is his Strangeglovian accent. Which is awesome. Think about the respect the U.S. commanded when we had a Nazi as SoS.

[Hugh Akston]

ProLib must not know that Kissinger dropped his glasses in the toilet. Not he, the man who drafted the Paris Peace Accords.

[Pro Libertate]

Actually, that was me. In 6th grade.

[Killaz]

Remarkably still amongst the living. But orphan organs from that part of the world with matching genotype to him are famously resilient.

[Pro Libertate]

And he just turned 90. I had no idea he was that young when he first became SoS. He's always looked old.

[MP]

The State Department is "offended"? Really?!? What a bunch of butt-hurt babies.

FWIW, here's the original quotes, which NBC for whatever reason decided to re-phrase:

Abu Mazen (Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas) is alive and well thanks to us," Ya'alon said. "The moment we leave Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) he is finished. In reality, there have been no negotiations between us and the Palestinians for all these months ? but rather between us and the Americans. The only thing that can 'save us' is for John Kerry to win a Nobel Prize and leave us in peace.

and ...

The American security plan presented to us is not worth the paper it's written on," Ya'alon said. "It contains no peace and no security. Only our continued presence in Judea and Samaria and the River Jordan will endure that Ben-Gurion Airport and Netanya don't become targets for rockets from every direction. American Secretary of State John Kerry, who turned up here determined and acting out of misplaced obsession and messianic fervor, cannot teach me anything about the conflict with the Palestinians.

I believe I can sum this up a bit more briefly...

Hey John Kerry...Fuck Off.

[freeAgent]

That's an impressively candid evaluation of the worth of Kerry's recommendations.

[Pro Libertate]

It's got to be a real pain to deal with someone like Kerry, full of bullshit ideas that he's trying to impose on the region, yet also having to deal with the reality that Israel can't totally piss off the U.S.

Why don't we just stop meddling in the region altogether? Why are we still there? Why?

[Episiarch]

I'm getting the distinct feeling that a lot of other countries are getting really fucking sick of the incompetence, bungling, and outright stupidity of the Obama administration. Take that foreign impression to the moon, Obama! Pathetic.

[Pro Libertate]

From World Cop to World Mall Cop.

[WTF]

It's Smart Diplomacy! Smart Diplomacy, I tell you!

[Pro Libertate]

Smug Diplomacy, maybe.

[WTF]

The smug might be a little more bearable if there was some actual competence mixed in there.

[Pro Libertate]

Sorry, no room for anything but smug.

[widget]

John McCain would have been worse.

I have some lard to spread on my cake for dinner.

[Kaptious Kristen]

Interesting how the rest of the world that was so fucking gungho over this dirtbag 6 years ago have let go their illusions and realize now what a fucker he is.

Would that our own countrymen would have the same realization.

[Episiarch]

But he's going to rehabilitate our foreign image!!!

[Pro Libertate]

You mean in the way that Chief rehabilitated McMurphy with a pillow?

[widget]

I love John Cleese to death but...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIz4KrZottM

[Pro Libertate]

He's British. They're politically insane. It doesn't bother me.

[widget]

He lives (or recently has lived) in Montecito, CA, south of Santa Barbara. I'm fairly sure that's where the video was taken. I do some work there and I have spotted him twice. I waved but wouldn't dream of invading his privacy.

[Pro Libertate]

Someone should do a movie where a Python fanatic abducts Cleese and makes him do sketches under duress. Like Misery, but with less violence.

He's been in the area for a while, I guess. I went to something at the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club, and he was mentioned as living around there somewhere.

[Old Man With Candy]

Some years ago, I saw Cleese at the Sunday brunch buffet at the Four Seasons (Montecito). Someone had him pinned in a corner; Cleese was politely smiling but looking desperate for rescue as the fellow went full Chris Farley on him ("Remember that part about the dead parrot? That was awesome!"). I felt very, very sorry for him.

[widget]

On a lark I tried the join the Santa Barbara Polo Club, or whatever, a few months. There was a sign on an access road to the club that read "Memberships being accepted" with a phone number. I left a message and am anxiously awaiting a return call.

[Pro Libertate]

Change your name to Matt Damon.

[Bardas Phocas]

About half the middle east is either gearing up for full contact sectarian warfare or already neck deep in it. Most of the governments are toddering.

So where does Lurch focus his energy? The Pali/Israeli fight.
Not the Persian/Arab.
Not the Shia/Sunni.
Not the Sunni/Infidel.
No, he focuses like a laser on the Israeli vs. Palestinian conflict -- just like if it was 1998.

What a tool.

[BakedPenguin]

Yeah. Has it been especially bad recently? Other than the rockets at Sharon's funeral, I got the impression it was quietly simmering.

Of course, if the intifada know they have the US government's attention, that could change, which may be why Yaalon made the comments.

[GILMORE]

""No, he focuses like a laser on the Israeli vs. Palestinian conflict -- just like if it was 1998.""

This is a good point.

I would argue that the very reason that the Obama admin is choosing to 'pivot' to this particular issue is precisely because of how badly US diplomatic efforts have imploded in each of the others. He already handed the Iranians a free lunch in exchange for being able to say he was 'doing something'. Iraq is falling to pieces. Syria and Libya are disasters. Our influence in Egypt is at a historic low. The utility of the Israeli-Palestinian issue is its perennial intractability. We can't expect any significant developments here, so, ergo = Nothing to lose....!

...or so they *thought*.

I bet some people still think its useful because 'at least its something in the News and its not about Obamacare'

[widget]

His name seems to be Moshe "Bogie" Ya'alon. This is important! Look it up.

[Killaz]

Clearly the Israelis have yet to learn that Kerry can be safely ignored. I would not expect this degree of naivete from them.

[widget]

Mrs. Ketchup has doing so for decades.

[Eduard van Haalen]

Oh, look, another American Secretary of State coming to the Middle East on a mission to work out a deal between Israelis and Arabs! This time, it's bound to work! Persistence will pay off!

[Jonathan Goff]

Hmm...my guess is if they really felt strongly about US meddling in their foreign policy, they could always return the ~$2-3B/yr we give them in foreign aid. Expecting that much money per year from the US without the strings of political meddling attached is kind of naive on their part.

Not a fan of narcissists like Kerry by any stretch. Just saying that I'd have a lot more sympathy for them wanting to be "left alone" if they weren't getting tons of money from our country.

~Jon

[GILMORE]

"Expecting that much money per year from the US without the strings of political meddling attached is kind of naive on their part."

Na?ve?

I think you underestimate the Israelis entirely.

I believe they know damn well what side of the bread is buttered, and know precisely how they can keep their aid AND get US Diplomats off their backs as well.

The Democratic party is split between extremely pro-Israel factions - verging on being considered 'extreme right wing' in Israeli terms - and more-leftist, progressives who tend to prioritize human rights issues and think the Palestinian homeland thing is a 'global priority' (these are the same people who were moaning about the Sudan 10yrs ago, then Uigurs, then Bolivian farmers... etc etc at infinitum)

Democrats pander to group #2 when its convenient. But group #1 runs the show. The truth is, Kerry went to Israel because he wants THEM to do HIM a favor, and pretend-along with him that he's somehow 'being involved' and that US advice is being 'duly considered'.

The fact is, the Israelis have the Democrats by the balls - not the other way around. If you think for one second that there's going to be some proposal to either cut of funding to Israel, or any material change in posture regarding our security commitments, you're insane.

[GILMORE]

In the earlier thread on how Obama's foreign policy was 'a shambles'...

http://reason.com/archives/201.....es#comment

... there was a sub-discussion regarding the artificial primacy of Israel to US foreign policy efforts for the last 30+ years;

That, "How Each U.S. President 'Deals' with the Israel / Palestine 'Issue'" has become an obligatory once-a-decade exercise in dishonest-mediation, where we insert ourselves into the half-a-century long conflict in the region, and pretend to be an 'honest broker' with an aim to achieving the best-interests of ALL SIDES.

Despite whatever intentions we may have had in the earliest phases of this process, and whatever merits there may have been for doing so, it has evolved entirely into a domestic political exercise, where some faction within the ruling party needs to have its Israel-First coalition ameliorated.

That our loving attentions may have ever at any point been deemed un-needed, unwelcome, unhelpful by the Israelis themselves is completely irrelevant. We're going to "help" you, dammit, and YOU BETTER LIKE IT!

They've been playing this game with us for decades. I'm quite sure this isn't the first time they've 'had it' either. But that they stated their contempt and disdain for the US SoS so bluntly to the *press*? Again = yet another sign that the Obama foreign policy establishment is a global laughingstock. IF YOU CANT EVEN GET ISRAEL TO PRETEND TO TAKE YOU SERIOUSLY, NO ONE DOES.

[Pro Libertate]

Totally agree on the last point. It's a giant, flaming sign held over the Middle East, telling us how godawful this administration really is.

I tend to favor Israel in the sense that they are a mostly westernized, mostly liberal, pretty stable country. So it makes sense that we prefer them to some degree to, say, Egypt. And they are a trading partner. However, all that said, I don't get all of the aid and all of the meddling in their affairs. We could even remain World Cop and not be so involved (basically, just act as ref--"No, no nukes, now. That's a foul.").

[creech]

Give it a few years and you'll see John Kerry paraded out on stage at the Constitution Center by Jeb Bush to accept the "Freedom Medal."

[creech]

Give it a few years and you'll see John Kerry paraded out on stage at the Constitution Center by Jeb Bush to accept the "Freedom Medal."

[GILMORE]

If one conceives of Obama's foreign policy efforts as a grand scheme to discredit and destroy his main Democratic-Party rivals by sucking them into intractable issues certain to drown them in a sea of failure...

It *almost* works.

Then you think about Obamacare and go... wait... but... he did it to *himself*, too.....??

That's when you realize = The incompetence. It is vast.

[PM]

Then you think about Obamacare and go... wait... but... he did it to *himself*, too.....??

That's all part of the ploy. "I'll blow my own head off as well, and they'll be none the wiser *twists tip of handlebar mustache*"

[PM]

Fondly recalling what a colossal cunt I was called for suggesting a couple months ago that the US ever intervenes in Israel's foreign policy in ways that it doesn't like or that don't serve its interests. ZOMG! AIPAC ZIONIST J000 APOLOGIST FUCK STAIN!!!!!!!!

Nice to see that cooler heads prevail when it fits the narrative.

[Election Commission]

Oh look, another American Secretary of State coming to the Middle East on a mission to work out a deal between Israelis and Arabs!

Voter ID
Election commission of India