Update: It didn’t undermine them, it destroyed them.
What shows more chutzpah- making the prime minister of an ally wait for an hour and a half for your arrival or insulting an ally’s vice president by announcing a new policy welcomed by that ally, before subsequently undermining it?
Vice President Joe Biden is nearing completion of his Israel tour and was an hour plus late to Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s house for dinner. While the White House did not supply a reason for Biden’s tardiness, he may have been delayed by managing an unexpected about-face from the Israeli government that could undermine efforts to restart peace negotiations.
Biden is preparing to deliver a speech tomorrow on the unbreakable bond between Israel and the United States based on shared values between the two countries. Plan for his speech and visit coincided with an announcement that Israelis and Palestinians would resume proximity talks with no preconditions, capping a year long effort by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Special Envoy George Mitchell and even President Barack Obama himself. Palestinians were initially reluctant to resume talks until Israel halted all settlement activity, but accepted the temporary and limited settlement freeze by dismissing preconditions to peace discussions.
However, a day following optimism that Palestinians and Israelis would return to the negotiating table, the Israeli government decided to approve construction in East Jerusalem of 1,600 homes, before that number morphed to 50,000 homes in greater Jerusalem. Palestinian and U.S. officials alike condemned the move as undermining the peace process. In a statement, Biden said:
“I condemn the decision by the government of Israel to advance planning for new housing units in East Jerusalem. The substance and timing of the announcement, particularly with the launching of proximity talks, is precisely the kind of step that undermines the trust we need right now and runs counter to the constructive discussions that I’ve had here in Israel. We must build an atmosphere to support negotiations, not complicate them. This announcement underscores the need to get negotiations under way that can resolve all the outstanding issues of the conflict. The United States recognizes that Jerusalem is a deeply important issue for Israelis and Palestinians and for Jews, Muslims and Christians. We believe that through good faith negotiations, the parties can mutually agree on an outcome that realizes the aspirations of both parties for Jerusalem and safeguards its status for people around the world. Unilateral action taken by either party cannot prejudge the outcome of negotiations on permanent status issues. As George Mitchell said in announcing the proximity talks, ‘we encourage the parties and all concerned to refrain from any statements or actions which may inflame tensions or prejudice the outcome of these talks.'”
The strong statement from Biden is not indicative of any anti-Israel sentiment. Quite the contrary. Biden is an avid supporter of Israel and has decades-long relationships with key Israeli leaders, including Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres. Biden visited the grave of assassinated Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and toured Yad Vashem, the Israeli Holocaust memorial museum. After signing the guest book at Yad Vashem, Biden recalled a tour he took with his children to the Dachua concentration camp to understand the brutality of mankind, before bringing them to Israel to understand the ability of mankind to transcend adversity. According to pool reports, Biden said:
“I took my son here to Israel to let him know that the indomitable spirit of human beings is not able to be snuffed out.’’
Regardless of whether Israel should approve additional settlement construction in and around Jerusalem, announcing the plans in the midst of a major, long-time ally that opposes those plans is simply an insult.
Now that’s chutzpah.
Image from the NY Daily News.