Israel is going to hold elections in mid March. Today, I saw the first article discussing whether or not the USA would meddle in the campaign in an attempt to undermine and defeat current prime minister Netanyahu. It is an interesting topic and one which I doubt the State Department or the White House understands. The truth is that anything that smacks of American government interference with the Israeli election will almost certainly result in a big surge of support for Netanyahu and his party. The level of dislike for president Obama among Israeli voters is extremely high.
About six weeks ago, I had occasion to speak to a group of Israelis. The entire group consisted of people who had immigrated to Israel from the USA (except for two former Canadians). I asked the ones from America about their political affiliations when they were still in the USA. Every single one had been a registered Democrat. Then I asked them about their view of president Obama. Again, the response was unanimous (including the former Canadians.) They did not like Obama and believed that he consistently took actions that undermined Israeli security. The Israelis were not all supporters of Netanyahu; the group was split on him. The verdict on Obama, however, was harsh.
Obviously, one small group of Israelis is hardly representative, but this anecdotal evidence is repeated in polling which shows the Israeli public very distrustful of Obama.
Clearly, the best thing that the USA can do is to avoid meddling in Israeli politics. I doubt that will happen. Nevertheless, given the finesse that our government has displayed in the past, the meddling will likely be obvious and heavy handed. It will then most likely accomplish exactly the reverse of what president Obama wants to achieve.
About six weeks ago, I had occasion to speak to a group of Israelis. The entire group consisted of people who had immigrated to Israel from the USA (except for two former Canadians). I asked the ones from America about their political affiliations when they were still in the USA. Every single one had been a registered Democrat. Then I asked them about their view of president Obama. Again, the response was unanimous (including the former Canadians.) They did not like Obama and believed that he consistently took actions that undermined Israeli security. The Israelis were not all supporters of Netanyahu; the group was split on him. The verdict on Obama, however, was harsh.
Obviously, one small group of Israelis is hardly representative, but this anecdotal evidence is repeated in polling which shows the Israeli public very distrustful of Obama.
Clearly, the best thing that the USA can do is to avoid meddling in Israeli politics. I doubt that will happen. Nevertheless, given the finesse that our government has displayed in the past, the meddling will likely be obvious and heavy handed. It will then most likely accomplish exactly the reverse of what president Obama wants to achieve.
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