Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren had lunch with reporters today in Washington. What was the most newsworthy bit? According to Buzzfeed’s write-up, it’s that Oren made the unambiguously true statement that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not interfere in the recent American presidential election. “Prime Minister Netanyahu went to extraordinary lengths not to be dragged into the U.S. presidential elections,” Rosie Gray quotes Oren as saying.
That this is considered news is a good demonstration of how hysterical some reporters (not Gray, I should be clear) became during the election when Netanyahu didn’t spend enough time, in their minds, praising President Obama. But Oren’s words were actually chosen carefully here, it seems. Of course Netanyahu didn’t interfere in the election, and a great many members of the press embarrassed themselves by accusing him repeatedly and falsely of doing so. But Oren is right: it’s not just that Netanyahu didn’t interfere. It’s that he had to work especially hard not to get dragged into the election. And those dragging Netanyahu into the election were none other than the media personalities accusing Netanyahu of interfering.
The best example of this came during a September broadcast of “Meet the Press” when host David Gregory interviewed Netanyahu, and proceeded to first criticize Netanyahu for getting involved in the election and then try to goad him into getting involved in the election–on Obama’s behalf. Gregory asked Netanyahu why he was criticizing Obama when Netanyahu talked about the need to establish red lines on Iran’s nuclear program. Netanyahu responded that he didn’t intend it as a criticism of Obama but actually that other (unnamed) world leaders had been accusing Netanyahu of being reckless, and he wanted to establish clearly that Israel has a right to defend itself. Gregory completely ignored the answer and proceeded as if he wasn’t even listening when Netanyahu spoke:
GREGORY: Your criticism, your calling on President Obama to set this red line, comes in the middle of a heated presidential campaign. You understand the American political system very well. You’re very sophisticated in that regard. In your view, would Governor Mitt Romney as President Romney make Israel safer? Would he take a harder line against Iran than President Obama in your judgment?
PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU: God, I’m– I’m not going to be drawn into the American election. And– and what’s guiding my statements are– is not the American political calendar but the Iranian nuclear calendar. They’re just– you know, if they stop spinning the centrifuges for– and took timeout for the American elections, I wouldn’t have to talk. And I wouldn’t have to raise this issue. But as the prime minister of Israel, knowing that this country committed to our destruction is getting closer to the goal of having weapons of mass destruction then I speak out. And it’s got– it’s really not a partisan political issue. And I think it’s important for anyone who is the president of the United States to be in that position of preventing Iran from having this nuclear weapons– nuclear weapons capability. And I’m talking to the president. I just talked to him the other day. We are in close consultations. We’re trying to prevent that. It’s really not a partisan issue. It’s a policy issue not a political issue.
GREGORY: Well, but it may not be a partisan issue. You have known Mitt Romney a long time. The reality is– tell me if you disagree that Governor Romney just in an interview this week said that his position is very much the same as President Obama. They are both committed to preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Not just as an impartial observer, as the prime minister of Israel, do you agree with that that both the president and his challenger have the same view with regard to preventing Iran from going nuclear?
PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU: I have no doubt that they are equally committed to preventing that. It’s a– it’s a vital American interest. It’s a– it’s an existential interest on my case so, this isn’t the issue. We are united on this across the board.
Netanyahu might have thought he was out of the woods, but after one more question Gregory returned the pressing matter of attempting to hector Netanyahu into praising Obama:
GREGORY: Prime Minister, one more question on the American election. You have been accused this week by pundits in this country of trying to interfere in this presidential election, siding with Governor Mitt Romney. Now, Governor Romney for a year, and he said it in his convention speech, has said, quote, “President Obama has thrown allies like Israel under the bus.” Do you agree or disagree with Governor Romney’s charge? It’s a serious charge.
PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU: Well, you’re– you’re trying to get me into the– into the American election and I’m not going to do that. The relationship between Israel and the United States is a bond of– it’s just a very powerful bond. It was, it is, and will be and will continue to be. And I– I can tell you there’s no one– there’s no leader in the world who’s more appreciative than me of the strength of this alliance. It’s very strong. There’s no one in Israel who appreciates more than me the importance of American support for Israel. It’s not a partisan issue. In fact, we cherish the bipartisan support of Democrats and Republicans alike. This is critical for us.
GREGORY: But prime minister, with respect, if I may just interrupt you…
PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU: And– and I think it’s critical that we take…
Gregory, now agitated, interrupts again:
GREGORY: I think this is a very important point because you say you don’t want to interfere in the election. There are tens of millions of Americans who are watching that speech, who hear that rhetoric, who hear that charge, who may not understand the complexities of this issue. You are the leader of the Jewish people. You say this is not a partisan issue. You get billions of dollars from direct foreign investment from this country, hundreds of millions of dollars from Americans, Jews and Christians alike from this country. It seems to me for you to remain silent on whether this administration has thrown Israel under the bus is tantamount to agreeing with the sentiment. So where do you come down on that specific charge against President Obama?
PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU: Now, there you go again, David, you’re trying to draw me into something that– that is simply not– not the case and it’s not my position. My position is that we– we have strong cooperation. We’ll continue to cooperate. We’re the best of allies. And Israel is the one reliable ally of the United States in the Middle East…
Not good enough, says Gregory:
GREGORY: So President Obama has not thrown Israel under the bus?
PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU: …if that wasn’t understood until yesterday. So it’s– it’s– there’s– there’s no bus, and we’re not going to get into that discussion, except to say one thing. We have a strong alliance and we’re going to continue to have a strong alliance. I think the important question is where does the– the only bus that is really important is the Iranian nuclear bus. That’s the one that we have to– to derail. And that’s my interest. That’s my– my only interest.
With that, Gregory was satisfied (or almost out of time). This was only the most visible case of what Oren was talking about–though of course he was too diplomatic to get into details. Netanyahu had to work to stay out of this election, and it’s because the American media so desperately wanted his interference.
I like the way that Gregory repeatedly ignores what Netanyahu says, interrupts him, implies that he is lying, and then prefaces his next nterruption with "with respect." n nAnd someone needs to tell this creep that the PM of Israel is the leader of the Jewish STATE, not the leader of the Jewish PEOPLE.
Gregory is a rootless, typically shallow MSM tummler. His main enterprise is "gotcha." If he can trip up Natanyahu, he becomes part of the news rather than just one more MSM shlockmeister polluting the airwaves with what among his sleazy kind passes for honest information and informed opinion. n nNo public figure other than the great Donald Rumsfeld handles offensive and obnoxious telejournalists as well as Benjamin Natanyahu. Watching Natanyahu confound and frustrate surface-skimming MSM jerks like Gregory is a joy. Try though they might, the bastards can't lay a glove on him. n nAsking a Gentile airhead of the airwaves passing for a practicing Jew to distinguish between leadership of the Jewish State and the Jewish people is a waste of time. Gregory is confused about his own identity; how do you expect him to make larger distinctions? n n
"Of course Netanyahu didn’t interfere in the election…." n nOf course he did. The Israeli press was on his case about it even more than the US press. As for Oren's denial, well what did you expect him to say while he's serving Bibi?
"BIbi?" You know Benjamin Natanyahu personally, Hilli? What have you ever done for the Jewish State or the Jewish people to presume familiarity with Prime Minister Natanyahu or Ambassador Oren? n nHillel, indeed. I'll take Shammai any day of the week.
I know him well enough to know the damage he's done to Israel and to its relationship with the rest of the world, Davey. And tell me, do you get equally upset when Obama is referred to as Barry or with a capitalized middle name or by any other of the epithets used to refer to him in these comments?
Damage to Israel? You mean by slowing its march toward suicide that was started by Rabin and continued by Livni and Barak? Would that he had the courage to not only slow the march but reverse it. n nDamage to Israel's relationship to the rest of the world? Would that be the same world that for the past 45 years has grown increasingly more shrill in its opposition to Israel defending itself militarily, and ever more willing to embrace blood libel? To hell with the rest of the world; they would turn their backs or at best tsk tsk as some freedom fighter cut your throat for the crime of being Jewish.
I expect him to say "enough. I resign."
"The Israeli press was on his case about it even more than the US press. " n nYeah, and that had nothing to do with it being the opposition press, trying to influence the Israeli elections, did it? nTrool.
Oren has been an astounding disappointment. very good at repeating his government's line of crud, impervious to actual truth or nuance. n nanyone who thinks that Netanyahu didn't get involved in US party politics in the last four years, and during the campaign, and only pulled back when it became clear (except to the yutzes writing for this place) that Obama was going to be re-elected with ease, is incorrect, Seth.
so what?
If we want to hear repetition of party line crud, we always have you, Dub.
you can't always have me, aha and you should spend more time in the mikvah as well as out in the rain with a bucket.
The motive is clear. PM Netanyahu has done a brilliant job of stabilizing Israel after the catastrophic tail spin put into place by PM Sharon’s off the wall unilateral withdrawal from Gaza, including the Philadelphi security corridor followed by the dangerous administration of Olmert, Peretz and Livni.
The Israeli electorate got the message and voted in Bibi. Netanyahu elected to stir a centrist course, inviting labor into his government, to establish a broad based coalition which would be able to weather the storms that were sure to come. It worked. He even invited Livni and Kadima to join the coalition. Livni demanded preconditions just as ridculous as the ones demanded by M. Abbas for re-starting peace negotiations with Israel.
So, for those on the so called left, the conundrum is how to un-seat Netanyahu and bring in a puppet who will fold and give in to Obama and M. Abbas, not to mention Hamas. The creation of a Palestinian State with Jerusalem as it’s capital, would be a mortal threat to Israel, not to mention the so-called right of return. There would be not one day of peace, on the contrary. Every attempt woulds be made to use “Palestine as a springboard for terrorism, but much bloodier than one can imagine.
I assure you if the dufus Gregory had advanced the ball down the field in the interview cited above, he would have been rewarded. He had little to lose.
The worst ones are the leftist Jews, who are either naive, insane or traitors. It may not really much matter which one. WHAT A DISGRACE.
Have you ever noticed how much contempt The “anti-zionists” have for The Jewish/Israeli left. They actually respect the Likudniks more, as they should, because unlike the numbskulls on the left, we respect the arabs. When they proclaim that they will never accept even one square kilometer of Israel, we believe them, and they know it.