Dumbfounded Israel

Baited and Switched

This approach of the US State Department is straight out of the Leninist-Stalinist playbook, and will go down in infamy: “What’s better than a lie? A bigger lie!” By presenting, with full fanfare and at the beginning of the holy Sabbath when Israeli foreign relations departments are inactive, an “Israeli Plan” for a ceasefire that is word-for-word the last unacceptable Hamas proposal, the US has broken all rules of fair play. The lie in this case is that this was an Israeli proposal. And the bigger lie? That’s just it. Whoever is handling Biden sent a subtle message to Israel, that they are not worth the effort of having a bigger lie wasted on them. The US planted this lie, and revealed their play by demanding that Israel agree to its own proposal, a proposal that in a million years Israel would never offer on its own. To state the painfully obvious, if this were an Israeli proposal why did Biden have to threaten Israel to approve it?  All done with a straight face, with high seriousness. This through-the-looking-glass absurdity was not meant to last. It only had to last long enough for the insult to register. Soon enough, with Israel’s supposed agreement (Israel agreed to no such thing), the US turned to Hamas to demand that they agree to their own proposal. Laughingly, and to the State Department’s necessary chagrin, Hamas is not doing so. The very last thing that Hamas would have surmised when they sent out this proposal would be that they would be expected to stand by it. Absurd!

When this ridiculous gaggle of bumbling fools finally tumbles out of the bottom of the slide, they will stand up, brush off their clothes, and congratulate each other over a job well done, saying that it had been a great plan and would have succeeded if it were not for the dastardly Bibi.  

The World to Bibi: “Israel’s sister is a whore.”

Bibi to the World, stammering in disbelief: “But Israel does not have a sister.”

The World to Bibi: “She asked for it!”

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The quality of leadership that the present reality demands of Prime Minister Netanyahu is above and beyond the native capabilities that he has displayed over the years, as impressive as they may be. It is sad to think that he puts his faith in his rhetorical skills before the US Congress. He will come away disappointed. Then, God willing, he will have the strength of character to realize that solace for the Jewish nation will not come from flesh and blood, and will have the spiritual courage to guide his nation along the right path.

This post first appeared in the New English Review