Post-election Netanyahu tries to make amends
In the week since the elections, Benjamin Netanyahu has been trying to erase what he did during the campaign, expressing worries about US backing of Israel and international reactions.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is worried. Perhaps even scared. Till now, there were mainly veiled intimations, threats made in conversations behind closed doors, secret situation reports, commentaries in the newspapers. But now we see the Obama administration flogging Netanyahu on an almost daily basis.
US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro confirms that the United States has not yet decided whether to cast a veto in the UN Security Council on Israel’s behalf the next time it will be asked to do so. US President Barack Obama himself castigates Netanyahu in an interview with Huffington Post. White House chief of staff Denis McDonough delivers a speech to the left-wing pro-Israel J Street lobby in which he sharply criticizes Netanyahu.
Netanyahu knows it’s payback time. And Netanyahu, who hates to pay, simply does not know where to get the money. His international credit line is blocked. On the personal level, he's also insolvent. He will have to reinvent himself. It's uncertain whether he is capable of it.
Netanyahu is groping to find his way and he examines options for reconciliation, even a partial one, with the White House. If reconciliation is out of the question, then at least to calm down the tensions. He talks on the phone with US legislators from the Democratic Party (those he still has relations with) and he sends messages. In recent days, he also met in Jerusalem with a senior American personality who is closely associated with the Democratic Party. “You have to heal this wound,” he said to Netanyahu, who agreed enthusiastically but had no idea how. Netanyahu expressed strong doubts about what to expect from Obama’s 22 remaining months in the White House.
