Channels

Photo: Ariel Hermoni, Defense Ministry
'It seems Ya'alon really doesn't understand essence of Israel-US relations'
Photo: Ariel Hermoni, Defense Ministry
Sima Kadmon

Does Ya'alon know something we don't?

Op-ed: Defense minister either thinks Israel is world's biggest power and doesn’t US need in any way, or he's just plain stupid.

Let's call a spade a spade: The defense minister either knows something we don't, or– how do I put it delicately – he's just plain stupid. That's the only way to explain the conduct of the government's most important minister, whose comments about the American administration could lead to a catastrophe in the most significant relations, not to mention the only significant relations, the State of Israel has today.

 

 

In other words, only if the minister knows what no one else in the world apparently knows, which is that Israel is the world's biggest power; that it needs no other country, neither militarily nor diplomatically; that as opposed to the accepted notion, it's not that Israel is a burden on the shoulders of the US, but the other way around; and that the American administration actually depends on the Israeli government – only that can provide an explanation for the defense minister's irresponsible behavior.

 

But since that is probably not the situation, and despite the apparent arrogance in Minister Ya'alon's remarks, we are still a country whose entire defense establishment – from the tires on the jeeps to the Stealth aircraft – is all-American, not to mention our need of the American veto power at the Security Council, there is no escape from recognizing the fact that we have a unwise defense minister.

 

If it had only happened once, so be it. But Ya'alon has already been forced to apologize for the insults he hurled at John Kerry. Now he is directing his arrows at the president. So the unprecedented severity of the American administration's reactions comes as no surprise.

 

And don't be confused: Ya'alon cannot be suspected of having a certain strategy. There is no sophistication here either. It's even hard to suspect that Ya'alon is creating a manipulation in order to please the right-wing public.

 

In Ya'alon's favor, it should be said that he is honest. It's not the former defense minister, Barak, whose every single move had to be peeled like an onion in order to understand what was hiding beneath it. But that's the problem: Ya'alon says exactly what he thinks. And when this is what a defense minister thinks, a person who is familiar with the Israeli defense establishment's dependence on the US down to the very last bolt, it means that he really doesn't understand the essence of the relations.

 

Let it be clear: If he had only inflicted damage on himself, we wouldn't have even dedicated a sentence to him. The problem is that we have all been placed on this skewer. And the grill is turning: The American defense establishments know how to impose national sanctions even over individuals' sins. An American revenge is not drastic. It is served dish by dish: From cooling off and reducing the relations, through cutting down on the cooperation to canceling tours, exercises and visits.

 

But the interesting question, as always, is where is the prime minister. Does his ongoing silence indicate that he agrees with Ya'alon's opinions? Public condemnation, that's the least Netanyahu should do. If he wants to save the most important security relations we have, he must put him in his place. An apology from Ya'alon is not enough. Netanyahu should personally apologize to the Americans, at least like he apologized last week to the Jordanians for the judge's killing.

 

Our relations with Washington are as important as our relations with Amman.

 


פרסום ראשון: 03.21.14, 17:18
 new comment
Warning:
This will delete your current comment