Israel Miffed, Won't Back Cuba Move

[Purveyor]

The Netanyahu government, miffed that it was kept out of the loop, has rejected the Obama administration's request made to it and governments around the world to express support for the new U.S. Cuba policy. Canada and the Vatican were the intermediaries and there are no indications any other country was involved.

Interestingly, the key to the breakthrough was the release of an American Jew, Alan Gross, imprisoned for bringing Internet equipment to Cuba tiny Jewish community. Israel has been the most consistent – and often the only -- supporter of U.S. Cuba policy for decades, but no longer.

What's behind the break after all these years?

• Israeli officials say they were peeved that the administration didn't brief them about his decision in advance.

• This is one more opportunity for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to poke another finger in President Obama's eye after years of mutual animosity.

• Netanyahu is more concerned about not offending his Republican friends in the Congress than supporting the lame-duck Democratic president.

Cuba and Israel actually maintained relations for a dozen years after Washington and Havana split. The United States broke relations in 1961 in the closing days of the Eisenhower administration; Cuba cut its ties to Israel in 1973 just prior to the Yom Kippur war.

more,,,

http://www.thejewishweek.com/blogs/political-insider/israel-miffed-wont-back-cuba-move

[elleng]

1. Good

[flamingdem]

2. Obama's Cuba move has many blessings

and this is one of them, heh.

[delrem]

3. WTF has Cuba/US to do with Israel?

sheeeeee!
talk about peevishness.

[oberliner]

26. Israel was the only country supporting the US embargo of Cuba

Each year, the UN General Assembly votes on a resolution calling on the US to lift the Cuba embargo. And each year, including this last October, Israel is the only nation that votes with the US against the resolution.

[ShadowLiberal]

46. Yet Israel doesn't even have an embargo on Cuba itself

Which makes not supporting a lifting of the US's embargo an even stupider move, and makes them look petty more then anything.

And then there's the fact that Israel really shouldn't care about the embargo of Cuba at all, Cuba and the Castro's have never threatened Israel.

[oberliner]

47. But they were the lone vote with the US in the UN in support of the embargo

Not even Marshall Islands and Micronesia voted with the US (as they almost always do).

[strawberries]

45. I was thinking the same thing

can't wait to vacation in Cuba!

[applegrove]

4. One would think Israel would be jumping

for joy that the USA is opening up relations with a country that took land and property from people 50 years ago and now doesn‘t have to give any of it back. That sets a precident Israel should be keen on.

[delrem]

5. Wow. What a false equivalence.

I'm amazed at it.

[applegrove]

6. of course it is not exactly the same.

I did not mean to imply it was. It is the tineline of 50 years or so That should make Israel happy. Not that a precident wpuld thus be set in any legal body the world over. It is more of a paychological one but one that would be important to Israel I would think.

I don‘t know what else to say as you were not specific in your reply to me.

[delrem]

7. There are qualitative differences.

When the commies took over Cuba, ousting the crime families, the mafia, the exploiters, they took over their property, which was gotten from bad faith to begin with. The commies weren't some tribe that took over the land for their tribe, ridding the land of people not of their tribe as much as possible and sequestering the rest in reservations. That story is more like the story of the genocide of the American native peoples.

[ozone_man]

39. Nicely said! n/t

[Judi Lynn]

10. Actually, Cuba paid compensation to people who owned land in Cuba in Canada, Europe, etc.

long, LONG ago.

The corporations and families who are US American-based opted NOT to accept the compensation, and that's where it remained. The US government advised them not to have anything to do with the Cuban government, and EVERYONE ELSE settled.

Cuba paid compensation to corporations in Western Europe, Canada, Latin America, etc. starting in the 1960's. The option had also been there for landowners in the U.S. Cuba paid, for instance, over a span of a few years, compensation to the Nestle company for several of its factories, and everything was completed long ago with Canada, France, Switzerland, Great Britain, etc.

Many Cuban "original wave" "exiles" who moved to South Florida, etc. assumed that the US would swoop in and seize Cuba, overturn the Revolution and put the same scum back in power, and get their land back for them immediately. Didn't happen, of course, so they lived on to grace this country with their presence, even though the Cuban people couldn't stand them any longer due to their corrupt and violent government, which employed many of them at all levels, going all the way up to the bloody Dictator Batista's cabinet, and family, death squads, and extreme racism, their pompous sense of entitlement, which came with them to the States, of course.

The landowners who moved here ALL had their opportunity to accept compensation for their property, just like the ones elsewhere who made arrangements and took their compensations decades ago.

[applegrove]

13. Thanks for the ibformation. I did not

know that.

[DesertFlower]

19. neither did i.

[delrem]

20. Just totally, thank you Judi Lynn

Thank you for your presence here.

[Jesus Malverde]

42. Judi ROCKS!!!

[jwirr]

43. Thank you for that - I was not aware of the settlement. Wonder if that was what the Bay of Pigs

was about? This information makes me even more in favor of ending the embargo.

As to Israel being unhappy. Surely we do not have to clear this with them. As to their siding with us on Cuba - they get theirs back when we vote or do not vote on issues regarding them in the UN.

[malaise]

44. Excellent post

You'd be surprised how many Americans do not know anything about Cuba and compensation.

[former9thward]

49. They will have to make a settlement if they want the embargo lifted.

Th embargo law specifically states that.

[applegrove]

50. Thanks. I'm learning a lot.

[FirstClassTicket]

8. Um . . .

"Netanyahu is more concerned about not offending his Republican friends in the Congress than supporting the lame-duck Democratic president."

Duh. He's a politician. Staying on good terms with allies is what politicians do. I'm not sure why anyone would expect anything else. Also, he doesn't owe Obama his "support," so the accusatory tone is kind of silly. It's not some grave moral wrong to be less than enthusiastic about something Obama is doing.

[Judi Lynn]

12. It's not his concern if the U.S. officially moves toward easing the persecution of that tiny island

after all these long, horrific years.

Simply not Netanyahu's business, he should have considered putting a sock in it.

Most of the US population has wanted this change for a very long time, along with the beleaguered people of Cuba.

[FirstClassTicket]

17. Perhaps you missed this part:

" . . . [T]he Obama administration's request made to it and governments around the world to express support for the new U.S. Cuba policy."

It kind of became his concern when the administration sought his approval.

[Cerridwen]

23. Perhaps you missed this part: "to express support" n/t

[geek tragedy]

35. Only fair that his behavior be considered the next time he requests that the US

veto a UNSC resolution on Israel's behalf.

[sendero]

33. And Obama owes Bibi..

.... NOTHING, the hubris of that jackoff expecting to be notified of foreign policy decisions that have eff-all to do with Israel.

[geek tragedy]

36. So Israel isn't America's ally, only the ally of Republicans in Congress?

Seems about right.

Welcome to DU.

[Cha]

9. That's too bad if this is true.. "This is one more opportunity for Prime Minister Benjamin

Netanyahu to poke another finger in President Obama's eye after years of mutual animosity."

He's only hurting himself, imv.

[JI7]

11. Netanyahu and the right wing, id on't think most people in Israel care

even netanyahu doesn't care much other than it may look like a way to get support from the right wing in the US.

[Jesus Malverde]

14. Sucks to be a small marginal country that in the end doesn't matter much but to religious nuts.

Last edited Fri Dec 26, 2014, 12:07 PM - Edit history (1)

Israel might be able to veto our relations with Iran, but to think we give one hoot what they think about Cuba is vastly overestimating their importance in the world.

In the end it's a small country that can't even defend itself and survives like a remora stuck onto a shark.

The longer it keeps pissing off the shark, the shorter will be it's free ride.

The self centered notion that it's a world power, even a nuclear one, puts in the same league of say North Korea or Pakistan.

The religious right is dominating the country, laying bare the notion of the liberal socialist paradise of old and replacing it with the dark nightmare of apartheid and racism. The isolation in the end will be self imposed.

Truth is most Israeli's would rather live in United States. Cities like LA, SF, Chicago or NY where people of Jewish faith and background thrive. Heck tens of thousands of them are moving to Berlin, considering history that tells you how far they have strayed.

[Blue_In_AK]

15. Israel should not be dictating American foreign policy.

So what if they're miffed, or peeved? Netanyahu needs to get a grip. I can't stand that guy.

[oberliner]

27. Israel was the only country supporting the US embargo of Cuba

They just wanted a heads up that it was changing.

[virtualobserver]

30. giving a "heads up" to Netanyahu would have resulted in a leak......

it would have been like giving a "heads up" to Reince Priebus

[oberliner]

31. Maybe so

Just saying that they are the lone supporter of the policy in the world and that is their connection here.

[Jesus Malverde]

40. You have that wrong my friend. Cuba cut off diplomatic relations with Israel in 1973

Not the other way around...



Cuba is currently a lead country on the United Nations Human Rights Council. Israel might want to smell the (Cuban) coffee and wake up to the civilized world before its leaders end up before a tribunal in the Hague for crimes against humanity.

Cuba also joined the expeditionary forces during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, and broke diplomatic relations with Israel the same year.

A bit player on the world stage, fast tracking onto the highway of super irrelevancy. Maybe Israel can make amends with Cuba.

[oberliner]

48. Have what wrong?

Talking about the UN votes on the topic:

(Reuters) - The U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly for the 23rd time to condemn the decades-long U.S. economic embargo against Cuba, with many nations praising the island state for its response in fighting the deadly Ebola virus that is ravaging West Africa.

In the 193-nation assembly, 188 countries voted for the nonbinding resolution, titled "Necessity of Ending the Economic, Commercial and Financial Embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba."

As in previous years, the only countries that voted against the declaration were the United States and an ally, Israel. The Pacific island nations Palau, Marshall Islands and Micronesia abstained. The voting result was identical to last year's.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/28/us-cuba-un-idUSKBN0IH1RN20141028

[Buns_of_Fire]

18. Bibi's pissed. I'll file that under "So What Else is New?" nt

[Douglas Carpenter]

24. There is no excuse for ANY president being disobedient and insubordinate to Israel.Why can't they do

Last edited Fri Dec 26, 2014, 11:42 PM - Edit history (2)

What they are told?

[Fred Sanders]

25. Obama is not subservient. It pisses off the kindling fascism in Israel as much as the kindling

fascism in America.

[oberliner]

28. Israel was the only country supporting the US embargo of Cuba

They were the only country voting with the United States on this.

They just wanted a heads up before the policy change announcement was made.

[99Forever]

29. Oh noes.

Well the inhumanity never end? The murderous crowd has a sad.

[kickysnana]

32. Does anybody really care what the governement of Isreal thinks or feels any longer?

As my Rethug uncle said to my fundy b-i-l "Hitler must not have been all bad because he gave out these medals to people who helped old people." Me:" just not old Jews, Homosexuals, Gypsys, Unionists etc etc."

Uncle was in Germany after the war as a crane operator to help rebuild. My Dad was in Nagasaki.

[GOLGO 13]

34. Awww Israel, you mad brah?

Deal with it. Me? I can't wait to get my hands on some of those sticks from Havana. Cuba Libre!

[Jesus Malverde]

41. Respect

Sometimes a lack of respect is going to backfire and kick you in the ass.





More folks of Jewish background or faith voted for President Obama than that right wing dumbass Netanyahu

If anyone can lay claim to represent the most people of jewish background or faith in the world. It sure isn't polish immigrant Bennie Mileikowsky.

[Adrahil]

37. Dear Israel: Do Not Give A Shit. n/t

[dembotoz]

38. nutty yahoo would have told the gop who would have had a chance to mess the announcement up

[tularetom]

51. Pobrecitos