Netanyahu ‘spat in our face,’ White House officials say

[kpete]

Source: Times Of Israel

Netanyahu ‘spat in our face,’ White House officials say
US sources says PM will pay price for spat over Congress address; Obama said to have asked him to tone down pro-sanctions rhetoric; Wash. Post: Kerry’s enthusiasm for defending Israel waning


The White House’s outrage over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to speak before Congress in March — a move he failed to coordinate with the administration — began to seep through the diplomatic cracks on Friday, with officials telling Haaretz the Israeli leader had “spat” in President Barack Obama’s face.

“We thought we’ve seen everything,” the newspaper quoted an unnamed senior US official as saying. “But Bibi managed to surprise even us.

“There are things you simply don’t do. He spat in our face publicly and that’s no way to behave. Netanyahu ought to remember that President Obama has a year and a half left to his presidency, and that there will be a price,” he said.

Officials in Washington said that the “chickenshit” epithet — with which an anonymous administration official branded Netanyahu several months ago — was mild compared to the language used in the White House when news of Netanyahu’s planned speech came in.





Read more: http://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-spat-in-our-face-white-house-officials-say/

[tblue]

1. My best friend is a Zionist who lived in Israel

and she says Bibi is Israel's Dick Cheney. And he does not speak for many many Israelis.

Iow: He's a dangerous rightwing monster. Evil. To be avoided.

[jwirr]

11. That is what I have been thinking. He is not making friends in the US by doing this and yes he may

have connections here that let him interfere with our policies but the people here also are not happy with this. He is in the end hurting his own country.

[Enthusiast]

15. When will they throw him out of office?

[BillZBubb]

26. They won't. He's doing what the majority want.

[Bragi]

35. Exactly

I no longer support Israel precisely because the majority no longer support peace.

If they were serious about peace, they would throw out their ultra-right government.

[JDPriestly]

44. They won't. His older brother died rescuing innocent Israelis from Palestinian terrorists in

Entebbe. I don't think that there has ever been an apology for that and the many other terrorist acts against Israelis. Whether you think the Israelis are right or wrong to re-elect him, and maybe after this they will reject him, Netanyahu is related, closely related, to a sort of Israeli martyr.

Yet another example and proof of the fact that killing people does not solve problems. Violence does not solve problems. Netanyahu's anger is the result of other people's anger toward him and his family and people and nation.

The chain of hate and violence continues. What comes around goes around.

Can't we ever apologize, ask forgiveness and choose to work together toward peace?

That goes for us as well as for Netanyhu and the Palestinians.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

56. has it been ONLY the palestinians who have committed acts of terror

in Gaza, the West Bank, and Israel? I seriously doubt that.

Hell, we sold the IDF those damned ClusterFuckBombs, and despite promises to use them only in defense, they were used to attack. Both Israel and the US have blood on our hands.

[JDPriestly]

57. Check the chronology of evens. Both sides need to apologize and change, but that would mean

both sides taking responsibility. You cannot expect Israel to do it alone. Fact is, Netanyahu may not be re-elected, but if he is, it will be due in part to the fact that Entebbe which took place in 1976 inspired only more and more violence as did other random acts of terror against Jewish people all over the world.

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Terrorism/entebbe.html

It is time to turn off the insult, kill, revenge cycle. But that will take a lot of negotiation and recognition of responsibility on both sides. I don't see it happening.

Revenge is not the answer, but it will continue to be the strategy until something changes, until people are willing to admit to their own mistakes.

I think we should back Kerry in his attempts to make peace in the area.

I am just saying that one of the holds that Netanyahu has in Israel is the loss of his older brother in the hijacking that led to Entebbe. Those kinds of violent tactics against innocent civilians regardless who does them make peace less possible.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

58. With most of this, I agree.

Although I have yet to hear one word of regret from Bibi, even when innocents are mowed down by US supplied jets, missiles, or Israeli armor.

[MisterP]

46. he got 23% of the vote in 2013--that's basically no better than chance

like, if you rolled the dice this is what it'd look like

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_legislative_election,_2013

[Fred Sanders]

51. Folks in America have not a clue about Israeli politics, how Bibi has such weak control.

But again they have little idea Bibi and Boehner have created this rift, the media is deflecting that.

Israeli media is far more reliable on this issue.

[bikebloke]

47. There's an election coming up soon.

Bibi does have opposition.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-cl=84503534&x-yt-ts=1421914688&v=mfyFlK5bkPU

(You need to turn on the subtitles via the gear icon at the bottom right)

[Sunlei]

2. one of the republican charities sent 35? RW Congress members to Israel just a week ago

It was that Family Values charity?, can't remember their name..but they spent thousands to send republicans to meet with someone in Israel.

Not sure I understand why the media pretends congress has to wait until march to hear from Israel leadership.?

Republicans from our Congress, a very large group of RWingers just got back from secret meetings in Israel. A republican political charity paid for the trip.

[Dont call me Shirley]

3. Nitwityahoo.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

4. Why does bibi remind me of Putin?

[Surya Gayatri]

6. Similar bellicose strutting and war-mongering? Wouldn't be at all surprised

to see him posing atop an Israeli tank or personally shooting hand-held missiles into Gaza.

Just to prove his 'tough guy' credentials...

[former9thward]

54. He was a Captain in the Israeli Army Special Forces.

He was shot in combat on the front lines on three separate occasions in two wars. He probably does not have to prove anything in that regard....

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

32. Reminds me more of Dickhead Cheney. Total ass, who's just droolin over the thought of starting WWIII.

[geek tragedy]

5. Why should we protect a country that behaves this way towards us?

Let them deal with Iran and Hezbollah all by them damn selves. Their security is not our concern.

[1StrongBlackMan]

13. Sadly ...

if the US took that stance, I suspect the world's next concern will be how to deal with the, resulting, nuclear cloud.

[Munificence]

50. Nailed it

[Divernan]

7. Wow! Read anti US, anti-Obama, racist comments to Times of Israel article

Talk about paranoid and hate-filled. Not to mention world class ungrateful. This is how they show their respect to the leader of the country which has funded them to the tune of some $3 trillion over the years. Without the US aid/loans/grants, as well as political support, Israel would no longer exist.

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/US-Israel/U.S._Assistance_to_Israel1.html
This link is current up to May, 2014

http://rense.com/general41/trill.htm
This link is extremely detailed, and covers the period up to 2003

The Real Cost Of US Support
For Israel - $3 Trillion
By Christopher Bollyn

While it is commonly reported that Israel officially receives some $3 billion every year in the form of economic aid from the U.S. government, this figure is just the tip of the iceberg. There are many billions of dollars more in hidden costs and economic losses lurking beneath the surface. A recently published economic analysis has concluded that U.S. support for the state of Israel has cost American taxpayers nearly $3 trillion ($3 million millions) in 2002 dollars.

"The Costs to American Taxpayers of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: $3 Trillion" is a summary of economic research done by Thomas R. Stauffer. Stauffer's summary of the research was published in the June 2003 issue of The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs.

Stauffer is a Washington, D.C.-based engineer and economist who writes and teaches about the economics of energy and the Middle East. Stauffer has taught at Harvard University and Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service. Stauffer's findings were first presented at an October 2002 conference sponsored by the U.S. Army College and the University of Maine.

McArthur's article, "A Conservative Tally of Total Direct U.S. Aid to Israel: $97.5 Billion - and Counting" tallies the hidden costs, such as interest lost due to the early disbursement of aid to Israel and funds hidden in other accounts. For example, Israel received $5.45 billion in Defense Department funding of Israeli weapons projects through 2002, McArthur says.

Loans made to Israel by the U.S. government, like the recently awarded $9 billion, invariably wind up being paid by the American taxpayer. A recent Congressional Research Service report indicates that Israel has received $42 billion in waived loans. "Therefore, it is reasonable to consider all government loans to Israel the same as grants," McArthur says.

[markmyword]

33. FREE LOANS!!!!

You mean to say that the American taxpayer has been giving FREE LOANS to Israel and yet our AMERICAN college students are in debt and the government won't have loan forgiveness!!!
Our seniors can't get FREE health care, we have to pay Part A, Part D, supplementals, there's NO FREE hearing, eye or dental work.
This country has its values all wrong.
Instead in investing in its citizens and the infrastructure of THIS COUNTRY,it uses OUR TAX money to pay for WARS and other peoples wars!!!!
We need a people's REVOLUTION!!!!

[delete_bush]

42. Jeff Rense? Really?

Didn't a few alarms go off when you read $3 TRILLION? I would be highly skeptical of ANYTHING coming from these whackjobs.

From WIKI...
Rense's radio program and website, Rense.com, cover subjects such as 9/11 conspiracy theories, UFO reporting, paranormal phenomena, tracking of new diseases and possible resultant pandemics, environmental concerns (see chemtrails), animal rights, possible evidence of advanced ancient technology, geopolitical developments and emergent energy technologies, complementary and alternative medicine among other subjects. In addition to articles critical of Israel and Zionists, the website also carries articles which defend Iran's policies from its critics and opposes anti-Iranian media bias.

Christopher Bollyn
Christo­pher Bol­lyn, an anti-Semitic con­spir­acy the­o­rist who focuses on the 9–11 attacks, report­edly will be mak­ing sev­eral appear­ances at 9–11 events in Cal­i­for­nia. Bol­lyn was one of the ear­li­est pro­mot­ers of anti-Semitic 9–11 the­o­ries blam­ing Israel and Jews for the attacks.

Bol­lyn has focused most of his research on 9–11 and has con­tin­ued to make the claim that the ter­ror­ist attacks were orches­trated by Israel and the Jews. In Bollyn’s 2012 book, Solv­ing 9–11: The Decep­tion that Changed the World, he writes, “The ‘false flag’ ter­ror­ism of 9–11 is a mon­strous Jewish-Zionist crime of our time. The true cul­prits of this heinous crime are clearly being pro­tected by a gang of like-minded Jew­ish Zion­ists in the high­est posi­tions of the U.S. government….”
http://blog.adl.org/anti-semitism/christopher-bollyn-september-11-anti-semitism-2

[Divernan]

43. So is the esteemed Jewish Virtual Library also on your s**t list?

If you challenge the amounts of aid from US to Israel, please provide a link to what ever you consider valid numbers. I had no prior knowlege of Rense - simply googled US aid to Israel, and the two links I included were at the top.

A PBS web page for the film The Jewish Americans lists the JVL as a resource "For Statistics and Analysis About Jews in America Today", with the description, "A division of the American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise, the Jewish Virtual Library is a comprehensive online Jewish encyclopedia, covering everything from anti-Semitism to Zionism. More than 13,000 articles and 6,000 photographs and maps have been integrated into the site. Their Vital Statistics section has an exhaustive list of current statistics and comparative data."[16]

The Jewish Virtual Library has been cited by CNN,[17] New York Times,[18] BBC,[19] CBS News,[20] Fox News,[21] The Los Angeles Times,[22] USA Today,[23] Bloomberg,[24] among others. It is listed as reference by academic libraries at Pennsylvania State University,[25] Michigan State University,[13] University of Washington,[26] King's College, London,[27] and the University of Delaware.

JVL states that it has received awards from Britannica Internet Guide Selection, USA Today Hot Site, and the Best of the Jewish Web from the Jewish Agency for Israel, the Academic Excellence Award from Study Web and others.[28]

John Jaeger, in an article published by the Association of College and Research Libraries, said of the JVL: "This library, once it is entered, is more like a living encyclopedia than it is anything else. One has options to click on, such as history, women, biography, politics, Israel, maps, and Judaic Treasures at the Library of Congress, with each launching a person into a different realm. The site is extremely well put together."[29] Karen Evans of Indiana State University wrote that the site is comprehensive, with "easily accessible, balanced information".[30]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_Virtual_Library

[delete_bush]

48. I don't have the interest to take the time to arrive at

what I consider valid levels for what is a very subjective exercise in determining that which is/isn't considered to be U.S. aid. However, when known racists/anti-Semites et al find a value supporting their cause that is far beyond what common sense dictates I tend to dismiss them.

Note as well that the $3 trillion amount is only through around 2002, and that the "article" indicates that Stauffer's $3 trillion figure is conservative as it does not include the increased costs incurred during the year-long buildup to the recent war against Iraq in which Israel played a significant, albeit covert, role. Using their same methodology and updating to the current I would think they'd have to add at least another several trillion to this amount, say $5 trillion total?

Why would you assume the Jewish Virtual Library is on my s**t list? I would say they seem to be in line with what most people agree with. Merely pointing out that one source is a joke doesn't negate the others. USING them as a source, JVL indicates the TOTAL amount of aid through 2014 is $120 billion. By comparison, through 2002 the total is $86 billion, or less than 3% of the $3 trillion Stauffer came up with.

Oh, and by the way, The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs is a joke as well, unless you find reports on Israeli organ harvesting to be valid.

Weir’s articles, titled “The New ‘Blood Libel’? Israeli Organ Harvesting” and “Israeli Organ Trafficking and Theft: From Moldova to Palestine,” appeared respectively in CounterPunch, a radical anti-Zionist newsletter, in August (2009), and in the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, an anti-Israel publication that frequently serves as an apologist for Muslim American groups advocating anti-Semitism and support for terrorism, in October.

[mac56]

8. This will not end well.

[kelliekat44]

9. The GOP ought to be ashamed of what the House leadership did. Dis your own Pres. and support

a foreign leader. Maybe they should renounce their citizenship?

[jwirr]

12. This is not the first time the Rs have supported foreign rulers over our own. Rmember how they

praised Putin? And Canada's pipeline is more important than our land.

[1StrongBlackMan]

14. It is/was not only republicans that praised putin. n/t

[bemildred]

16. The entire US press establishment was all googly-eyed over Putin ten years ago.

Back when he was helping us repeat the Soviet's mistake in Aghanistan.

[1StrongBlackMan]

18. 10 years ago? ...

How about 18 months ago, when the media (and DU), alternately, had putin rescuing/out thinking President Obama on Syria?

[bemildred]

21. Well, it was around October 2013, or maybe a bit earlier.

When I first started hearing about the debacle in Ukraine, when McCain and the Neocons were commuting back and forth and offering encouragement to the Maidan protestors. That was when I remember Putin becoming a bad guy again. But for "googly-eyed", in my opinion, you have to go back to Bush the Lesser's first term. Obama in his first term was still trying to "reset" relations, so you are not wrong. And your point about Syria is sound too, it was the Ukraine crisis the precipitated the collapse in relations.

[Purveyor]

27. It was Putin's despicable anti-gay laws/rhetoric that turned the tide on him around here.

I dare say that if he had not done such a thing, his actions against the neo-nazis of Ukraine would have been applauded here on DU.

Just saying...

[geek tragedy]

22. the press? Our president was swooning after gazing into his eyes. nt

[bemildred]

23. +1 nt

[Jack Rabbit]

41. Not true

The Frat Boy lost the election in 2000. He was never president.

[maddiemom]

25. Dis their "own president"?

They've been dissing him from the day he first took office. I'm pushing seventy, and have been involved in politics since I was a fifteen year old "Kennedy Girl," in 1960. I have NEVER seen a POTUS dissed as blatantly as President Obama; not just by the right-wingers, but some Democrats as well.

[Corey_Baker08]

53. In My 25 Years On This Earth, The Level Of Disrespect To President Obama Is Astounding...

& I agree from Democrats & Republicans & world ' leaders' alike. I have faith that after President Obama's Presidency is over, people will look back & declare President Obama one of the greatest leaders of the new generation... & deservedly so!

[Darb]

10. anonymous source says what?

Doubt it. Get someone on the record, thanks in advance.

[BillZBubb]

28. You can bet the administration is fuming. And no one is going to say that on the record.

You know that. Diplomacy requires getting the message out by other means. Don't be naïve.

[Darb]

55. Naive? You should be careful about throwing that word around.

Identify the source or STFU.

[quadrature]

17. nothing forces Pres.Obama to attend ...

I don't see what the problem is.

[1StrongBlackMan]

20. You don't see a problem with ...

the republican party actively abetting a foreign government's attempt to scuttling the US governments negotiations with a 3rd government?

[hollowdweller]

40. Netanyahu and the GOP are trying to drag the US into war.

Pardon the saying but Obama needs to call a spade a spade.

Either that or they WANT Iran to have nukes.

Follow it out to the logical conclusion??

US slaps more sanctions. Iran pulls out of the talks and pursues a bomb.

What do they want to do then?

Does the GOP do like they did with NK and when they scutttle the agreement they just let them get nukes??

Or do they insist we either bomb or invade Iran? Then Iran and it's ally Iraq and maybe it's forces in Lebanon start attacking Israel??

Then US troops for sure go in.

The terrorists responsible for 9/11 are Sunni. Israel is not really concerned about them. Their concern is Iran and Hebolla, not threats to the US. Our interests are difft. Do we support Israeli interests or US interests?

I think Obama has got to lay it on the table. A lot of people don't understand because they do not know the difference between sunni and shia islam and think Israel can do no wrong. But somebody has got to start educating them.

[BillZBubb]

29. That is amazing. You need glasses.

The congress openly favoring a foreign leader over their own president? A foreign leader directly meddling with a US negotiation? Are you a Democrat? A Netanyahu fan? An Israel first-er?

[gcomeau]

34. Gah...

You don;t see the problem with a foreign head of state being invited by the opposition party to officially address a session of another nation's government to give what is essentially a lobbying effort to get that government to pass legislation that is designed to directly undermine the foreign policy objectives of the leader of that nation without even discussing it with the leader of said nation?


That is so far outside the bounds of acceptable diplomatic conduct it defies description. And you think the only thing that matters is Obama doesn't have to go personally watch him do it?????

[quadrature]

37. don't let him in the country

what am I missing here?

[tinrobot]

19. Perhaps the Democrats in Congress should not attend

That would expose this for the political stunt that it is.

[BillZBubb]

30. They are afraid to do that. AIPAC is very powerful.

[quadrature]

38. better idea... Dems should turn their back on him ...nt

[gcomeau]

24. Think it's time a certain nation's UN ambassador...

...stopped veto-ing certain things.

[BillZBubb]

31. It is well past that time.

We have been Israel's lap dog for far too long.

[OldRedneck]

36. First thing the Obama administration needs to do . . .

. . . put a slow-roll on the billions of $$ we give to Israel.

Stop weapons deliveries that are in the pipeline; delay replacing US officials in Israel who are returning home at the end of their tours; drop Israeli officials from the White House invitation list.

I'm finished with US MidEast policy being held hostage to Hitler.

[hollowdweller]

39. Extremely worthy of reading

Will congress go against US interests???

https://consortiumnews.com/2015/01/22/congress-seeks-netanyahus-direction/

[Blue Owl]

45. Boner was too cowardly to spit himself

So he brought in his little flunkie to do it for him.

[Babel_17]

49. Deja Vu all over again (Iran Contra)

This is why you can't let these little cabals walk away from an accounting. They, or their ideological descendants, are right back at it again, in short order.

[Dawson Leery]

52. Add to that list AIPAC and the Neo Conservatives.