The beytsim on this guy
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's meddling in internal Israeli decisions regarding the development of our capital Jerusalem is uninvited and unhelpful. In fact it is sheer chutzpah. I cannot remember another time that a senior American official deemed it "insulting" when a sovereign nation announced urban zoning decisions regarding its primary city. This is yet another in the disturbing series of counter-productive declarations from the Obama Administration. It is a gratuitous and frankly annoying comment. Secretary Clinton recently embraced the task of helping solve shipping problems of American food products to our shores, yet condemns our right to build homes for Jews in the city of Jerusalem. Jews living in Jerusalem is why Israel exists as a Jewish state. With all due respect, Madam Secretary, forget the gefilte fish for Passover and support our inalienable rights to the Jewish homeland, Israel.
—Danny Danon, MK (Likud) and deputy speaker of the Knesset
In this blog, our correspondents share their thoughts and opinions on America's kinetic brand of politics and the policy it produces.
Advertisement
Subscribe to The Economist's free e-mail newsletters and alerts.
Subscribe to The Economist's latest article postings on Twitter
See a selection of The Economist's articles, events, topical videos and debates on Facebook.
Advertisement
We are making continuous improvements to The Economist website and are interested in your thoughts.
Readers' comments
The Economist welcomes your views. Please stay on topic and be respectful of other readers. Review our comments policy.
Sort:
Uh oh. I see a Heimdall comment coming. Better get cracking on that finance reform post.
United States has been a staunch ally of Israel - from before the very foundation of Israel. United States' citizens have, through their government and through various charities, gifted the citizens of Israel BILLIONS in aid of various types. However, Israel has rewarded this steadfast support with suspicion and, at times, belligerence. Even today, Israel is trying its level best to abuse the Palestinian populations in the hope that any blowback would be contained by American effort.
Dear citizens of Israel, we citizens of USA love you and would like to see you prosper. But that cannot be allowed to happen if it is coupled with daily denigration of the Palestinian citizens under your government's control. A peace deal is needed and needed badly. Yes, there are hotheads on all sides but we are more interested in getting a deal that helps the decent folks and if we help you screw with the decent folks, the hotheads win.
The beytsim on this guy ??
Oy gevalt. Now that's a headline with chutzpah.
Time to stop with the kid gloves. It is past time to remind the Israelis of who needs whom.
In related news, today Italy announced plans to build 1,200 new housing units for Italians in Geneva, given its "inalienable rights" to develop its newly-announced capital of "Far-Northern Italy"...
How does a "gratuitous and frankly annoying comment" differ from a "gratuitous and annoying comment"?
Maybe Israel should practice what it preaches and stop telling Iran it can't have its own nuclear power industry because it makes Israel nervous.
It's a manufactured crisis to distance the Obama administration from the Israelis. Obama will need cover should the Israeli govt choose to attack Iran. By distancing them now, they can brand the Israelis as uncontrollable.
Wonder what Danny Danon thinks of David Axelrod's comments?
Nice to see a Jewish member of the White House team read Israel the riot act.
With all due respect Mr. Danon, but you are a first class schmecklehead.
Time to take the gloves off and let Israel know that it's paymaster is boss.
No doubt, Sparkleby. The stones on that guy.
If we think this is not an appropriate thing for Israel to be doing then we should deduct the dollar amount of the budget for this activity from the dollar amount that we will send them next year. Otherwise we are, in effect, paying for them to do it.
The administration isn't "meddling" at all. "Meddling" would imply that there's a possibility that they might actually do something. They are posturing. Surely Mr. Danon understands the difference.
-Mad Hatter
Yep, yep - the time to ditch the kids gloves, to talk schmootzig with all due respect, and to threaten to kick up shtoyb and what not else is now :)
I read that the DOE just abandoned its plans for Yucca Mountain, and this article makes me think back to another one-time suggestion of just stacking up the nuke waste in Jerusalem. If the kids can't share nicely, take away the toy. At any rate, it's a freakin desert wherein some fables occurred, allegedly.
So the national and cultural renewal of the Jewish people, a new existence without the dangers and *ahem* mental insecurities of diaspora, a refuge from the persecutions of anti-semitism - all those goals of Zionism, both lofty and pragmatic, have gone out the window. Now it's just "Jews living in East Jerusalem" which is neither. So much for the clear-headedness that let the State of Israel be established and survive against all odds. Instead, these people are willing to throw away Israel's security for an extra 3 miles beyond the Old City.
Reminds me of an 18 year old pointing out that he's technically an adult now and that it's insulting for another adult, even his dad or mom, to lecture him on how to live his life...about 5 minutes before he then asks his parents for money.
Did he really say "chutzpah"?
But definitely a zoning issue.
===the development of our capital Jerusalem===
And all this time I thought Tel Aviv was the capital of Israel.