John Kerry

A rare American rebuke for Israel

As in comedy, timing can be vital in politics too. To say outgoing Secretary of State John Kerry’s criticism of Israel is a bit late is putting it mildly. No matter how valid some of Kerry’s belated observations about Israel’s expansionist policies may be, they might have had rather more impact four or even eight years ago.

At the fag end of the Obama presidency, Kerry’s remarks look like peevish payback. They also give incoming president Donald Trump an opportunity to further ramp up the rhetoric in support of an ally that is usually immune from American criticism, no matter how illegal and even brutal its policies toward its neighbours may be at times.

To make such an observation as an individual is to invite a torrent of abuse from the legions of paid and freelance apologists for Israel. No doubt, too, there will be the standard accusations of anti-Semitism, ignorance of “the facts”, and bias. But we should be able to offer a reasoned critique of any country’s foreign policies without being accused of racism.

Sticking one’s head above this particular parapet invites this sort of thing, though.

More troubling and significant, however, is that successive American administrations are not simply wiling to turn a blind eye to flagrant violations of international law and humanitarian principles, at times, but that they provide the state of Israel with substantial foreign aid that makes the job a little easier.

Read the full article by Mark Beeson at The Conversation.