Did Netanyahu Appoint the Wrong Man as Israel’s UN Ambassador?

Aug. 19 2015

The Israeli prime minister has garnered some harsh criticism, even from friendly quarters, for naming Danny Danon—a Likud politician known for his vocal opposition to Palestinian statehood—as Israel’s newest envoy to the United Nations. Jonathan Tobin sees a strong logic behind the decision:

Netanyahu may actually be counting on Danon’s ambition causing him to avoid saying stupid things or starting needless quarrels. . . . By giving him the opportunity to demonstrate a grasp of foreign affairs that goes beyond slogans, . . . Netanyahu may be hoping that Danon will behave in a manner that will do his country credit. Indeed, Danon’s promise to represent Netanyahu’s policies faithfully, including a two-state solution, seems to indicate that he is probably more interested in getting ahead than in ideological purity.

[Furthermore], having as one of its chief spokespersons someone who can articulate Israel’s case in a non-defensive manner won’t harm Israel. For decades, too many professional Israeli diplomats have de-emphasized any mentions of Israel’s rights in the conflict with the Palestinians and spoken instead only of its security. . . . In the last two years, Netanyahu has rightly sought to change that by appointing ambassadors with more forthright styles. . . .

[And] those who worry about Danon alienating the Obama administration are over-thinking the problem. Obama has already crossed the Rubicon on relations with Israel. With Washington clearly looking to downgrade the alliance with Israel as it pursues détente with Iran and perhaps a new peace initiative with the Palestinians, it won’t hurt to have an Israeli at the United Nations who won’t be afraid to point out the truth about Palestinian intransigence or Jewish rights.

Read more at Commentary

More about: Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel & Zionism, Israel diplomacy, Israeli politics, Likud, United Nations

Egypt Is Trapped by the Gaza Dilemma It Helped to Create

Feb. 14 2025

Recent satellite imagery has shown a buildup of Egyptian tanks near the Israeli border, in violation of Egypt-Israel agreements going back to the 1970s. It’s possible Cairo wants to prevent Palestinians from entering the Sinai from Gaza, or perhaps it wants to send a message to the U.S. that it will take all measures necessary to keep that from happening. But there is also a chance, however small, that it could be preparing for something more dangerous. David Wurmser examines President Abdel Fatah el-Sisi’s predicament:

Egypt’s abysmal behavior in allowing its common border with Gaza to be used for the dangerous smuggling of weapons, money, and materiel to Hamas built the problem that exploded on October 7. Hamas could arm only to the level that Egypt enabled it. Once exposed, rather than help Israel fix the problem it enabled, Egypt manufactured tensions with Israel to divert attention from its own culpability.

Now that the Trump administration is threatening to remove the population of Gaza, President Sisi is reaping the consequences of a problem he and his predecessors helped to sow. That, writes Wurmser, leaves him with a dilemma:

On one hand, Egypt fears for its regime’s survival if it accepts Trump’s plan. It would position Cairo as a participant in a second disaster, or nakba. It knows from its own history; King Farouk was overthrown in 1952 in part for his failure to prevent the first nakba in 1948. Any leader who fails to stop a second nakba, let alone participates in it, risks losing legitimacy and being seen as weak. The perception of buckling on the Palestine issue also resulted in the Egyptian president Anwar Sadat’s assassination in 1981. President Sisi risks being seen by his own population as too weak to stand up to Israel or the United States, as not upholding his manliness.

In a worst-case scenario, Wurmser argues, Sisi might decide that he’d rather fight a disastrous war with Israel and blow up his relationship with Washington than display that kind of weakness.

Read more at The Editors

More about: Egypt, Gaza War 2023