Last week, the State Department announced it was “deeply concerned” by Israel’s decision to allow new homes to be built in east Jerusalem. Elliott Abrams dissects the document, pointing to its misleading use of statistics and disregard of the fact that in any potential peace deal, Israel will be keeping the areas where the new houses are to be built. Then he gets to the real problem:
Checking the State Department’s website, I find no similar five-paragraph attacks or critiques on any subject. It seems nothing is as dangerous to the world as construction in Israel and in settlements. . . .
Who is the intended audience for this attack on Israel? If the answer is Israelis and their government, [the attack] will fail due to its refusal to make logical distinctions. If the answer is Americans, including members of Congress, then this attack—launched by a lame-duck administration during the week of the Democratic convention—will have zero effect.
So here’s a theory: the intended audience is European governments, and others around the world. This kind of assault makes their own assaults on Israel easier: they can see us and raise us in the level of criticism of Israel. They can be encouraged in planning attacks on Israel in the UN General Assembly in September. They can offer six-paragraph screeds where they explain how these new housing units threaten peace, security, and the two-state solution.
Read more on Pressure Points: http://blogs.cfr.org/abrams/2016/07/28/the-new-state-department-assault-on-israel/