Israel doesn't know when to stop, and it could pay dearly as a result.
By Gideon Levy*
An elephant and an ant will
meet in Washington on Monday for a critical summit. But wait, who
here is the elephant and who the ant? Who is the superpower and who
the patronage state?
A new chapter is being written in the history of
nations. Never before has a small country dictated to a superpower;
never before has the chirp of the cricket sounded like a roar; never
has the elephant resembled the ant - and vice versa. No Roman
province dared tell Julius Caesar what to do, no tribe ever dreamed
of forcing Genghis Khan to act in accordance with its own tribal
interests. Only Israel does this. On Monday, when Barack Obama and
Benjamin Netanyahu meet at the White House, it will be hard to tell
which one is the real leader of the world.
For the past few years the
Israeli cricket has been chirping "Iran," and the world
responds with a muffled echo. It isn't that Iran is only an Israeli
problem, but North Korea could endanger Japan just as much as Iran
endangers Israel - and the world has not come running to Japan's
side. Netanyahu's Israel has dictated the global agenda as no small
state has ever done before, just as its international standing is at
its nadir and its dependence on the United States at a zenith.
To the
miracles of the rebirth of the Hebrew language after two millennia,
the establishment of a thriving country of immigrants in the Land of
Israel in such a short span of time and the invention of the kibbutz,
we must now add another, much more deserving of a place on the list
of the seven wonders of the world than the statue of Christ the
Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, than the Roman Colosseum or the Great
Wall of China: Israel's wondrous power in the face of the United
States. There is no rational explanation.
Israel features in the
American presidential campaign as no other foreign country does, with
the candidates vying for the sobriquet of "biggest Israel-lover"
to the point where it often seems to be the main issue. Rich Jews
like Sheldon Adelson donate enormous war chests to candidates for the
sole purpose of buying their support for Israel, while the president
of the United States, who won with a message of change, was forced to
fold up, at lightning speed, the flag of planting peace in the Middle
East simply because Israel said "No." If last week a
British member of the House of Lords was forced to resign from
Parliament after daring to criticize Israel, in the United States she
would never have even considered making her views known.
Israel is
teaching the world a lesson in international relations: Size doesn't
matter. When it comes to foreign policy Europe toes the U.S. line
much more than tiny Israel does. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
also taught the world that it's possible to tell the American
president "No," bluntly and explicitly, and not only remain
alive but even to gain in strength. So Obama begged for an extension
of the settlement construction freeze - so what? Netanyahu will take
care of it: He took the issue off the agenda.
When he goes to the
White House on Monday he will make a new demand: Either you or we
(attack Iran ), putting the leader of the free world in a tight spot.
Obama does not want to ensnare his country in another war or in an
energy crisis, but when Netanyahu hath demanded, who will not fear?
This would appear to be a good thing, a reason to marvel at the prime
minister. A cat may look at a king, but it doesn't always end well.
One day, perhaps, even in brainwashed America the questions may
begin: another war? Is it right to put more American soldiers in
harm's way for an interest that is more Israeli than it is American?
And perhaps we should also make demands from the small protege?
For
now, Obama may be unable to prohibit Israel from a military adventure
in Iran without offering serious quid pro quo. After all, we are
talking about the prime minister of Israel. But one day the rope
could snap and the whole thing could blow up in the face of
power-drunk Israel: Israel doesn't know when to stop, and it could
pay dearly as a result.
source :http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/it-s-just-a-matter-of-time-before-u-s-tires-of-israel-1.416297
Levy joined Haaretz in 1982, and spent four years as the newspaper's
deputy editor. He is the author of the weekly Twilight Zone feature,
which covers the Israeli occupation in the West Bank and Gaza over the
last 25 years, as well as the writer of political editorials for the
newspaper.
Levy was the recipient of the Euro-Med Journalist Prize for 2008; the
Leipzig Freedom Prize in 2001; the Israeli Journalists’ Union Prize in
1997; and The Association of Human Rights in Israel Award for 1996.
His new book, The Punishment of Gaza, has just been published by Verso Publishing House in London and New York.
