John Kerry To Israel: It’s All Your Fault!

by Floyd Brown 

Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t Secretary of State John Kerry supposed to be a diplomat?
I’m not really sure anymore. Lately, he’s been running around the globe insulting adversaries and allies alike, threatening countries, and furthering the stereotype of the ugly American.
In Europe, the story is making banner headlines. In America, on the other hand, Kerry’s disastrous attempt at brokering peace has completely evaded the press. Domestic coverage of his antics is almost nonexistent!

So in case you haven’t heard, here’s the deal…
Kerry wants a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. And because of his oversized ego, Kerry sees himself as the only person capable of brokering such a deal. In reality, though, his overreaching rhetoric has only stunted progress.
Some of Kerry’s most inappropriate comments were spoken recently at the annual Munich Security Conference. When asked about the Middle East peace process, Kerry said:

For Israel, the stakes are also enormously high. Do they want a failure that then begs whatever may come in the form of a response from disappointed Palestinians and the Arab community?… And you see, for Israel there’s an increasing delegitimization campaign that has been building up. People are very sensitive to it. There are talks of boycotts and other kinds of things. Are we all going to be better with all of that?

Kerry’s statements make it sound as though he’s giving a free pass to Israel haters around the world. He’s practically inviting more violence from anti-Semitic terrorists!

It would normally be unthinkable for a U.S. official to delegitimize Israel, and Israeli officials are understandably furious. Minister of Intelligence Yuval Steinitz said, “The things [that] Kerry said are hurtful… and they’re intolerable. Israel cannot be expected to negotiate with a gun to its head.”
Naftali Bennett, Minister of Industry, Trade, and Labor, blasted Kerry as a mouthpiece for anti-Semitism, saying, “We expect of our friends in the world to stand by our side against the attempts to impose an anti-Semitic boycott on Israel, and not to be their mouthpiece.”
And That’s Not All
While Kerry’s insensitive handling of Israel’s concerns is worrisome enough, it’s not even the extent of the damage he’s done! Somehow, Kerry has also managed to piss off the Palestinians. This report comes to us from The Jerusalem Post:
According to a Palestinian source,”U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry recently threatened PA President Mahmoud Abbas that he would meet the same fate as his predecessor, Yasser Arafat, if he turned down Washington’s proposals for peace with Israel.”
The source claimed that Kerry told Abbas his fate would not be “less than that of Yasser Arafat.” This reportedly caused President Abbas to storm angrily out of a four-hour meeting with Kerry in Ramallah after the Secretary of State tried to pressure Abbas into accepting Washington’s proposals.
The same Jerusalem Post explains why this language is so infuriating to the Palestinians: “Jamal Muhaissen, a senior Fatah official in the West Bank, said that if the report is true, ‘this shows that Israel assassinated Yasser Arafat after receiving a green light from the U.S. administration.’ Muhaissen said that Kerry’s threat comes in wake of his failure to impose a settlement on Israel that is ‘consistent with international law.’”

Putting Out Fire… With Gasoline
I was always taught that the United States’ objective in the Middle East was fostering peace. America was to act as an impartial third party, with the goal of inspiring trust between two parties that have none.
Unfortunately, Secretary of State Kerry can clearly be seen doing the opposite. He’s threatening both sides and telling them that they must accept his peace plan or face severe consequences. To me, this sounds more like a dictator than a diplomat.
I can’t help but notice that, since Obama’s team took over the White House, America’s reputation around the world has been shredded by inconsistent and bullying behavior. On top of that, the Mideast is in complete chaos. Syria is burning. Iran is building nuclear weapons. Violence is commonplace in Egypt, Iraq, and Libya. Parts of northern Africa are in open civil war.
And as for our U.S. Secretary of State? He’s busy pouring gasoline on the bonfire. God help us.

This commentary originally appeared at CapitolHillDaily.com and is reprinted here with permission.