Welcome to Israel, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
On Monday, you arrived in Jerusalem to meet with the political leadership of the most racist and extremist government Israel has ever had. We never imagined such a scene of horror, but unfortunately this is no movie – it’s a bleak, upsetting reality that’s already impacting the entire fabric of Israeli society.
in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa and other cities. They looked to you, Mr. Secretary, with great hope – perhaps too great, but that’s all that’s left. The ship is sinking into a black, cruel sea, while the captain, his deputies and his partners continue to pull it toward the darkest depths in their march of folly.
And we on board, though filled with faith in our country, see no lifeboats anywhere: in neither the divided and dysfunctional, even embarrassing, opposition nor the institution of the presidency, which is exploring pathetic and completely hopeless initiatives that may only contribute to the destructive changes to the justice system. Demonstrations and petitions are all we have in our arsenal. Where will our salvation come from?
Mr. Secretary of State, your meeting with your Israeli counterpart, Eli Cohen, took place as his ministry is in its final dying stages. The Israeli Foreign Ministry was once an important and prestigious office. It has now been pushed to the fringes of diplomatic activity, including, of course, in relations with Washington.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) shakes hands with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen at a press conference, Monday.Credit: Ohad Zwigenberg
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is happy about this, as it has long been his ambition to strip the Foreign Ministry of its main assets and scatter them among his minions. This mission is nearly complete. Politicians are now involved in every aspect of Israel’s foreign relations. The professional diplomats are a mere statistic.
Your Israeli “counterpart” has zero experience in foreign affairs, and was therefore deemed perfectly suitable for the position. And Cohen is well aware that he is light years away from being what David Levy once aspired to be: “an out-and-out foreign minister.” Today the foreign minister is, at best, a quarter of a minister.
Cohen also knows that his ministry has four pallbearers: Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer; Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli; Public Diplomacy Minister Galit Distal Atbaryan; and Intelligence Minister Gila Gamliel. Don’t worry, Israelis in peril around the globe – from backpackers in Peru to travelers caught up in natural disasters in the Philippines – will always have the Foreign Ministry to turn to. The situation room is ready to leap into action.
Mr. Blinken, having been briefed in very close detail (you have an excellent and very involved ambassador here), in your meetings here you have raised the concerns of Jordanian King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Abdel-Fatah al-Sissi, two vital U.S. allies who are contending with major domestic challenges, as well as the necessity of the two-state solution.
You also spoke of upholding the status quo in Jerusalem, about strengthening Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority, and about the situation in the West Bank in general. Netanyahu regaled you with endless talk about the Abraham Accords and Iran, complete with all sorts of “convincing” presentations.
But what about the issues of burning importance to us? The things that are keeping us awake at night? What about the dismantling of Israeli democracy? The “judicial revolution”? What about preserving minority rights? Are these the “internal affairs” of the country that is hosting you? A country that receives incredibly generous military aid from your country, as well as absolutely vital diplomatic support? Isn’t it your duty to warn Netanyahu with all the necessary severity of the destructive regional implications of all this?
Mr. Secretary, one of your predecessors, Madeleine Albright, knew how to pound the table when necessary. Another U.S. secretary of state, James Baker, gave his phone number to Jerusalem, should the Israeli government come to its senses.
Most of us are full of admiration and gratitude for all the U.S. has done and continues to do to support and strengthen Israel. America, and only America, not any European country, has the ability and the means to halt this power-drunk government, which lost all inhibitions and shame the moment it was sworn in.
The writer is a retired ambassador and former inspector general of Israel’s foreign service.