Exactly at the time when US President Barack Obama was holding the traditional Thanksgiving dinner, Minister Limor Livnat was speaking in Beersheba and badmouthing the American Administration.
We have never faced such terrible US Administration, she said.
Never before has an Israeli minister spoken out about the American government that way; at least not publicly.
It is doubtful whether President Obama or any of his associates even know who Limor Livnat is. However, what Obama does know, just like Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak know it, is that the US is the number one ingredient in Israel’s national security.
The IDF’s combat doctrine and Israel’s defense strategy are premised on this ingredient. Israel’s ability to fly high above Tehran and Damascus is also premised on this element.
It is not the occupied territories that grant Israel the strategic depth it needs, but rather, the American cargo planes that transport spare parts for our F-16 fighter jets with the accuracy of a Swiss clockwork that do it.
It is also about the intelligence cooperation in uncovering weapons of mass destruction at the hands of hostile states. Of course, there is alaso the largely automatic American stance by Israel’s side when United Nations members try to pass resolutions against it.
All of the above assets are made available to Israel by the US regardless of the identity of the president in the White House.
Without the US by its side, Israel will not benefit from a few more acres beyond the Green Line or from the settlers who built their homes on that land.
It is doubtful whether President Obama was overly upset by the words uttered by Limor Livnat last week, but he likely noted to himself that had a minor minister in his cabinet dared say similar things about the Israeli prime minister, it would prompt a major outcry.
PM Netanyahu was the one who appointed Livnat as a minister in his government. Now, he will have to clean up after her.
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