Secretary of State John Kerry must be really desperate to win the Nobel Peace Prize. So much so, he seems willing to continually force the state of Israel into untenable positions that put its security at risk.
On this very topic last month, Israeli Minister of Defense Moshe Yaalon said Kerry "came here very determined and operates based upon an unfathomable obsession and Messianic feeling . . .
"Throughout the recent months, there is no negotiation between us and the Palestinians, but rather between us and the Americans. The only thing that can 'save' us is that John Kerry will get a Nobel Peace Prize and leave us alone."
The Obama White House in turn has resorted to the Internet as a diplomatic tool to defend their narcissistic secretary of state. "Personal attacks in Israel directed at Sec Kerry totally unfounded and unacceptable," tweeted National Security Advisor Susan Rice.
While Yaalon was forced to apologize, it didn't make what he said less truthful. His choice of words may not have been diplomatic — or, to his credit, subservient — but Yaalon framed the issue perfectly.
Many who know Kerry consider him a glory hound in search of titles, trophies and acclaim. It can be rightfully argued that he knows that the Nobel Prize committee is made up of far-left members and awards its now-tarnished "prize" to like-minded liberals.
Look no further than the Nobel given to Al Gore, which helped him accumulate his $100 million-plus fortune and, in the most telling and embarrassing moment for the committee, the prize given to Barack Obama for doing ... nothing. "So soon?" was former Nobel Prize winner Lech Walesa's reaction when Obama's prize was announced: "He has no contribution so far."
With Kerry's multiple trips to the Mideast to "broker a peace" between Israelis and Palestinians, the U.S. is no doubt trying to weaken the position of Israel and that, as Yaalon honestly put it, we are "negotiating" with Israel only.
Now Kerry's dialing up the rhetoric against Israel in a push to get noticed by the Nobel committee. In Munich over the weekend, he said: "You see, for Israel there's an increasing de-legitimization campaign that has been building up. People are very sensitive to it. There are talk of boycotts and other kinds of things. Are we all going to be better with all of that?"
Leaders in Israel immediately condemned Kerry's inarticulate and insulting remarks. Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz called them "offensive and unacceptable," and Economy Minister Naftali Bennett said Israelis expect their friends around the world "to stand beside us, against anti-Semitic boycott efforts targeting Israel, and not for them to be their amplifier."
Bennett was referring to bigoted boycotts such as one endorsed by an obscure group called "The American Studies Association"(ASA). Like ignorant "celebrities" in Hollywood, this association of "academics" has decided to heed "the call of Palestinian civil society for a boycott of Israeli academic institutions."
It doesn't seem to keep up on current events, however. If it did, it might note the atrocities practiced by the governments of Syria, Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey or North Korea, to name but a few countries where you are routinely persecuted, tortured or executed for being female, gay, Christian, the wrong kind of Muslim or just a relative suddenly out of favor.
I spent three years at the Pentagon working with the Israeli Defense Forces and fully understand and embrace the very special relationship we have with one of our best allies in the world.
That said, as a human being and as someone who grew up in poverty, I want the children and the innocents of the world — be they Palestinians or whatever — to live in peace, health and freedom.
But unlike those associated with this ASA, I know such a wish will never be realized if the truth is ignored in favor of a dishonest and dishonorable agenda. The truth here is that the vast majority of children and adults now being persecuted, tortured, driven from their homes or executed around the world are victims of the "leadership" of their own nations.
As Secretary Kerry shamelessly panders for a Nobel Prize, maybe he, the White House and our own State Department need to be reminded that Israel is surrounded by nations that want to exterminate their people and wipe the country from the face of the Earth.