Remember when Obama said he would not meet with Netanyahu during his upcoming visit to Washington DC, because it was “too close to the upcoming Israeli elections” ?
So, what were Biden and Kerry doing when they met Isaac Herzog, Netanyahu’s chief political rival, in Munich on Saturday?
Via Jewish Press: No White House Worries Over ‘Election Proximity’ with Herzog
Is the Obama administration tampering with Israel’s electoral process? Top U.S. officials met on Saturday in Munich with opposition leader and Labor party chairman Isaac Herzog, a candidate in the upcoming election.
…Obama and senior White House staff repeatedly have claimed the upcoming Israeli national elections were too close to allow American administration officials to meet with Israeli candidates, including the prime minister.
Just a matter of policy, after all.
So how does that fit with a meeting between Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State John Kerry, and Isaac Herzog? Of course, the meeting was not “formally” scheduled and there were no photo ops….
Following the talks in Munich, Herzog told Israel’s Channel 10 news that Netanyahu “won’t get to meet with a single American official on this visit – not from the National Security Agency, not from the White House, not from the State Department. It’s a complete boycott. Even if that’s not stated, that’s the story.”
And what a story it is. A complete endorsement of Labor party candidate Isaac Herzog, for whom the White House is clearly campaigning…
Related:
Jerusalem Post: Israeli officials: Netanyahu to give speech to Congress as planned
Yahoo News: Ire over Netanyahu’s speech, but Dems hope to limit fallout
So, what were Biden and Kerry doing when they met Isaac Herzog, Netanyahu’s chief political rival, in Munich on Saturday?
Obviously to sway the election against Bibi…that is an easy answer.
If you like your Prime Minister, you can keep your Prime Minister.
You might hear that Bibi is not agreeing to TV debate with Herzog (True). A parliamentary system doesn’t lend itself to pre-election debates like our electoral college Presidential system does, and here is some additional relative background; “…The last such debate took place in Israel prior to the 1999 elections, and was held between Netanyahu and Yitzhak Mordechai, after which Ehud Barak was elected, who refused to take part in the debate….”
http://jpupdates.com/2015/02/09/zionist-camp-pressing-hard-televised-debates-bibi-says/
“…top US officials…” Yeah right. More likely they were breaking in a new clown car.