Diplomacy for Dunces

Israel’s government seems to have a problem with presenting its concerns prudently.

Where are the days of great Israeli diplomacy? Whence the days of Abba Eban as first emissary of his country before the United Nations, who later, as Foreign Minister, eloquently presented Israel’s concerns with extraordinary linguistic ability and brilliant rhetoric? What happened to the days when even hard-liners like Menachem Begin and Yitzhak Rabin agreed that the road to peace also required painful compromises at times?

These days, it seems diplomatic skill and political responsibility have taken leave of Israel. First, Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon got the ridiculously childish notion of refusing to shake hands with the Turkish Ambassador, provide him with a glass of water or grant him an appropriately high seat at the negotiating table — and then leaked all the details to a fired-up press corps.

Now they’ve dealt their most important ally, the United States, a slap in the face. Just as Vice-President Joe Biden was actively seeking new Middle East peace negotiations, Israel announced plans to expand settlements by 1,600 new housing units in East Jerusalem. Israel now calls announcing that decision in the midst of Biden’s visit “an unfortunate oversight.” The timing really was a great “masterpiece,” but timing aside, the fact remains that expanding settlements in East Jerusalem has nothing to do with responsible, much less brilliant, diplomacy.