Is there any connection between the Obama Administration’s policy on Israel and its push to close the deal on health care reform?
David Schenker, a fellow at the hawkish Washington Institute for Near East Policy, suggested during a TV appearance earlier this week that the administration’s push to finish health care bill would lead to a quick end to the showdown over Israel’s decision to build 1,600 new housing units for Jews in East Jerusalem.
The Obama Administration reacted with public anger after Israel made the settlement announcement last week during a visit by Vice President Joe Biden.
Biden quickly issued a statement condemning the move, and that was followed by several similar comments by administration officials. On Sunday, David Axelrod called the development an “affront” and an “insult.”
That was the context for a discussion on Monday featuring Schenker and several other experts on Alhurra, the US-sponsored Arabic language satellite station.
The host of the program asked Schenker if he thought Iran was gratified by the disagreement between the United States and Israel on the settlements issue.
Schenker replied:
“I’m sure that they’re pleased with it. But I don’t really think this will last very long, primarily for political reasons. President Obama has mid-term elections coming up. He doesn’t want these congressmen to be seen as being allied with an anti-Israel president. He’s also asking these congressmen to back a very unpopular health care bill. This is not a winning political issue right now. ”
(The video can be seen here; the exchange begins a bit before the halfway mark. There is a loud Arabic voiceover that makes the English difficult to hear.)
Steve Clemons of the New America Foundation, who was on the same Alhurra segment, seized on Schenker’s remarks, writing in a blog post that, “Any US Congressperson or Senator who actually explicitly withdrew or withheld support for health care reform because of loyalty first to Israel and its needs would invite serious questions about his or her patriotism and oath to the US Constitution and American people.”
Schenker, in response to Clemons’ post, wrote:
I was surprised that you implied that I said the crisis with Israel would cause Congressmen or Senators to explicitly withdraw support for health care reform.
I didn’t say that. What I did was point out the obvious domestic political implications that Democrats could face-in addition to their current problems-in light of the very public row with Israel, especially one concerning the disposition of Jerusalem. Considerations like the mid-term elections and controversial health care legislation, I said, would likely lead the Administration to try and end the very public spat with Israel sooner rather than later.
In the days after the Monday Alhurra program, public US criticism of the Israeli move died down and the Netanyahu government has not canceled the East Jerusalem project, despite a demand from the Obama Administration.
The push to finish the health care bill has heated up, with the administration scrambling for every vote, and a final vote in the House expected Sunday.
Schenker has not responded to our request for comment.
