US Secretary of State John Kerry’s team is looking here in Israel for a university to host the secretary’s possible address to the nation. The idea that the secretary would address the Israeli public directly to convince it of the necessity of resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been in the making for the past few months and was first unveiled Jan. 30.

While a final decision has yet to be made, its necessity is nevertheless unquestionable. Polls in Israel indicate that Israelis have lost trust in the United States as the one that would safeguard the interests of the Jewish state in times of trouble. Some 70% of Israelis believe that the United States is not an honest broker. Incidentally, if similar polls had been conducted among the Palestinians, I would venture to say that an even larger Palestinian majority would have also said that Kerry was not an honest broker. If Israelis and Palestinians alike are convinced that the United States is leaning toward the other side, it's a sure sign that Kerry is in a good position. He apparently is doing something right. But would that cut the mustard? History and statistics suggest that it will not. In the Middle East, you will always come up short when trying to achieve something positive. But Kerry nevertheless remains adamant.

As this article was being written on Feb. 7 before noontime, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman was addressing the Commercial and Industrial Business Club in Tel Aviv. Much has been written about the Liberman of 2014 as being the responsible adult in the entire region and the main significant force in Netanyahu’s coalition that supports saying “yes” to Kerry. In his address, the foreign minister cemented his standing even further. His text might have well been signed by President Shimon Peres. This is what Evet (Liberman) had to say: “John Kerry is Israel’s true friend. I don’t think it is very wise to take friends and turn them into the enemy. When it comes to the American initiative, we have a rhetorical competition among us as to who is more blustery and blunt. … I see Minister of Economy and Trade Naftali Bennett darting toward the microphones, but I don’t see him dashing just as quickly toward the opposition. Kerry is leading the process correctly. … I am certainly in favor of an arrangement with the Palestinians but I am opposed to being a sucker. … Willingness such as we see in the moderate Arab world is something I do not recall. We have opportunities we never had before, and we must take advantage of them. The integrity of the people is more important than the integrity of the land.”

This is a seminal text. The new Liberman is moderate, astute, peace-seeking and a negotiations-monger. He has come to the realization that it is better to succeed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu than to be Bennett’s understudy.