Washington is in a tizzy. On Friday, March 21, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters at her daily briefing that the United States was “disappointed with the lack of an apology from Defense Minister [Moshe] Ya'alon” for his latest remarks. Ya’alon said on March 17 that the Obama administration’s handling of the crises in Ukraine and the Middle East signaled weakness, and expressed disrespect for US security aid to Israel. The spokeswoman stressed that Ya’alon’s words did not accurately reflect the close ties between the United States and Israel. The next day, a senior administration official said that Washington wasn't satisfied with the clarification call of Ya’alon to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.
The US reaction to the insults Ya’alon hurled in January at Secretary of State John Kerry, describing him as “obsessive” and “messianic,” was no less pointed. In her daily briefing at the time, Psaki’s deputy, Marie Harf, described Ya’alon’s comments as “offensive and inappropriate,” saying they were “not something we would expect from the defense minister of a close ally.” White House spokesman Jay Carney made similar comments the same day.
