The Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah on Oct. 16-17 was an especially joyous one for the Republican group led by the pro-Israel lobby American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Casino tycoon Sheldon Adelson and his wife Miriam, among Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s biggest supporters, likely rubbed their hands in glee at hearing US Secretary of State John Kerry’s address on Oct. 16, on the occasion of Eid al-Adha. The gift they got from the Obama administration went far beyond any expectations.

Kerry could not claim in his defense that the link he made between the Jewish state and the Islamic State (IS) was an “unfortunate slip of the tongue.” The argument that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict “fuels” the recruitment of young people to the ranks of IS and stirs “agitation” on the Arab street was a recurring refrain in Kerry’s speech.

This time, Netanyahu chose, rightly so from his point of view, to practice restraint in light of Kerry's comments. After all, the words spoke for themselves. More to the point, they served his conservative political friends in the United States. Kerry provided the Republicans with new ammunition for the battle that will be waged on Nov. 4 against President Obama’s party. Netanyahu knows that even the Democratic Party’s most fervent supporters in the Jewish community find it hard to digest this bitter concoction mixing the Israeli occupation and that of IS.

As it is, polls indicate that in the coming two years Netanyahu will most probably be able to enjoy his favorite game: enlisting an energetic Republican US Congress to block any attempt by a Democratic administration to pressure Israel, and to impose a US policy suitable to the interests of the Israeli right. Generally, these interests are blatantly opposed to those of the United States in the Middle East.