If we can learn one thing from the apology of Israeli Defense Minister Moshe “Bogie” Ya’alon for the harsh remarks he leveled at US Secretary of State John Kerry, it’s that when America wants something, Israel has no way out of it. As in the crisis with Turkey after the violent clash on the Mavi Marmara ship in May 2010, this time as well, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ya’alon tried to evade the US request for an apology. But while in the Marmara episode it took Jerusalem three years and irreparable strategic damage for them to be convinced, last week it happened in less than a day.
Just as the administration in Washington demanded and received an explicit apology from the Israeli minister of defense, so can the president of the United States demand that the prime minister of Israel walk in the diplomatic path Kerry is charting. But if President Barack Obama displays the necessary decisiveness to force Israel to accept critical compromises to advance an arrangement with the Palestinians, he will also have to pay a heavy personal and political price. At this stage, it’s hard to believe that Obama is willing to withstand the heavy pressure that will be placed on him if he tries to twist Netanyahu’s arm at the moment of truth of the diplomatic process, and be dragged into a public confrontation with him.
