Just two weeks ago it appeared that the government of Israel had broken all records for megalomania and chutzpah. But now, several days after Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon on Jan. 14 called the secretary of state of the strongest world power “messianic and obsessive,” and suggested that John Kerry “leave us alone,” Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu broke the record.
On Jan. 17, Liberman urgently summoned the ambassadors of the four largest states in the European Union — Britain, France, Italy and Spain — to read them the riot act and preach ethics. It was a retaliatory act for the summoning of Israel’s ambassadors in London, Paris, Rome and Madrid for reprimands at the local foreign ministries. The four governments had dared to complain about new tenders issued for the construction of 1,400 housing units in West Bank settlements and in East Jerusalem.
