Israeli settlements, U.S. policy: The gap between values and actions

[Jefferson23]

The only thing odder than Netanyahu’s “un-American” comment is the White House’s response.

Although the latest Israeli announcement of settlement expansion in East Jerusalem drew the usual verbal slap on the wrist from the U.S., the media didn’t make much of it – until, that is, when Prime Minister Netanyahu decided to call that criticism un-American on American TV.
The White House of course felt compelled to respond. On Monday Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest called Netanyahu’s choice of words “odd” – another in a series of adjectives that U.S. government spokespersons pull from their thesaurus to show their dismay at Israel’s settlement enterprise.

It did seem odd for him to try to defend the actions of his government by saying that our response does not reflect American values…The fact is, when it comes to American values, it’s American values that lend this country’s unwavering support to Israel. It’s American values that have led us to fight for and secure funding to strengthen Israel’s security in tangible ways.

While media headlines called this a harsh response, even if you understand Earnest’s use of the term “odd” as somewhat facetious, his comments were not harsh as much as telling of the dynamic of the U.S.-Israel relationship over the last few decades and certainly between Netanyahu and Obama in recent years.

http://972mag.com/israeli-settlements-u-s-policy-the-gap-between-values-and-actions/97442/