Kerry Cancelled Israel Trip Due to Hagel Confirmation Delay

Although he had previously said that he would visit Israel on his first foreign trip as Secretary of State, John Kerry's office now announced that he will bypassing Israel. Instead he will visiting Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi on this trip and will possibly come to Israel when President Obama comes at the end of March. The administration seems unconcerned that they will be once again criticized for visiting Israel's neighbors and not Israel.

The official reason for the delay is that Israel has not formally formed a new government after the election. This may be a fig leaf. There is no doubt that current Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu will head the next Israeli government with HaTnua leader Tzipi Livni joining the government this weekend.

According to staffers in Defense Secretary Ehud Barak's bureau, the real reason for the postponement is the logjam on Capital Hill over the Chuck Hagel confirmation as Secretary of Defense. 

"The American Secretary of Defense is more important to Israel than the Secretary of State. The Iron Dome is more essential to the survival of Israel than fruitless negotiations with the Palestinian Authority," said one staffer. "Both sides want to talk about the next round of defense purchases."

Republicans have alleged the damage caused by the delay in the eventual Hagel confirmation is minimal. The Kerry postponement proves that this is not true. Their political games are having real world consequences and could affect Israel, one of America's most important allies. 

Former Defense Secretary Gates Talks Israel

Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, while at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia to receive the Liberty Medal, criticized Israel again, but is opposed to the unilateral declaration of of Palestinian statehood at the United Nations. Gates, who is the first US Secretary of Defense to visit Ramallah, said, "Israel is now alone in the Middle East. Israel has made mistakes. They are having trouble with Egypt. They have alienated Turkey. They assassinated a Hamas leader in the United Arab Emirates."

He blamed their isolation on the settlements. He explained, "The Arabs are angry about the settlements. Every American President  has urged stopping the settlements because each new settlement makes it harder to define the borders."

He dismissed concerns about the right wing coalition of Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu. "I have known Netanyahu since 1990: Barak since he was chief of staff of the Army. I was with Carter at the Camp David Talks. In my five decades of dealing with Israel, I have seen that peace can only take a major step forward on the Israeli side with conservative leaders -(Menachem) Begin, (Yitzhak)Shamir, (Ariel)Sharon before his stroke."

Gates, who has taken the oath to protect the Constitution 7 times, believes that there can only be progress in the peace negotiations "with aggressive American leadership."

When asked about the upcoming vote on the  unilateral declaration of Palestinian statehood, Gates responds, "You have to ask if this advances or hurt the cause of peace. It hurts."

He continued, "Which set of  Palestinians  does this represent? Is it the West Bank, where the Palestinian Authority is in control and security forces have been trained by the US and cooperate with Israel. Or Gaza, which wants the destruction of Israel."

As for Hezbollah, he reminded the audience that "they had more rockets than most countries."