Obama: Disagreements with Israel Carries 'Domestic Political Cost'

According to excerpts published by Jewish Insider, Obama wrote that American politicians who "criticized Israel policy too loudly risked being tagged as 'anti-Israel' (and possibly anti-Semitic) and (were) confronted with a well-funded opponent in the next election".

The book, part of a two-volume set in which Obama reflects on his eight years in the White House, is scheduled to come out next week.

In the memoir, the former US president describes the challenges in his relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The report said that Obama accuses the Israeli leader of having a "vision of himself as the chief defender of the Jewish people" that "allowed him to justify almost anything that would keep him in power".

Obama also hits out at the powerful pro-Israel lobby, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), saying that the group moved to the right ideologically to mirror Netanyahu's regime and defended Israel even when its actions "were contrary to US policy".

The former US president also revealed that he faced pushback from his own party when criticizing Israel settlement activity.

Obama writes that while congressional Republicans simply did not care about the rights of Palestinians, their Democratic counterparts were "worried" about angering AIPAC and losing its support.

Obama adds that pro-Israel pressure on his administration was "orchestrated" by Netanyahu to remind the US president that "normal policy differences with an Israeli prime minister exacted a domestic political cost".

During his two terms in the White House, Obama increased US military aid to Israel despite verbally condemning Netanyahu’s policies, including settlement activity.

The former US president and the Israeli premier endured a challenging personal relationship. Their disagreements came to the forefront in 2015, when Netanyahu addressed a joint session of Congress and failed to coordinate with the White House in breach of diplomatic protocols.

In Obama's final year in office, AIPAC spearheaded a campaign against the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers that was negotiated by his administration.

President-elect Joe Biden has vowed to return to the accord, which President Donald Trump abandoned in 2018.

source tasnimnews