When generally wise and level-headed Israeli Ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren, declares that relations between the two countries are at a 35 year low point, a certain measure of concern seems warranted by even the most confident and optimistic among us. And those are the words Ambassador Oren used over the weekend when describing where things stand between the State of Israel and government of the United States.
In a conference call with the Israeli consuls general, Oren said that the current crisis was the most serious with the Americans since a confrontation between Henry Kissinger and Yitzhak Rabin in 1975 over an American demand for a partial withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula.
Not surprisingly, and perhaps accurately (though I am much less certain of this), the Wall Street Journal lays all the blame at President Obama’s feet in a very interesting article. And AIPAC, the leading advocate for a robust U.S. – Israel relationship, is also concerned. And while they too question some of the administration’s rhetoric, they do so somewhat more cautiously.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Josh Block
March 14, 2010 press@aipac.org
AIPAC CALLS RECENT STATEMENTS BY THE
U.S. GOVERNMENT
“A MATTER OF SERIOUS CONCERN”
URGES OBAMA ADMINISTRATION TO WORK TO IMMEDIATELY DIFFUSE THE TENSION WITH ISRAEL

The Obama Administration’s recent statements regarding the U.S. relationship with Israel are a matter of serious concern. AIPAC calls on the Administration to take immediate steps to diffuse the tension with the Jewish State.
Israel is America’s closest ally in the Middle East. The foundation of the U.S-Israel relationship is rooted in America’s fundamental strategic interest, shared democratic values, and a long-time commitment to peace in the region. Those strategic interests, which we share with Israel, extend to every facet of American life and our relationship with the Jewish State, which enjoys vast bipartisan support in Congress and among the American people.
The Administration should make a conscious effort to move away from public demands and unilateral deadlines directed at Israel, with whom the United States shares basic, fundamental, and strategic interests.
The escalated rhetoric of recent days only serves as a distraction from the substantive work that needs to be done to with regard to the urgent issue of Iran’s rapid pursuit of nuclear weapons, and the pursuit of peace between Israel and all her Arab neighbors.
We strongly urge the Administration to work closely and privately with our partner Israel, in a manner befitting strategic allies, to address any issues between the two governments.
As Vice President Biden said last week in Israel, “Progress in the Middle East occurs when there is no daylight between the United States and Israel.”

Whatever is going on, it seems to me that all parties should recall that no nation in the Middle East is more closely aligned with American values of democracy and freedom than Israel, and that Israel could not have a better friend than the United States. I hope that leaders on both side stay focused more on that than upon the issues which divide them at this moment.
I also hope that we learn from history and recall that the “1975 crisis” to which Ambassador Oren referred, led to the making of a lasting peace between Israel and Egypt. Since the conclusion of that treaty, Israel’s longest border has not seen war.
Sometimes the things which enrage us at one moment turn out to be sage advice; it just takes time to figure that out.