7-Feb-14: Still wondering how they can imagine in Washington that this is the way to make peace happen

Ambassador Susan Rice and Secretary John Kerry [Image Source: AP]

This past Tuesday, Susan Rice, the National Security Advisor and a former Ambassador to the UN

launched a full-scale Twitter defense of John Kerry, as the secretary of state takes flak for his criticism of Israel. Calling critiques of the U.S. statesman “totally unfounded and unacceptable,” Rice posted four consecutive tweets on Monday night that praised Kerry’s record and affirmed the Obama peace policy concerning Israel and Palestine... "Personal attacks in Israel directed at Sec Kerry totally unfounded and unacceptable..." [New York Daily News]

With Ms Rice's robust defence in mind, David Horovitz who founded and edits Times of Israel published a biting analysis of the current US program for bringing peace to our neighbourhood and of the people driving it. Like many Israelis, he appears to have been struck by Kerry's resort to what he politely terms "an anguished public prediction" of "what awaits Israel if his peace effort fails", reminding us that no matter the substance behind the perception, Israel and not the Arab side will be held to account if the current process ends in failure.

POTUS and Sec Kerry remain committed to negotiations that can secure Israeli and Palestinian futures.
— Susan Rice (@AmbassadorRice) February 4, 2014

That outcome is, by the way, the overwhelming expectation over here, in case that's not already obvious.

You don't have to agree with every word of David Horovitz' opinion piece to feel comfortable with his conclusions. He ends Wednesday's "The petulant Secretary Kerry" with this:

...Good diplomacy, centrally, involves taking practical steps to marginalize those outside powers that relentlessly foster extremism and terrorism and violence — those enemies of peaceful co-existence — led by Iran. The Obama administration failed the people of Iran when they tried to rise up against their regime. It has failed to protect the people of Syria from slaughter. It has offered no coherent guidance to would-be democrats in Egypt.
And its latest diplomatic “achievement” has set Iran more firmly than ever on its path to nuclear threshold status — allowed to enrich uranium, allowed to improve its technology for enrichment, allowed to continue its weaponization and missile development programs. The Iranians came to the table desperate, and you, Mr. Secretary, sent them home crowing — failing to use your authority and influence to force their admission that they were working toward the bomb and to ensure they were halted. In short, the most profound concerns that Israelis have about the fragility of their security and prosperity stem somewhat less from their failures, Mr. Secretary, than from yours.

And a reminder of something Kerry said at the Munich Security Conference last Saturday that got many people on our side thinking:

"You see, for Israel, there’s an increasing delegitimization campaign that has been building up. People are very sensitive to it. There is talk of boycotts and other kinds of things. Are we all going to be better with all of that? ...The fact is the status quo will change if there is failure [in the peace talks]. So everybody has a stake in trying to find the pathway to success..." [NY Times]

At this point, can we suggest going back to the source and reading how David Horovitz gets to his final paragraphs?

This also seems like an appropriate moment to once again air our own deep concerns about John Kerry's personal and professional approaches (we wonder whether one differs from the other) to terrorism and terrorists. 

We offer some links to several Kerry-related posts published on this blog (not all of them, by any means). Until today, every last one of them, along with a letter we delivered to the State Department, have managed to elicit zero response from the State Department's numerous spokespersons in Washington. (The list here goes from from oldest to newest):

• 14-Aug-13: Are the Palestinian Arab murderers who are being released at this moment, freedom fighters or terrorists? Let's check with the State Department
• 19-Aug-13: Is the US State Department breaching its own policy on Palestinian Arab terrorists?
• 25-Aug-13: Wake up call for those who thought the terrorists are walking free for peace
• 21-Oct-13: Incredibly, maddeningly, convicted terrorists are about to be freed again
• 28-Oct-13: A moment before more terrorist beasts are freed, questions for the State Department
• 30-Oct-13: The bogus manufacture of heroes and legends
• 1-Nov-13: Still waiting for State
• 17-Nov-13: Is Washington going to make up its mind whether it sees the killers as freedom fighters or as terrorists?
• 5-Dec-13: Welcome to Jerusalem, Mr Kerry. A moment of your time please.
• 10-Dec-13: Can Kerry and his State Department colleagues not hear what's being said clearly in Arabic? 
• 12-Dec-13: For those who think freeing convicted killers brings lasting peace, another wake-up call
• 15-Dec-13: Confirmed by Kerry: More unrepentant killers to walk free in two weeks
• 29-Dec-13: Tweeting with the State Department
• 31-Dec-13: What is it about US policy that fails to understand the Hamas factor?
• 12-Jan-14: Finally, fully justified outrage from State Department about killers being released to do more terrorism
• 16-Jan-14: Offensive, inappropriate and dangerously, undiplomatically inconsistent
• 2-Feb-14: Reflecting on a momentary slip by the Secretary of State
• 5-Feb-14: Behind careless throw-away statements of politicians, the overlooked humans and their actual lives

We are as aware as our readers are that we are neither political figures nor elected leaders. But though our criticism sticks to what we regard as humanitarian matters, and even though we speak as ordinary citizens (with this small difference, that our murdered daughter Malki held US citizenship), we continue to believe we are making serious points that even the Secretary of State of the US, or one of his many staffers, ought to take out a moment to answer in a respectful and unspun way.