President Obama has a couple more weeks in the White House before President-Elect Trump’s inauguration on January 20. Even though President Obama is a “lame duck” President, it is not stopping him and his administration from making questionable decisions in which the new Trump administration will have to deal with the consequences. Depending on what choices are made in the coming weeks, the Obama administration may not be making the transition for the Trump administration an easy one. Some choices that have been made may be able to be reversed but some that are unforeseen may be harder to correct.
One contentious decision made by the current administration occurred a little over a week ago. On the 23 of December, the United Nations held a vote on a resolution that stated the Israeli settlements that were created in Palestinian territory fifty years ago, and since then, are illegal. Rather than vote for or against the resolution, the Obama administration decided to abstain. Considering the United States is one of five nations in the United Nations that has veto power, the resolution could have died on the floor. Instead, the resolution passed and the United Nations has condemned Israel and stated the settlements in the Palestinian territory violate international law.
Whether people agree with the decision or not, it’s not hard to know or see that this has strained and will strain the United States’ relationship with Israel. To add insult to injury, five days later Secretary of State John Kerry delivered a seventy-minute speech that spent a majority of the time attacking Israel and the current Israeli administration. Kerry called the Israeli government “the most right-wing in Israeli history, with an agenda driven by the most extreme elements.”
According to Kerry, the duly-elected government of Israel is so "right wing and extreme" they are basically the equivalent of Hamas?
— Victoria Coates (@VictoriaCoates) December">https://twitter.com/VictoriaCoates/status/81414920... 28, 2016
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu did not take kindly to Secretary Kerry’s speech and delivered a blistering speech of his own that voiced his disappointment in the Obama administration. Prime Minister Netanyahu reiterated and confidently told the world that Israel is a sovereign nation and that no other nation or entity is going to dictate how Israel governs or how Israel determines its own borders.
Throughout President Obama’s two terms in office, the relationship between the United States and Israel has been inimical. There are myriad examples in which the U.S. has undermined Israel. Choosing to abstain on the United Nations resolution is another such example.
A few days after the U.N. resolution passed, Israeli officials stated that they have evidence that the U.S. pushed for the resolution in the United Nations and wanted it to pass even though the administration wanted to appear indifferent. If true, this should come as no surprise to anyone.
While this administration has not been particularly friendly to Israel, Israel and the United States should see an improved relationship with President-Elect Trump in office. After the resolution passed, as he usually does when news breaks or a major point of discussion arises in the news cycle, President-Elect Trump took to Twitter to voice his support for the only democracy in the Middle East:
We cannot continue to let Israel be treated with such total disdain and disrespect. They used to have a great friend in the U.S., but.......
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December">https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/8141136... 28, 2016
not anymore. The beginning of the end was the horrible Iran deal, and now this (U.N.)! Stay strong Israel, January 20th is fast approaching!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December">https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/8141149... 28, 2016
Not all Americans are supportive of Donald Trump and people may or may not like some of his Cabinet picks or policies. However, one thing all Americans can appreciate is a President who is a loyal ally to another democratic nation. The United States’ relationship with Israel will undoubtedly grow stronger over the next four years with Donald Trump in the White House and America should look forward to the good that comes from it.
As to the U.N., things will be different after Jan. 20th.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December">https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/8123909... 23, 2016
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