by Uri Avnery
When a high-ranking official of one country calls the leader of another country „chickenshit“, it may be assumed that the relations between the two countries are not at their best. In fact, they may be considered somewhat less than cordial.
This week, It happened. An unnamed very high-ranking US official said this in an interview with the respected American journalist who bears the very Jewish name of Jeffrey Goldberg. No high-ranking official would use such a term for publication without the express permission of the President of the United States of America. So here we are.
History has seen many strange relationships between nations. But I dare say none stranger than that existing between Israel and the US. On the face of it, no two states could be closer to each other. Just a minor example: the day the memorable Chickenshit remark made headlines, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a resolution calling upon the US to put an end to its 50-year old embargo on Cuba. 188 countries, including the whole spectrum of EU and NATO countries, voted in favor. Two states voted against: the US and Israel.
Two countries against the entire world? No, not entirely. Micronesia, Palau and the Marshal Islands abstained. (These three mighty island nations generally support Israel, too, though few Israelis could place them on the map.) Weiterlesen