I’ll Do Just Fine Without Pressure

EVEN IF “I’ve said this to Abu Mazen many times” Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu recently told the foreign press. “Suppose we leave and we go back to the 1967 lines and there’s not a single Jew walking in any one of these communities. Would you then recognize the Jewish state?” (Photos: AFP/Imagebank Flash 90)

A s Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu took to the podium for what was billed as his annual Chanukah toast to the foreign press he told the crowd of 300 editors and reporters he was in a good mood. In Israel they call it matzav ruach tov slang for “I’m ready for whatever you toss at me.”

Two wine glasses placed near his microphone remained empty for the duration of the toast a short salutation that turned into a 45-minute news conference. After feeding the media the best beef the Inbal Hotel could offer at a pre-toast reception Netanyahu fed them his worldview for the champagne course a tippler in which Israel’s glass is not empty or even half-full. It’s full to the brim. Netanyahu hardly disguised his elation at the upcoming changing of the guard in Washington. “How’s Netanyahu going to deal with this when he’s not going to have massive pressure on him? Just fine. I mean that’s great. That’s an opportunity to actually pursue some new ideas which I intend to raise with Donald Trump when he’s in the White House to see how we can solve this conflict. One of the things we certainly have going for us is a new environment in the Middle East with the Arab world and we may be able to harness that reality for a sustainable solution.”

Since this was a gathering of foreign correspondents in Israel — not a conservative bunch — Netanyahu had to stay on his toes. His best riposte came in answer to a two-minute monologue masquerading as a question from Dan Perry AP’s Jerusalem text editor. Perry didn’t disguise his bias noting Israel’s 50-year “presence” in the West Bank and its “suicidal” policies that have created “irreversible” conditions there. Netanyahu leaned over one hand on the podium’s edge with a look of bemusement. He’s heard this all before and dished it back.