Lat week, the USA State Department weighed in on the shake up in Israel’s cabinet.
“We have also seen reports from Israel describing it as the most right-wing coalition in Israel’s history,” Mark Toner, a State Department spokesman, said. “This raises legitimate questions about the direction it may be headed in.”
The State Department was referring to Bibi Netanyahu’s inclusion of right wing nationalist party Israel Our Home into the government coalition. The move saw the Prime Minister replace Moshe “Bogie” Ya’alon with Russian Firebrand Avigdor Lieberman as Defense Minister.
The real question though, is given the massive shift in the last elections to the right in Israel, the American government should take a step back before meddling in Israeli internal politics as they often do.
During the last Israeli elections the left wing saw a massive influx of cash through backdoor avenues from the State Department. In most countries that would be a crime. As Israel and America increasingly find themselves moving farther apart, Israel has staked out new partners in the emerging economies of Asia and Africa. With antagonism from Foggy Bottom only increasing, one should expect this trend to continue.