The relationship between Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. president Barack Obama has been tense for a while now. Observers of the U.S. – Israel relationship say that there is no personal chemistry between the two leaders. The Israeli prime minister has gone as far as comparing the two leaders with an old couple that contradict each other at every step. On Tuesday, there has been another display of such tension between Obama and Netanyahu. One of Obama’s senior administration officials called Netanyahu a “chicken s**t”, who does not match his talk with his actions. According to Aaron David Miller, a former U.S. Middle East peace negotiator: “You have a dysfunctional relationship between Netanyahu and Obama”. Another pro-Israel senior official in Washington said: ” These guys don’t like each other, they don’t pretend to like each other”. When confronted with these statements, Netanyahu said he was not ready to make any kind of concession which might endanger Israel.
In the past, Israel’s leader insulted the White House. The tension got more intense last week when the White House did not allow Israel’s Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon to meet with Vice President Biden and the Secretary of State, John Kerry. The tension between Obama and Netanyahu seems to be rather personal. Journalists say there is an entire list of insults reported to have been aimed at Netanyahu over the years. Some of the adjectives which were used to describe him are: “recalcitrant”, “obtuse”, “pompous”, “reactionary”, “myopic”, “Aspergery”.
In 2011, Netanyahu lectured U.S. president Barack Obama in the Oval Office about the history of peace and told him not to form any sort of illusions. The very same year, Obama was heard on an open microphone while talking to the former French president Nicolas Sarkozy about Netanyahu: “You’re fed up with him? I have to deal with him every day”. Officials in Washington blamed Netanyahu for supporting Mitt Romney during Obama’s re-election campaign. Also, they dislike the manner in which Netanyahu seems to interfere in the politics of the U.S. through his ties to certain people in Congress. Another problem is the perception over the possible threat posed by Iran. For Barack Obama, the nuclear threat posed by Iran is just another issue which can be handled with discussions. On the other hand, Netanyahu believes he is the one who should protect Israel from any possible nuclear threat posed by Tehran. Israel is worried that Iran might have the materials and expertise to build a nuclear weapon. Netanyahu told Obama: “I fervently hope that under your leadership that will not happen”.