Kerry's Rage Against Israel

"John Kerry delivered a marathon speech Wednesday excoriating Israel for its settlements policy, and we hear Israeli TV stations dropped the live broadcast after the first half-hour. Who can blame them? If Israelis don't feel the need to sit through another verbal assault from the soon to be former Secretary of State, it's because they live in a reality he shows no evidence of comprehending...

In his speech, Mr. Kerry went out of his way to personalize his differences with current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, claiming he leads the 'most right-wing' coalition in Israeli history. But Israelis also remember that Mr. Netanyahu ordered a settlement freeze, and that also brought peace no closer.

The lesson is that Jewish settlements are not the main obstacle to peace. If they were, Gaza would be on its way to becoming the Costa Rica of the Mediterranean. The obstacle is Palestinian rejection of Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state in any borders. A Secretary of State who wishes to resolve the conflict could have started from that premise, while admonishing the Palestinians that they will never get a state so long as its primary purpose is the destruction of its neighbor.

But that Secretary isn't Mr. Kerry. Though he made passing references to Palestinian terror and incitement, the most he would say against it was that it "must stop." If the Administration has last-minute plans to back this hollow exhortation with a diplomatic effort at the U.N., we haven't heard about it.

Contrast this with last week's Security Council resolution, which the Obama Administration refused to veto and which substantively changes diplomatic understandings stretching to 1967...

The reality is that the resolution denies Israel legal claims to the land-including Jewish holy sites such as the Western Wall-while reversing the traditional land-for-peace formula that has been a cornerstone of U.S. diplomacy for almost 50 years. In the world of Resolution 2334, the land is no longer Israel's to trade for peace...

Mr. Kerry's speech was preceded by a tweet from Donald Trump telling Israel to 'stay strong' until he becomes President in 23 days. That's an encouraging sign that Mr. Trump understands that the first rule of diplomacy is to do right by your friends, especially when they are embattled and bullied democracies..."