US Officials: Administration Denied Meetings to Unwelcome Israel DM

Ya'alon's Repeated Condemnation of Kerry Seen as Reason

Usually, Israeli officials arriving in DC get the royal treatment, and are whisked around the US capital to meet with every administration official and Congressman they possibly can.

Not so with Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, who was snubbed in attempts to get meetings with Secretary of State John Kerry and Vice President Joe Biden. Officials say the administration also tried to cancel Ya’alon’s meetings with Ambassador Susan Power, but the order arrived too late.

Officials familiar with the situation say that the administration was resigned to letting Ya’alon meet with his US counterpart, Chuck Hagel, but didn’t want him making the usual rounds elsewhere.

The reaction to Ya’alon’s visit is because the defense minister, a Likud Party hawk, repeatedly and angrily condemned Kerry as “Messianic” during failed peace talks, and officials are still resentful toward him because of it.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.