Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has grown increasingly critical of the Obama administration, leading at least one Israeli opposition leader to suggest that he might be looking to oust President Obama and install Mitt Romney into the White House.
Huffpost Live's Ahmed Shihab-Eldin discusses whether the Romney-Netanyahu alliance is getting closer and what that might mean for the United States' role in the Israeli-Palestine conflict, and asks if the Israeli Prime Minster should be choosing sides in the U.S. presidential election in the first place.
Aaron David Miller, scholar at Woodrow Wilson Center who has advised six former Secretaries of State on Israel-Palestine negotiations said Netanyahu trying to influence the U.S. elections is nothing new.
"Israelis and Americans have been interviewing in each other's politics for 30 or 40 years...if the Prime Minister is seriously trying to turn or transform the election, it's clear he would prefer Mitt Romney as President," Miller said on HuffPost Live.
Daniel Levy, Middle East Director at European Council on Foreign Relations in London and former Special Advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak believes Israel cannot sustain bipartisan support for its policies which seem to be moving away from the mainstream Democratic position.
"I think [Netanyahu] understands that making that cause a bipartisan cause with deep roots of shared values on both sides of the American political divide is over time going to be an increasingly difficult stretch," he said. "I think that is why, amongst other things, he has a clear preference on the Republican side."
Rashid Khalidi, historian and Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University, added that he doesn't think Obama will invest very much in the issue, assuming he is reelected, because "there is no pressure on him to do the right thing."
"Pressure in politics means money, votes, the media," Khalidi said. "Where's the media on this? We're on Huffington Post Live. A lot of people are watching this. A lot of young people are watching this. In five years, in ten years, there's an enormous change coming. Among the Jewish community, among the kids, things are very different than the older generation. But that's five years down the pipe. A politician doesn't look five weeks down."
Huffpost Live's Ahmed Shihab-Eldin discusses whether the Romney-Netanyahu alliance is getting closer and what that might mean for the United States' role in the Israeli-Palestine conflict, and asks if the Israeli Prime Minster should be choosing sides in the U.S. presidential election in the first place.
Aaron David Miller, scholar at Woodrow Wilson Center who has advised six former Secretaries of State on Israel-Palestine negotiations said Netanyahu trying to influence the U.S. elections is nothing new.
"Israelis and Americans have been interviewing in each other's politics for 30 or 40 years...if the Prime Minister is seriously trying to turn or transform the election, it's clear he would prefer Mitt Romney as President," Miller said on HuffPost Live.
Daniel Levy, Middle East Director at European Council on Foreign Relations in London and former Special Advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak believes Israel cannot sustain bipartisan support for its policies which seem to be moving away from the mainstream Democratic position.
"I think [Netanyahu] understands that making that cause a bipartisan cause with deep roots of shared values on both sides of the American political divide is over time going to be an increasingly difficult stretch," he said. "I think that is why, amongst other things, he has a clear preference on the Republican side."
Rashid Khalidi, historian and Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University, added that he doesn't think Obama will invest very much in the issue, assuming he is reelected, because "there is no pressure on him to do the right thing."
"Pressure in politics means money, votes, the media," Khalidi said. "Where's the media on this? We're on Huffington Post Live. A lot of people are watching this. A lot of young people are watching this. In five years, in ten years, there's an enormous change coming. Among the Jewish community, among the kids, things are very different than the older generation. But that's five years down the pipe. A politician doesn't look five weeks down."
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