Likud MK Danny Danon delivered an impassioned argument that when it comes to
American politics, he is bipartisan.
Then he undermined what he said
completely when he was brought his lunch.
Danon helped organize visits to
Israel of conservatives Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee, and held a
high-profile press conference in New York last month with leading Republican
presidential candidate Rick Perry.
But in an interview at a popular
Jerusalem waffle bar, the legislator, who may be Israel’s most vocal critic of
US President Barack Obama, said he had also held events with top pro-Israel
Democrats, including Congressman Elliot Engel of New York.
Then Danon was
served his waffle with ice cream on the side and he proceeded to eat the ice
cream – with a knife and fork.
So much for not being a
Republican.
The press conference with Perry raised eyebrows in the Prime
Minister’s Office and the White House. In an interview with CNN, Prime Minister
Binyamin Netanyahu was asked by Wolf Blitzer whether he was aware of the press
conference beforehand and approved of it.
“A member of your party, the
deputy Knesset speaker, a member of Likud, came and stood next to Rick Perry on
the eve of President Obama’s speech at the UN General Assembly and effectively
endorsed, got involved in domestic American politics,” Blitzer blitzed
Netanyahu.
Netanyahu responded that had he known, he would have told
Danon to “stay out of American politics.” Danon revealed that people close to
Netanyahu had told him that the press conference didn’t really bother the prime
minister. He said Netanyahu realized the press conference effectively
counter-balanced former US president Bill Clinton’s criticism of him the same
week.
“My interviews and the press conference weren’t coordinated with
the prime minister, and he didn’t send me, but the result of my activity
strengthened both Netanyahu and the State of Israel,” Danon said. “I think the
prime minister appreciates what I did at the UN and the continuous pressure I
and others have encouraged on Obama to be more pro-Israel. I know for a fact
that the pressure from the Republican party, Jewish leaders, and the news media
have had an influence on the White House and that’s a good thing.”
A poll
in this newspaper suggested that attitudes in Israel toward the Obama
administration’s policies had become more positive following his pro-Israel UN
speech, but Danon did not sound overly impressed.
“I say honestly that
Obama’s policies are not good for Israel and haven’t advanced the peace
process,” he said. “There might be American Jews who have a problem with my
direct approach criticizing the president’s policies, but such views must be
heard. If we don’t voice our opposition when an American president almost
completely adopts the Palestinian viewpoint on issues like Jerusalem and the
pre-1967 lines, our silence means we agree. I respect the president and the
presidency but this is against our interests, and it must be said.”
When
asked whether he was concerned that his support for Republicans could boomerang
and justify interference by Obama in elections in Israel, as happened in the
past with former US president Bill Clinton, Danon went on the
defensive.
“First of all, I am not interfering in the American election,”
he said. “I work together with pro-Israel politicians in America no matter what
party they are. I got a lot of criticism for helping Glenn Beck but I also help
Democrats. Secondly, if Obama interferes in the next election against Netanyahu,
it would be the best present he could give the Likud.”
Danon pointed out
that when Obama was seen as humiliating Netanyahu, it strengthened the prime
minister politically. He suggested that due to his controversial Mideast
policies and statements, Obama had lost credibility with Israeli centrists and
even leftists.
“Obama’s stature in Israel fell when he called [the
Jerusalem neighborhood] Gilo a settlement and said Jews shouldn’t build there,”
Danon said. “Even [Kadima leader] Tzipi Livni criticized him in the Knesset for
that. He lost the support of the Israeli Left and Center, not just the Right
that was skeptical about him to begin with.” Obama is not the only leader of a
country that Danon has criticized. He also organized protests of Likud central
committee members against Netanyahu when the prime minister initiated a 10-month
construction moratorium in Judea and Samaria.
Danon took part of the
credit for persuading Netanyahu not to renew the freeze when it ended last
Succot, despite pressure the prime minister faced from Obama and Defense
Minister Ehud Barak.
“My pressure on Netanyahu is to lead in the spirit
of the Likud and not be Barak’s contractor,” Danon said. “We weren’t elected to
evacuate outposts. We were elected to change things and not to continue the same
mistakes that were made in the past by people like Ehud Barak, who unfortunately
is now the closest minister to Netanyahu and whose influence is worrisome
ideologically and politically. If we are dragged behind the whims of the defense
minister, we can’t lead the national camp.”
Netanyahu tried
unsuccessfully to end Danon’s political career twice. The first time came in
2006 when he sent his ally Yuval Steinitz to run against him for the
chairmanship of World Likud, the international arm of the party. When Danon ran
for a slot on the Likud’s Knesset list reserved for a candidate from the coastal
plain in 2008, Netanyahu encouraged basketball star Tal Brody, who is an Israel
Prize winner and national hero, to run against him. But Danon overcame both
challenges.
Danon said that despite their past and inevitable future
conflicts, he maintained a good relationship with Netanyahu.
“I defend
him and work for him in the Knesset, and he knows he can rely on me,” Danon
said. “When it comes to ideology, he knows it’s not personal. I’m not trying to
harm him or topple him. I didn’t like it when he sent candidates against me. He
obviously would have preferred more disciplined MKs. But he realizes that I
bring support to the Likud.”
The next battle between Netanyahu and Danon
could take place soon after Succot, when the Knesset returns after an extended
summer recess. Danon intends to initiate a vote on a preliminary reading of his
bill that would apply Israeli law over the Jewish communities in Judea and
Samaria in response to a Palestinian unilateral declaration.
The so-called Annexation for
Declaration bill was initially seen as having no chance. But now most of
the Likud faction, including high-ranking ministers, back the bill, as does
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and his Israel Beiteinu party.
So far
the Palestinians’ efforts in the UN have been stymied, but if there still ends
up being a vote on a Palestinian state in the Security Council or General
Assembly, Danon wants the annexation option to be available as a possible
response by the prime minister. Such a vote could cause problems for Netanyahu
internationally, but Danon believes the prime minister has it in him to annex
settlements under certain circumstances.
“It would take a courageous act
by Netanyahu, like [former prime ministers] Levi Eshkol and Menachem Begin when
they annexed the eastern part of Jerusalem and the Golan, but I think he could
do it,” Danon said. “Israel would have to respond in some way if the
Palestinians’ position is bolstered by the UN. [Annexation] actually wouldn’t
change much for the people living there, who would be dealt with by the Interior
Ministry like the rest of the country instead of the Defense Ministry, but it
would have significant symbolic value.”
Danon persuaded Republican
Congressman Joe Walsh of Illinois to submit a bill supporting the right of
Israel to apply Israeli law over Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria in
response to a Palestinian unilateral declaration. Walsh has obtained 40
co-signers to the controversial bill. The decision to call for the annexation of
only the settlements and not the entire West Bank is a tactical move for Danon
aimed at achieving a consensus, but he eventually wants Israel to annex the
overwhelming majority of Judea and Samaria.
“If some say Israel should
keep blocs in Judea and Samaria and the rest will be for the Palestinians, I say
the Palestinians can have blocs where they are now and the rest will be for us,”
Danon explained. “Most of the land in Judea and Samaria is vacant. The
dispute is over empty land, and I believe we should keep as much of it as
possible.”
According to Danon’s plan, the status quo would be maintained
at first, but the Gaza Strip would eventually be administered by Egypt and the
Arab cities in the West Bank by Jordan.
“There is no connection between
Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, who are being run by two different
regimes with different funding,” Danon said. “My vision is more longterm, so
it’s hard to persuade a public that is used to quick, slim-fast-style
solutions. Politicians normally say vote for me and you get change. I say
vote for me and there won’t be any change for the coming years. I believe in
conflict management, not conflict resolution.”
Asked why he did not run
with a more right-wing party, Danon said the Likud is where the real influence
lies. He said he believed his more right-wing views are becoming more accepted
in the Likud, which is currently conducting a membership drive in which
thousands of residents of Judea and Samaria are joining the party.
“If I
was in a more right-wing party, I could fight more fiercely against Barak, but I
wouldn’t be able to achieve the same results,” he said. “There are views I hear
from my Likud colleagues that I don’t like, but I can fight against them, and
most of the Likud is to the right of Netanyahu.”
Danon does not agree
with the many political columns in Israel that have blamed Netanyahu for
Israel’s increasing isolation in the Middle East. He believes the Arab Spring
could end up helping Israel internationally in the long run.
“Democratic
and Republican leaders and the American people have started waking up to the
dangers of the Arab Spring,” Danon said. “They realize that we are alone on the
front lines for America in a region that is becoming more dangerous and they
appreciate that. Americans see the domino effect of Iran, Turkey and the
Palestinians getting more extremist and they realize it will get to them in the
end. The polls in the US show that more and more Americans realize that Iran is
a risk to the US. Islamic extremists are seen as the bad guys in America, and
justifiably. This encourages a stronger feeling of identity with an
Israel at peril.”
One country not too far away that Danon sees as an ally
of Israel is South Sudan. He became the first Israeli official to visit the new
state two months ago when he went to propose a plan to South Sudanese President
Salva Kiir Mayardit that would encourage migrant workers from South Sudan to
return there from Israel. Mayardit told Danon he supported Israel and
would build an embassy in Jerusalem.
That promise has been made to Israel
by many American presidential candidates. Danon said all the Republican
candidates for president are pro-Israel, except for Congressman Ron Paul, and
they all say Obama shouldn’t pressure Israel to make concessions.
While
he won’t be issuing any public endorsement of any candidate in the Republican
primary, Danon will continue building relations with the candidates and other
American politicians, even though it’s not the regular job of an MK.
“I
have made sacrifices by investing time taking Republican congressmen on a
helicopter ride over Judea and Samaria when I could have held a parlor meeting
in Dimona or issued a parliamentary inquiry on the housing situation in Beit
Shemesh,” Danon said. “But you never know who is going to be president
eventually, and making sure they will be pro-Israel is really important.”