Ira Chernus: Are the US and Israel Heading for a Showdown?

No one thinks so, but it just might happen! Here's the question no one is asking as 2012 ends, especially given the effusive public support the Obama administration offered Israel in its recent conflict with Hamas in Gaza. Will 2013 be a year of confrontation between Washington and Jerusalem? It's on no one's agenda for the New Year, but it could happen anyway. It's true that the Israeli Palestinian peace process appears dead in the water. No matter how much Obama might have wanted that prize, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rebuffed him at every turn. The president appears to have taken it on the chin, offering more than the usual support for Israel, and in return getting nothing at all. However, the operative word here is "appears." In foreign affairs what you see, a show carefully scripted for political purposes often bears little relation to what you actually get. While the Obama administration has acceded to the imagery of knee jerk support for whatever Israel does, no matter how outrageous, behind the scenes its policies are beginning to look far less predictable. In fact, unlikely as it may seem, a showdown could be brewing between the two countries. If so, the outcome will depend on a complicated interplay between private diplomacy and public theater. The latest well masked US intervention came in the brief November war between Israel and Gaza. It began when Israel assassinated a top Hamas leader deeply involved in secret truce talks between the supposedly non communicating foes. Destructive as it was, the war proved brief indeed for one reason: the American president quickly stepped in. Publicly, he couldn't have sided more wholeheartedly with Israel. It felt as if Mitt Romney had won, not lost the election. In private though, as he pressured Egyptian President Morsi to force Hamas to a truce, he reportedly pushed Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu just as hard. The truce agreement even had an Obama required twist. It forced Israel to continue negotiating seriously with Hamas about easing the blockade that, combined with repeated destructive Israeli strikes against the Palestinian infrastructure, has plunged Gaza so deep into poverty and misery. Talks on the blockade are reportedly proceeding, though wrapped in the deepest secrecy. It's hard to imagine Israel upholding the truce and entering into a real dialogue to ease the blockade without significant pressure from Washington.