After the Israeli Election: The Iran Issue and Re-Establishing Trust Between Obama and Netanyahu

Israel and the U.S. have been at odds over a number of issues before the Israeli elections. One of the greatest points of contention is the White House's effort with Iran. Negotiations over its nuclear program have been intense and time is running out. What will Netanyahu's re-election mean for this international effort? What does Israel have to lose if ties with the U.S. deteriorate further? And what will Netanyahu have to do if he wants to restore trust with Israel's closest ally? Matthew RJ Brodsky joins anchor, Mangmang Wang, on CCTV's Asia Today to discuss these questions and more, the day after Netanyahu won the Israeli elections.

Brodsky explains that the only party marching out of sync is the White House. The U.S. Congress and American people are unified with the Israeli people and their politicians from across the Israeli political spectrum. They share a grave concern over the bad deal the Obama administration appears to be chasing with Iran over its nuclear program. He described several valid points that the Israeli leader raised before Congress that should be addressed.

Regarding U.S.-Israel ties moving forward, Brodsky notes that the relationship is much larger than these two personalities and will endure due to so many common interests. Nevertheless, "there has been a lot of rancor on the political level between the Obama administration and Netanyahu," he says. "I don't see that improving, at least on the surface." Brodsky believes that "the name-calling from the White House, dispatching senior aides to say nasty things about Netanyahu has not been befitting of a U.S. President or an ally of Israel."

Sending his own campaign organizer to consult with an Israeli organization, V15, to campaign to replace the Netanyahu government is hypocritical when the President declared that he didn't meet with Netanyahu during the Israeli leader's speech to Congress to avoid having any affect on the Israeli elections. That effort, along with the alleged spending of U.S. taxpayer dollars through the State Department to support that goal, is now under a bipartisan Senate investigation. "The good news is," Brodsky explains, "there is strong bipartisan support for Israel in Congress and it's still in the Israeli and United States' interest to have a strong relationship. That will endure despite the misgivings of the White House."