In the Arena

Israel’s New Foreign Minister. Oy.

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Jeff Goldberg on Avigdor Lieberman. I second the motion–and add this: I suspect that President Obama is going to have to say something about Israel’s selection of a politician who has frequently made racist noises as its Foreign Minister. He should be very clear that this severely compromises Israel’s moral standing in the world. Unlike Goldberg, I don’t blame Tzipi Livni’s refusal to join a Likud-led government for this (although Livni made it clear that she, too, would have included Lieberman in a Kadima-led government). I blame Netanyahu for not agreeing to a Likud-Kadima coalition that would have a rotating prime minister, as was the case in the 1980s. 

In any case, this is a moment of sadness and embarrassment for those of us who support Israel’s right to exist and a two-state solution along the lines offered by Bill Clinton in 2000.