Alon Liel, himself a former top Israeli foreign ministry official, writes in Haaretz that Benjamin Netanyahu’s dressing down of Dan Shapiro, the U.S. ambassador, was a signal to U.S. Jews ahead of the election.
Liel is referring to what appears to have been a shouting performance by a Netanyahu agitated by what he sees as a lack of U.S. clarity on Iran. Netanyahu, ostensibly meeting Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, instead focused much of his attention — and fury — on Shapiro.
It appears to be an attempt to help the Republicans in the upcoming election. The entire show, under the patronage of Rogers, is meant to prove to the American public, and in particular to the Jewish community, that the rift between Israel and the United States is more significant and deeper than we thought.
