How Donald Trump emerged as Israel’s unflinching champion

On Wednesday John Kerry managed to attract more attention with what amounted to a declaration of failure than any success he has achieved during his tenure as Secretary of State. In his speech blasting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which came on the heels of US abstention on a United Nations resolution condemning settlements, Kerry all but conceded that a two state solution is as dead as the Dodo bird. Leading Democrats such as Senate minority leader Charles Schumer criticised the speech and want nothing to do with anything that might drive traditionally Jewish Democratic voters to the GOP.

Obama himself had long washed his hands of any attempt to broker a grand Middle East peace, humouring Kerry’s diligent but Sisyphean efforts of the past few years. In the end, however, he and Kerry couldn’t resist a parting shot at Netanyahu, one that the prime minister termed ‘biased,’ which is what he calls criticisms that he does not like.