The Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah on Oct. 16-17 was an especially joyous one for the Republican group led by the pro-Israel lobby American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Casino tycoon Sheldon Adelson and his wife Miriam, among Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s biggest supporters, likely rubbed their hands in glee at hearing US Secretary of State John Kerry’s address on Oct. 16, on the occasion of Eid al-Adha. The gift they got from the Obama administration went far beyond any expectations.
Kerry could not claim in his defense that the link he made between the Jewish state and the Islamic State (IS) was an “unfortunate slip of the tongue.” The argument that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict “fuels” the recruitment of young people to the ranks of IS and stirs “agitation” on the Arab street was a recurring refrain in Kerry’s speech.