“Policymakers in Jerusalem were ready for President Barack Obama’s victory. The last meeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held with U.S. political leaders before the elections was actually with three senior Democratic senators. Not one of them thought Netanyahu was meddling with the U.S. elections in favor of Governor Mitt Romney.

On the contrary, they actually stressed the shared interests the U.S. and Israel have. In my columns, speeches and private meetings with U.S. administration officials over the past several months I kept making the point that regardless of who emerged victorious on Nov. 6, Israel would consider him an ally. True, the two countries have had their share of differences, even substantial ones, on various issues that are of paramount importance; it is quite obvious that Israel must avoid a confrontation with our ally, at all costs. We must come to terms with the realization that a miscalculation could be fertile ground for adverse consequences down the road. There is no way around that.”

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