First, over the last eight years Mr. Obama showed his contempt in ways like these:
2010: Obama snubbed Netanyahu for dinner with Michelle and the girls, Israelis claim "The snub marked a fresh low in US-Israeli relations and appeared designed to show Mr Netanyahu how low his stock had fallen in Washington after he refused to back down in a row over Jewish construction in east Jerusalem."
2012: Obama’s Back-door Diplomacy "His treatment of Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu stands as the absolute lowest point in the diplomatic history of this nation. Obama’s overt disrespect was planned. He had Israel’s top diplomat brought into the White House by the back door. He not only didn’t treat this nation’s guest in the manner reserved for heads-of-state, that would include a State Dinner – he intentionally let Netanyahu cool his heels, making him wait until it became obvious that this was an intended slight."
2012: White House scrambles to contain controversy over Netanyahu snub claims . . . "The seemingly chilly response to Netanyahu was already being interpreted as a snub among Israel’s biggest defenders -- and it comes amid a state of heightened alert over Iran’s nuclear program and the possibility of Israeli action."
2015: Israel: Beware of Obama . . . "Against the backdrop of the tsunami of trouble he has unleashed, Obama’s pledge to “reassess” America’s relationship with Israel cannot be taken lightly. Already paving the way for an Iranian nuke, he is hinting he’ll also let the other anti-Semites at Turtle Bay have their way."
The previous was for context, but now the main NY Times story:
NY Times
"When President Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel met in September for the last time before Mr. Obama leaves office, the session was marked by forced smiles and strained jokes about playing golf in retirement, as if bygones were bygones after nearly eight years of clawing conflict.
"Of course it was never going to end that way. How could it? The narrative of the tense and tetchy relationship between liberal president and conservative prime minister instead reached a climax in a hyperpoliticized showdown over war, peace, justice, security, human rights and, at last, the very meaning of international friendship.
"Mr. Obama’s decision on Friday not to block a United Nations Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlements laid bare all the grievances the two men have nursed since shortly after they took office in 2009. For Mr. Netanyahu, it was the final betrayal by a president who was supposed to be an ally but never really was. For Mr. Obama, it was the inevitable result of Mr. Netanyahu’s own stubborn defiance of international concerns with his policies.
"The two sides did little to hide their mutual contempt. After talks led them to conclude that Mr. Obama would not veto the resolution, as presidents of both parties have done in the past, Israeli officials essentially washed their hands of the incumbent and contacted his successor in the wings. President elect Donald J. Trump promptly put out a statement calling on Mr. Obama to veto the resolution." . . .
2012: Obama’s Back-door Diplomacy "His treatment of Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu stands as the absolute lowest point in the diplomatic history of this nation. Obama’s overt disrespect was planned. He had Israel’s top diplomat brought into the White House by the back door. He not only didn’t treat this nation’s guest in the manner reserved for heads-of-state, that would include a State Dinner – he intentionally let Netanyahu cool his heels, making him wait until it became obvious that this was an intended slight."
2012: White House scrambles to contain controversy over Netanyahu snub claims . . . "The seemingly chilly response to Netanyahu was already being interpreted as a snub among Israel’s biggest defenders -- and it comes amid a state of heightened alert over Iran’s nuclear program and the possibility of Israeli action."
2015: Israel: Beware of Obama . . . "Against the backdrop of the tsunami of trouble he has unleashed, Obama’s pledge to “reassess” America’s relationship with Israel cannot be taken lightly. Already paving the way for an Iranian nuke, he is hinting he’ll also let the other anti-Semites at Turtle Bay have their way."
The previous was for context, but now the main NY Times story:
NY Times
"When President Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel met in September for the last time before Mr. Obama leaves office, the session was marked by forced smiles and strained jokes about playing golf in retirement, as if bygones were bygones after nearly eight years of clawing conflict.
"Of course it was never going to end that way. How could it? The narrative of the tense and tetchy relationship between liberal president and conservative prime minister instead reached a climax in a hyperpoliticized showdown over war, peace, justice, security, human rights and, at last, the very meaning of international friendship.
"Mr. Obama’s decision on Friday not to block a United Nations Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlements laid bare all the grievances the two men have nursed since shortly after they took office in 2009. For Mr. Netanyahu, it was the final betrayal by a president who was supposed to be an ally but never really was. For Mr. Obama, it was the inevitable result of Mr. Netanyahu’s own stubborn defiance of international concerns with his policies.
"The two sides did little to hide their mutual contempt. After talks led them to conclude that Mr. Obama would not veto the resolution, as presidents of both parties have done in the past, Israeli officials essentially washed their hands of the incumbent and contacted his successor in the wings. President elect Donald J. Trump promptly put out a statement calling on Mr. Obama to veto the resolution." . . .
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