By YAAKOV AHIMEIR, ISRAEL HAYOM—
Democratic Senator John Kerry is not going to have any problems filling the shoes of his predecessors in his new capacity as secretary of state. As the chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, he has gained expert knowledge on the U.S.’s ties with other countries, making him a natural for the job.
Kerry will be ready from the first day, almost to the point that he could forgo all the briefings and preparations that are designed to help a new secretary of state settle in to the office on the seventh floor of the State Department. Kerry’s confirmation by the Senate floor, and before that by the committee he heads, is virtually a done deal.
While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government might prefer another successor to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, it is quite evident from Kerry’s voting record that he has never missed an opportunity to support legislation favorable to Israel. It should be pointed out that in the current atmosphere, in which the Obama administration is stepping up its rhetoric to express its displeasure with the planned construction beyond the Green Line, Kerry might go even further in condemning the Netanyahu government on that front. At least one well-connected source has communicated such an assessment.
Kerry supports Israel and its right to defend itself. He believes its borders should be b
