I seriously doubt Trump gives two damns about Israel.  It's a cheap way to shore up support.  

She believed in nothing; only her skepticism kept her from being an atheist. -- Jean-Paul Sartre

The previous administration had no demonstrable "diplomatic" mission, opposition, intention, or effort to obstruct expansion of Israeli settlements throughout Palestine. To the contrary: some imply. My understanding is, one of distraught president's last orders, 24 Dec 2016, for the US Ambassador Madame Susstein was, as had been the custom, lo, these sixty years, to speak truth to power! Look, yon!

Let us wallow in the perfidy which TRUMP nether regions hath EXPOSED and forced from the speech of this brave woman.

US abstains as UN demands end to Israeli settlements and other illicit acts

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

IN TOTAL DEFIANCE OF ISRAEL, THE INCOMING PRESIDENT, AND EVEN MEMBERS OF HIS OWN PARTY President Obama refused to veto a UN resolution condemning Israeli settlements allowing it to pass the security council resoundingly. A rare abandonment of a long held US tenet to have Israel's back.

Damn, Mr Flynn! Damn your lies!

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

False Statements Regarding FLYNN's Request that Foreign Officials Vote Against or Delay a United Nations Security Council Resolution

4. During the January 24 voluntary interview, FLYNN made additional false statements about calls he made to Russia and several other countries regarding a resolution submitted by Egypt to the United Nations Security Council on December 21, 2016. Specifically, FLYNN falsely stated that he only asked the countries' positions on the vote, and that he did not request that any of the countries take any particular action on the resolution. FLYNN also falsely stated that the Russian Ambassador never described to him Russia's response to FLYNN's request regarding the resolution. In truth and in fact [?], however, FLYNN then there knew the following had occurred:
a. On or about December 21, 2016, Egypt submitted a resolution to the United Nations Security Council ...
b. On or about December 22, 2016, a very senior member of the PResidential Transition Team directed FLYNN to contact officials from foreign governments, including Russian, to learn where each government stood on the resolution and to influence those governments to delay the vote or defeat the resolution.

c. On or about December 22, 2016, FLYNN contacted the Russian Ambassador about the pending vote. FLYNN informed [?] the Ambassador about the incoming administration's opposition ...
d. On or about December 23, 2016, FLYNN again spoke with the Russian Ambassador, who informed FLYNN ...

...that if it came to a vote Russia would not vote against [would not VETO] the resolution.

FLYNN influenced no one. FLYNN informed no one. But he LIED about I-forget, and that's very important evidence of I-forget. Perhaps Obama's utterly gratuitous exit from center stage of the UN Board of Approvals?

::

Suck it up. Flynn's getting the Patraeus treatment. Move on. Or back to the emoluments allegations. Dig up another dead body from the cemetery of possible informants.


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

David Ignatius' Curious Role in the Mike Flynn Story | Marcy Wheeler - Feb 15, 2017 |

After all, Ignatius set off the events with this article. The article included two curious details. First, in an update to the story, Ignatius stated as fact that the Russian plane carrying a military choir to Syria had been shot down.

"This official later added that Flynn's initial call was to express condolences to Kislyak after the terrorist killing of the Russian ambassador to Ankara Dec. 19, and that Flynn made a second call Dec. 28 to express condolences for the shoot-down of a Russian plane carrying a choir to Syria."

Perhaps this was a mistake, but no cause for the crash has been reported (and it'd be even more curious if Trump's people knew this was a shoot-down right away, given the lack of public accounting for it). There has been no follow-up about who shot down this plane (and little claim that it was terrorism).

...
Ignatius not only knew of the calls, but he knew enough to ask the question -- which the FBI would later pose to Flynn in an interview -- about whether Flynn had undercut US sanctions. In response to his mention of the calls, other journalists followed up with Mike Pence, which ultimately led to the excused reason for Flynn's firing, that he had lied to Pence about the calls. Frankly, that questioning also clearly led to Flynn correcting his story between February 8 and 9, which suggests he may have reviewed the transcripts in the interim.

While Ignatius' report is mentioned in a WaPo timeline of these events, he's not bylined in either of the two big bombshells from WaPo on this, even though up to seven journalists are mentioned.

There are two obvious explanations. First, that Ignatius' column, which serves as a mouthpiece for the IC (and especially CIA), is not generally treated in the same way other journalism at the WaPo is. And possibly, specifically in this case, if that reference were treated as reporting rather than speculation, it might lead Trump's leak investigation back to the source that kicked off this leak fest. But by posing it as speculative questioning, it protects that original source.