Robert Gates, the former U.S. defense secretary, said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was “ungrateful” for Obama administration assistance and gave nothing in return.

Gates made his remarks after a tense meeting in May between Netanyahu and President Obama, Jeffrey Goldberg, an Atlantic writer, wrote in a column Tuesday for Bloomberg News.

Obama had just outlined precepts for a Palestinian-Israeli peace that included many positions guaranteeing Israel’s security, but also called for negotiations to be based on 1967 lines.

Netanyahu, who was caught off guard by the new policies, was furious and lectured Obama on Middle East history at an Oval Office press availability.

That public dress-down in turn infuriated administration officials, and Gates, a Republican who is a carryover from President George W. Bush’s administration, excoriated Netanyahu at a meeting of the National Security Council Principals – the council of top U.S. officials handling defense and security.

Gates noted increased assistance under Obama to Israel including intelligence sharing and missile defense cooperation, and said that Netanyahu had been especially unhelpful regarding the peace process with the Palestinians. He said Netanyahu’s policies endangered Israel.

Goldberg reported that no one in the room objected to the characterization, and said that officials were leaking the remarks now because the United States is once again taking Israel’s side at the United Nations and attempting to head off a Palestinian bid to get the body to recognize Palestine as a state.

Officials of Netanyahu’s Likud Party defended the prime minister to Ha’aretz on Tuesday, saying that most Israelis favored his positions. Gates retired this summer and was succeeded by Leon Panetta.

Why I became the Forward’s editor-in-chief

You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.

And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.

That’s where you come in. Gifts of any size keep the Forward free and accessible to everyone and ensure we have the resources we need to power the Forward at this critical time for American Jews.

Don't just read the Forward - invest in it. Will you support our work today?

, editor-in-chief

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$120 $180 $360 OTHER AMOUNT