Israel hands over control of its major port to China...I'm done with them.

Thanks to MrT for the link!

Full disclosure.  I'm a supporter of Israel.  I've ignored some pretty shady stuff because I believed that they were fighting for their very survival in a land filled with enemies.  I've ignored some behaviors that went against the interests of the US because of that belief.

Having said that, this is a bridge too far.  I want more details but if this is true then so be it.  They've made their bed, they've made their choice and they will live with the consequences.  To partner with a mortal enemy of the US?  Too much to take.  Check out the article below.

It has been reported recently in Newsweek and Haaretz regarding a deal that has been struck for the management of Haifa’s port to be handled by a Chinese company, the Shanghai International Port Group. This is due to begin in 2021 and to run for 25 years.

While most of the coverage on this topic has been around the effect this may have on US naval interests in Israel, there is another issue at stake, which is that Haifa’s strategic value is such that it could well be the single largest prize of any regional peace settlement, and handing its control to the Chinese could backfire on Israel’s interests should there be a regional agreement in the next 28 years.

Israel’s unique geographic location on the east of the Mediterranean gives it a strategic advantage as a conduit of trade between the East and West. Although most of this trade currently goes through the Suez Canal, the port at Haifa allows countries of the Middle East to bypass the canal and to access the Mediterranean directly.

There are three significant benefits of this, particularly for the export of oil from the Persian Gulf to Europe and the US.

The first is that it is a more secure route than the current route around the Arabian Peninsula, where there are threats of the closure of the straits of Hurmuz near Iran, instability near Yemen and complete control of the Suez Canal by Egypt, which has only stabilised in recent years and is still fighting an insurgency in Sinai. The whole region is often embroiled in conflict, including Sudan and Eritrea which also line the Red Sea route. A pipeline from the major exporters through Jordan to Israel, can actually be a more stable and reliable route.

The second, is cost. Transit fees through the Suez Canal are steep, at around US$400,000 per ship depending on size. This provides Egypt with $5b in revenues last year alone. This fee is so steep that some struggling carriers are considering taking the long route around Africa to get to Europe when fuel costs are low, despite the additional 7000 miles of transit.

The third reason is speed. There is an additional thousand miles of transit when shipping along the Arabian Peninsula route, than if the oil was piped and loaded onto tankers in Haifa. Haifa’s port also has a natural deep harbour, making it ideal for the loading up of oil tankers, and is one of the largest in the western Mediterranean in terms of volume.

Story here. 

Israel is playing the role of stupid little sheep.  They're inviting in the wolf and locking the door on the sheep dog that has put up with its nonsense to keep it safe.

China will in turn open the door to all of Israel's enemies and their fate will be sealed.

So be it.

They made a choice.  They live with the results of that decision.  I'm done with them.

Sidenote.

This confirms all those theories that the war in Syria is about trade routes...as well as the fighting in Afghanistan.  We are in the midst of an old fashioned trade route showdown coupled with a race for resources.  Once the seas controlled it all and the US Navy was the guardian of those routes.  Now we're seeing land and sea routes developed which explains the insane fighting we've seen.  I'm all aboard that conspiracy theory now.  Nothing else makes sense.  Nothing.  And spare me the talk about fighting for freedom. That dawg don't hunt.