Prime Minister Netanyahu and most of his cabinet have been very careful to avoid any statements about Obama's pick for defense secretary Chuck Hagel. This despite several statements by the former Senator that could easily be construed as anti-Israeli. Reuters: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Ehud Barak offered no immediate comment on the pick, announced on Monday after being rumored for weeks in which some pro-Israel figures pilloried the former Republican senator. Parting with the rightist government's reticence were two relatively junior officials, Civil Defence Minister Avi Dichter and Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon, neither of whom is expected to stay on after Israel's national election on January 22. "There have already been nominations in the past which looked very troubling to us, and ultimately reality turned out totally differently, both for better and for worse," Dichter told Israel Radio in an interview. "Therefore I think we...(Read Full Post)