http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/15/AR2010031502667.html?nav=hcmoduletmv
The U.S. quarrel with Israel
Tuesday, March 16, 2010; A18
PRESIDENT OBAMA'S Middle East diplomacy failed in his first year in part because he chose to engage in an unnecessary and unwinnable public confrontation with Israel over Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Jerusalem. Over the past six months Mr. Obama's envoys gingerly retreated from that fight and worked to build better relations with the government of Binyamin Netanyahu. Last week the administration finally managed to strike a deal for the launching of indirect Israeli-Palestinian talks. So it has been startling -- and a little puzzling -- to see Mr. Obama deliberately plunge into another public brawl with the Jewish state.
True, this U.S.-Israel crisis began with a provocation from Jerusalem: the announcement by the Interior Ministry of plans for 1,600 more Jewish homes beyond Israel's 1967 border. Vice President Biden, who was visiting when the news broke, was embarrassed; he quickly responded with a statement of condemnation. He then appeared to accept the public apology of Mr. Netanyahu, who said he, too, had been surprised by the announcement.
The dispute's dramatic escalation since then seems to have come at the direct impetus of Mr. Obama. Officials said he outlined points for Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to make in a searing, 45-minute phone call to Mr. Netanyahu on Friday. On Sunday senior Obama adviser David Axelrod heaped on more vitriol, saying in a television appearance that the settlement announcement had been an "affront" and an "insult" that had "undermined this very fragile effort to bring peace to that region."
Mr. Obama and his advisers appear determined to prove that they will not be pushed around by Israel. The public scoldings also send a message to Palestinian and Arab leaders who have been demanding assurances that the United States will use its leverage in the new peace negotiations. And the administration hopes to extract immediate concessions from Mr. Netanyahu: It has demanded that he reverse the Jerusalem settlement decision, release Palestinian prisoners, agree to cover sensitive "final status" issues in the indirect talks and investigate the errant settlement announcement.
Mr. Netanyahu already has conceded the last point and may give way on others; he is facing harsh domestic criticism. But Mr. Obama risks repeating his previous error. American chastising of Israel invariably prompts still harsher rhetoric, and elevated demands, from Palestinian and other Arab leaders. Rather than join peace talks, Palestinians will now wait to see what unilateral Israeli steps Washington forces. Mr. Netanyahu already has made a couple of concessions in the past year, including declaring a partial moratorium on settlements. But on the question of Jerusalem, he is likely to dig in his heels -- as would any other Israeli government. If the White House insists on a reversal of the settlement decision, or allows Palestinians to do so, it might land in the same corner from which it just extricated itself.
A larger question concerns Mr. Obama's quickness to bludgeon the Israeli government. He is not the first president to do so; in fact, he is not even the first to be hard on Mr. Netanyahu. But tough tactics don't always work: Last year Israelis rallied behind Mr. Netanyahu, while Mr. Obama's poll ratings in Israel plunged to the single digits. The president is perceived by many Israelis as making unprecedented demands on their government while overlooking the intransigence of Palestinian and Arab leaders. If this episode reinforces that image, Mr. Obama will accomplish the opposite of what he intends.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
Lieberman and McCain on Obama attacking Israel
Sens. John McCain and Joe Lieberman on Israel
Jennifer Rubin - 03.15.2010 - 4:56 PM
Friends and colleagues John McCain and Joe Lieberman went to the floor of the U.S. Senate to discuss the Obama offensive against Israel. McCain kicked things off asking (from a rough transcript) if it really helps to “have public disparagement by the secretary of state, by the president’s political adviser on the Sunday shows,” and whether it wouldn’t be better to “lower the dialogue, talk quietly among friends, and work together towards the mutual goals that we share.” Lieberman responded:
[The U.S.-Israel relationship is] one of the strongest, most important, most steadfast bilateral alliances we have in the world because it is not based on the temporal, that is matters that come and go, or politics and diplomacy. It’s based on shared values, shared strategic interests in the world and unfortunately now on the fact that the United States and the Israelis are also targets of the Islamic extremists, the terrorists who threaten the security of so much of the world.
Lieberman then went on to explain that a “bureaucratic mistake” was allowed to become a “major, for the moment, source of division” between the U.S. and Israel. He continued that this is “an area of Jerusalem that is today mostly Jewish” and that while the Israeli government contends that Jews have the right to build and live anywhere in its eternal capital, “this particular part of Jerusalem is in most anybody’s vision of a possible peace settlement going to be part of Israel.”
Lieberman then questioned why the initial flap was allowed to continue on the Sunday talk shows. Singling out David Axelrod, he noted that calling it an “affront” serves nobody’s interests. From there, McCain said the escalation “may be giving the impression to the wrong people, the neighbors of Israel have stated time after time that they are bent on Israel’s extinction.” McCain then praised Hillary Clinton – who, he says, knows all of this too well. (Hmm, are there some Obami tensions to be exploited?) After some niceties about Clinton and Biden, Lieberman was not about to let the State Department off the hook, noting that the Friday news conference in which the Clinton-Bibi conversation was related to the public only served to “dredge up again something that had been calmed and ought to be calmed.” McCain then criticized the administration’s focus on a unilateral settlement freeze, and Lieberman concurred, noting that the focus should be on peace negotiations without preconditions and on the Iran nuclear threat. Lieberman concluded: “It’s time to lower our voices, get over the family feud between the U.S. and Israel. It just doesn’t serve anybody’s interest but our enemies.”
It was as compelling and informed a discussion on the subject as you’re going to hear in Washington. But the question remains: why did Obama feel compelled to do this, and who is really running foreign policy? Perhaps these are good subjects for congressional oversight hearings.
Jennifer Rubin - 03.15.2010 - 4:56 PM
Friends and colleagues John McCain and Joe Lieberman went to the floor of the U.S. Senate to discuss the Obama offensive against Israel. McCain kicked things off asking (from a rough transcript) if it really helps to “have public disparagement by the secretary of state, by the president’s political adviser on the Sunday shows,” and whether it wouldn’t be better to “lower the dialogue, talk quietly among friends, and work together towards the mutual goals that we share.” Lieberman responded:
[The U.S.-Israel relationship is] one of the strongest, most important, most steadfast bilateral alliances we have in the world because it is not based on the temporal, that is matters that come and go, or politics and diplomacy. It’s based on shared values, shared strategic interests in the world and unfortunately now on the fact that the United States and the Israelis are also targets of the Islamic extremists, the terrorists who threaten the security of so much of the world.
Lieberman then went on to explain that a “bureaucratic mistake” was allowed to become a “major, for the moment, source of division” between the U.S. and Israel. He continued that this is “an area of Jerusalem that is today mostly Jewish” and that while the Israeli government contends that Jews have the right to build and live anywhere in its eternal capital, “this particular part of Jerusalem is in most anybody’s vision of a possible peace settlement going to be part of Israel.”
Lieberman then questioned why the initial flap was allowed to continue on the Sunday talk shows. Singling out David Axelrod, he noted that calling it an “affront” serves nobody’s interests. From there, McCain said the escalation “may be giving the impression to the wrong people, the neighbors of Israel have stated time after time that they are bent on Israel’s extinction.” McCain then praised Hillary Clinton – who, he says, knows all of this too well. (Hmm, are there some Obami tensions to be exploited?) After some niceties about Clinton and Biden, Lieberman was not about to let the State Department off the hook, noting that the Friday news conference in which the Clinton-Bibi conversation was related to the public only served to “dredge up again something that had been calmed and ought to be calmed.” McCain then criticized the administration’s focus on a unilateral settlement freeze, and Lieberman concurred, noting that the focus should be on peace negotiations without preconditions and on the Iran nuclear threat. Lieberman concluded: “It’s time to lower our voices, get over the family feud between the U.S. and Israel. It just doesn’t serve anybody’s interest but our enemies.”
It was as compelling and informed a discussion on the subject as you’re going to hear in Washington. But the question remains: why did Obama feel compelled to do this, and who is really running foreign policy? Perhaps these are good subjects for congressional oversight hearings.
Pressure got to Rotem-bill is off
At the meeting, MK Rotem expressed his commitment going forward to consult =
with Diaspora Jewry on any issues involving conversion or the Law of Return=
. Explaining that no law will be passed before the Knesset=E2=80=99s Passov=
er break, he also assured the group that no future bill will affect the sta=
tus of conversions outside of Israel . Similarly, Rotem stressed that Prime=
Minister Netanyahu is aware of the importance of these issues for Jews aro=
und the world.
with Diaspora Jewry on any issues involving conversion or the Law of Return=
. Explaining that no law will be passed before the Knesset=E2=80=99s Passov=
er break, he also assured the group that no future bill will affect the sta=
tus of conversions outside of Israel . Similarly, Rotem stressed that Prime=
Minister Netanyahu is aware of the importance of these issues for Jews aro=
und the world.
Israel builds houses, Palestinians murder, who is attacked by Obama?
The disgusting performance of the current American administration towards
Israel continues, as does its fawning support of Palestinian murderers. One
would think Mrs. Clinton would have something to say to her darling, Mahmoud
Abbas, about the naming of the main public square in Ramallah by his
'government' to honor Fatah terrorist Dalal Mughrabi, murderer of 38
Israelis -13 of them little kids. But no, Mrs. Clinton, who has a
selective blind eye, has chosen to talk about Israel's "slapping America" in
the face. Building houses in our capital is a crime, but terrorism can be
honored, is that it, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Biden? Don't you think the
Palestinians should also be chastised for preventing your imaginary "peace
process" from going forward? Guess in
Obama-nation land, things are seen differently.
Israel continues, as does its fawning support of Palestinian murderers. One
would think Mrs. Clinton would have something to say to her darling, Mahmoud
Abbas, about the naming of the main public square in Ramallah by his
'government' to honor Fatah terrorist Dalal Mughrabi, murderer of 38
Israelis -13 of them little kids. But no, Mrs. Clinton, who has a
selective blind eye, has chosen to talk about Israel's "slapping America" in
the face. Building houses in our capital is a crime, but terrorism can be
honored, is that it, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Biden? Don't you think the
Palestinians should also be chastised for preventing your imaginary "peace
process" from going forward? Guess in
Obama-nation land, things are seen differently.
obama wants to hurt Israel
It took a while, 14 months to be exact, but both the ADL and AIPAC have issued very solid statements condemning the President's new war on israel, and asking for the Administration to curtail the public berating of its supposed ally, and work with Israel, in a more diplomatic fashion on both the peace process and Iran. . What is disgraceful is that so far, exactly one elected Democrat in Congress has done the same- Congresswoman Shelley Berkley of Nevada. Sadly, Democrats seem to care far more about passing health care legislation this week, than protecting the US Israel relationship from Obama's assault. It is interesting that David Axelrod, who blasted Israel on network news programs on Sunday, and is a proud standard bearer of the Millard Fillmore label when it comes to the history and politics of the Middle East conflict (for the record, Fillmore headed the Know Nothing Party back in the 1850s) will be honored by the NJDC (National Jewish Democratic Council) at a coming event. Axelrod has pretty much a perfect record of having avoided any connection with any pro-Israel or Jewish communal activity in his long political career, with the notable exception of raising money from Jews for Democratic candidates. This Obama does well too. In Obama's case, the handwriting , as to his sympathies in the Middle East conflict (not to be confused with his lies delivered to AIPAC conferences), were pretty well documented well before he was elected- the 20 years he listened in rapture to the sermons of Reverend Wright, all those dinners and babysitting, and chit chats with Rashid Khalidi, and Ali Abunimah, the close friendship with Samantha Power (who sought an international force to invade the West Bank and liberate it from Israel), the years spent in the most anti-Israel hothouses in America - the neighborhoods where elite colleges are located. Marty Peretz has it right that America elected its first third world President, and he is behaving accordingly. His sympathies lie with the Palestinians. He is, after all, a redistributionist on all issues . The flack attacks by Hillary Clinton, other State Department officials and Axelrod, will do nothing to advance the peace process, ostensibly the goal of the Administration. Since Oslo, the Palestinians for over 15 years, spoke directly to Israelis, without intermediation, even during the intifada. When Obama launched his Presidency with a call for for a 100% settlement freeze on all land beyond the green line, including natural growth of settlements, he enabled the Palestinians to avoid coming back for talks without those conditions being met. Why would the Palestinians be more pro-Israel than the White House, and accept less than the White House was demanding of Israel? Now the PA can hang back some more and honor some more mass murderers of Israelis while they wait for Obama to deliver more Israeli concessions before talks begin (prisoner releases, , extending the settlement freeze to Jerusalem, eliminating more roadblocks ,easing the blockade of Gaza. ). Netanyahu is right to let the Americans know that Israel will continue to build in its capital. To please the Americans, and not establish facts on the ground, only new housing for Palestinians would be allowed.
Of course, when the ten month freeze on new settlements in the West Bank was agreed to, Bibi came in for high praise. Bibi specifically excluded Jerusalem from that freeze. The announcement of the 1,600 units in a neighborhood where 16,000 Jews already live, was step 4 in a 7 step approval process, with no construction for 3 more years. . So yes, maybe it was an ill timed announcement, with Joe Biden in town, given how everyone needs to walk on hot coals to avoid giving the PA another excuse to not negotiate even indirectly with Israel. For the Administration to blow up over this, as some grave insult, is ridiculous, but telling. This is a real and deliberate provocation, by Obama, not Israel. This was an opportunity for the Administration, to let Israel know which side Obama backs. Sad to say, even J-Street has been better than Obama this week. The White House had nothing to say (no condemnation to be sure) for the PA honoring a terrorist mass murderer of Israeli Jews last week. Even J-Street said this was a provocation and condemned it. Murdered Jews and Jewish apartments- Obama finds one more repellent than the other. Then again, Obama was silent on the mass murder of hundreds of Christians in Nigeria by Muslim marauders. Never will an unkind word be said about Muslim murderers, or Palestinian killers ,that might deter from his charm offensive to the Muslim world, that so far has accomplished only this- a projection of weakness, and cowardice, and a loss of any ability to weigh competing claims fairly.
Jennifer Rubin on who stands with Israel (add Joe Lieberman no longer a Democrat, to the list): http://tinyurl.com/yea7xd6
John Podhoretz on Obama's new approach , which put very simply, is is not very smart. But then again, the ranks of those deluded or dazzled by Obama's supposed brilliance drops every day: http://tinyurl.com/yds8nnj
David Horovitz exposing the fragility of US support for Israel in this Administration: http://tinyurl.com/yc6tmrz
At least the American people still stand with Israel, even if the Indonesian raised are not there :
Gallup: http://tinyurl.com/ya9xr4x
Greenberg, Quinlan, Rosner: http://tinyurl.com/ycfqz56
Abe Foxman and the ADL: http://tinyurl.com/y8rrmwu
AIPAC: http://tinyurl.com/y8l5mo2
Another lie: that Israel's settlement policy is causing American deaths in Pakistan , Afghanisan and Iraq. But of course-, if only there were no building east of the green line, then Al Qaeda and Iran would lay down their arms. http://tinyurl.com/ydorey3
On Iran, the Administration is doing nothing fast. But the Administration is prreparing the ground for explicit linkage- Jerusalem housing will be used to explain the Administration's failure to win UN sanctions, and for Iran getting the bomb. http://tinyurl.com/yfx37eb
Wall Street Journal: http://tinyurl.com/y87vcm2
Two from Barry Rubin: first- some facts on Jerusalem construction: http://tinyurl.com/yagvvwq
Why the PA is smiling: http://tinyurl.com/y89fhkd
Melanie Phillips, one of the last remaining voices of sanity in Britain: http://tinyurl.com/ybjgux6
Of course, when the ten month freeze on new settlements in the West Bank was agreed to, Bibi came in for high praise. Bibi specifically excluded Jerusalem from that freeze. The announcement of the 1,600 units in a neighborhood where 16,000 Jews already live, was step 4 in a 7 step approval process, with no construction for 3 more years. . So yes, maybe it was an ill timed announcement, with Joe Biden in town, given how everyone needs to walk on hot coals to avoid giving the PA another excuse to not negotiate even indirectly with Israel. For the Administration to blow up over this, as some grave insult, is ridiculous, but telling. This is a real and deliberate provocation, by Obama, not Israel. This was an opportunity for the Administration, to let Israel know which side Obama backs. Sad to say, even J-Street has been better than Obama this week. The White House had nothing to say (no condemnation to be sure) for the PA honoring a terrorist mass murderer of Israeli Jews last week. Even J-Street said this was a provocation and condemned it. Murdered Jews and Jewish apartments- Obama finds one more repellent than the other. Then again, Obama was silent on the mass murder of hundreds of Christians in Nigeria by Muslim marauders. Never will an unkind word be said about Muslim murderers, or Palestinian killers ,that might deter from his charm offensive to the Muslim world, that so far has accomplished only this- a projection of weakness, and cowardice, and a loss of any ability to weigh competing claims fairly.
Jennifer Rubin on who stands with Israel (add Joe Lieberman no longer a Democrat, to the list): http://tinyurl.com/yea7xd6
John Podhoretz on Obama's new approach , which put very simply, is is not very smart. But then again, the ranks of those deluded or dazzled by Obama's supposed brilliance drops every day: http://tinyurl.com/yds8nnj
David Horovitz exposing the fragility of US support for Israel in this Administration: http://tinyurl.com/yc6tmrz
At least the American people still stand with Israel, even if the Indonesian raised are not there :
Gallup: http://tinyurl.com/ya9xr4x
Greenberg, Quinlan, Rosner: http://tinyurl.com/ycfqz56
Abe Foxman and the ADL: http://tinyurl.com/y8rrmwu
AIPAC: http://tinyurl.com/y8l5mo2
Another lie: that Israel's settlement policy is causing American deaths in Pakistan , Afghanisan and Iraq. But of course-, if only there were no building east of the green line, then Al Qaeda and Iran would lay down their arms. http://tinyurl.com/ydorey3
On Iran, the Administration is doing nothing fast. But the Administration is prreparing the ground for explicit linkage- Jerusalem housing will be used to explain the Administration's failure to win UN sanctions, and for Iran getting the bomb. http://tinyurl.com/yfx37eb
Wall Street Journal: http://tinyurl.com/y87vcm2
Two from Barry Rubin: first- some facts on Jerusalem construction: http://tinyurl.com/yagvvwq
Why the PA is smiling: http://tinyurl.com/y89fhkd
Melanie Phillips, one of the last remaining voices of sanity in Britain: http://tinyurl.com/ybjgux6
AMERICAN ISRAELIS TO OBAMA: APOLOGIZE TO ISRAEL
AMERICAN ISRAELIS TO OBAMA: APOLOGIZE TO ISRAEL FOR BIDEN AND CLINTON ATTACKS OR LOSE STATUS AS "HONEST BROKER"
The American Israeli Action Coalition (AIAC) today called upon President Barack Obama to immediately apologize to the State of Israel for the vicious slurs against it recently expressed by Vice-President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Both of these high officials of the Obama administration, in unprecedented moves, strongly--and incorrectly--castigated Israel for merely announcing that its housing ministry had approved the construction of badly needed residential housing units in its Jerusalem capitol. AIAC is a non-partisan, non-political, issue-oriented NGO whose purpose is to represent the united voice of the more than 250,000 Americans living in Israel on issues which affect Israel, Israel-U.S. relations, and the Jewish people worldwide.
"The Biden and Clinton outbursts are a canard against Israel and do not represent the views of the American people", stated Harvey Schwartz, AIAC Chairman. "Never before has the United States government injected itself into the residential construction affairs in the capitol city of any other country. Jerusalem is no less the capital of Israel than Washington, D.C. is the capitol of the United States. Neither Israel, nor any other country for that matter, has ever "butted into" Washington's domestic construction agenda. The American people understand that the United States government should not "butt into" Jerusalem's as well."
"Biden's and Clinton's unprecedented attacks upon the State of Israel at this very delicate time when the Obama administration has been working so hard to restart peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians seriously threatens to derail those talks before they even begin. They also threaten the status of the United States as an "honest broker" of peace in the Middle East. Further, they have opened the widest schism in Israeli-American relations in many years, to the great detriment of the U.S. To prevent any further damage--and to demonstrate to the insulted Israeli public that the Biden and Clinton outbursts do not represent his administration's policy-- it is imperative that President Obama publicly reprimand them and issue a personal, immediate apology to the Israeli government and its citizenry for the Biden and Clinton slurs", continued Schwartz. "That should be promptly followed by substantial and significant gestures of friendship from the U.S. government to Israel. The American Israelis--who are deeply insulted by their home country's actions-- strongly recommend this course of action as the only way to prevent this very serious dustup from growing into a full-fledged unmitigated disaster for the United States."
AIAC assures the Israeli public that the American public is highly supportive of its efforts to live in peace and security as a sovereign country. The American public is well aware of Biden's pro-Iranian views and Hillary Clinton's publicly planting a kiss on Arafat's wife, Suha, at a time when they were shunned by the American people, and is most embarrassed by the latest Biden and Clinton rants.
The American Israeli Action Coalition (AIAC) today called upon President Barack Obama to immediately apologize to the State of Israel for the vicious slurs against it recently expressed by Vice-President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Both of these high officials of the Obama administration, in unprecedented moves, strongly--and incorrectly--castigated Israel for merely announcing that its housing ministry had approved the construction of badly needed residential housing units in its Jerusalem capitol. AIAC is a non-partisan, non-political, issue-oriented NGO whose purpose is to represent the united voice of the more than 250,000 Americans living in Israel on issues which affect Israel, Israel-U.S. relations, and the Jewish people worldwide.
"The Biden and Clinton outbursts are a canard against Israel and do not represent the views of the American people", stated Harvey Schwartz, AIAC Chairman. "Never before has the United States government injected itself into the residential construction affairs in the capitol city of any other country. Jerusalem is no less the capital of Israel than Washington, D.C. is the capitol of the United States. Neither Israel, nor any other country for that matter, has ever "butted into" Washington's domestic construction agenda. The American people understand that the United States government should not "butt into" Jerusalem's as well."
"Biden's and Clinton's unprecedented attacks upon the State of Israel at this very delicate time when the Obama administration has been working so hard to restart peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians seriously threatens to derail those talks before they even begin. They also threaten the status of the United States as an "honest broker" of peace in the Middle East. Further, they have opened the widest schism in Israeli-American relations in many years, to the great detriment of the U.S. To prevent any further damage--and to demonstrate to the insulted Israeli public that the Biden and Clinton outbursts do not represent his administration's policy-- it is imperative that President Obama publicly reprimand them and issue a personal, immediate apology to the Israeli government and its citizenry for the Biden and Clinton slurs", continued Schwartz. "That should be promptly followed by substantial and significant gestures of friendship from the U.S. government to Israel. The American Israelis--who are deeply insulted by their home country's actions-- strongly recommend this course of action as the only way to prevent this very serious dustup from growing into a full-fledged unmitigated disaster for the United States."
AIAC assures the Israeli public that the American public is highly supportive of its efforts to live in peace and security as a sovereign country. The American public is well aware of Biden's pro-Iranian views and Hillary Clinton's publicly planting a kiss on Arafat's wife, Suha, at a time when they were shunned by the American people, and is most embarrassed by the latest Biden and Clinton rants.
Responses so far
The Republican Jewish Coalition said today that it was deeply upset by the tone and actions of the Obama administration regarding Israel in recent days.
RJC Executive Director Matt Brooks said:
The Obama administration has used harsh and intentionally undiplomatic language to exacerbate tensions with our ally Israel in the wake of Vice President Biden's visit there. The strident and unwarranted escalation of tension, which has turned a minor diplomatic embarrassment into a major international incident, has raised serious concerns about the administration's Israel policy from a variety of mainstream voices.*
Now Israeli sources report that the administration is pressuring Israel not only to halt construction in Ramat Shlomo but to make a "confidence-building" concession such as releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners (presumably terrorists) or turning over additional West Bank areas to Palestinian control.
We believe the administration's actions are disproportionate and one-sided. It should be noted, there has been no similar official U.S. condemnation of any Palestinian action, including recent rioting on the Temple Mount and official Palestinian plans to name a public square for a female terrorist responsible for the worst single terror attack on Israeli soil.
Moreover, the administration's stance is dangerous to the best interests of the U.S. and Israel. By distancing ourselves from our most important strategic ally in a troubled region, an ally with which we have strong and necessary joint military, intelligence, security, and trade agreements, we weaken the United States. By taking the role of the Palestinians' negotiator in the guise of an "honest broker" and advancing Palestinian demands that should be the subjects of direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, not their preconditions, the administration is seriously weakening the security of Israel.
A report in the Politico that Vice President Biden, speaking to Prime Minister Netanyahu behind closed doors, explicitly linked Israeli housing policy with the safety of U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan is also of great concern. It demonstrates the false linkage between the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the war on terrorism often used by Israel's enemies to undermine Israel's legitimacy and efforts for security and peace.
We call on the Obama administration to halt immediately its unwarranted pressure against Israel, to take steps to heal the dangerous rift it has created between the two countries, and to return to the policy of its predecessors in supporting Israel's security and well-being as an important strategic ally.
RJC Executive Director Matt Brooks said:
The Obama administration has used harsh and intentionally undiplomatic language to exacerbate tensions with our ally Israel in the wake of Vice President Biden's visit there. The strident and unwarranted escalation of tension, which has turned a minor diplomatic embarrassment into a major international incident, has raised serious concerns about the administration's Israel policy from a variety of mainstream voices.*
Now Israeli sources report that the administration is pressuring Israel not only to halt construction in Ramat Shlomo but to make a "confidence-building" concession such as releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners (presumably terrorists) or turning over additional West Bank areas to Palestinian control.
We believe the administration's actions are disproportionate and one-sided. It should be noted, there has been no similar official U.S. condemnation of any Palestinian action, including recent rioting on the Temple Mount and official Palestinian plans to name a public square for a female terrorist responsible for the worst single terror attack on Israeli soil.
Moreover, the administration's stance is dangerous to the best interests of the U.S. and Israel. By distancing ourselves from our most important strategic ally in a troubled region, an ally with which we have strong and necessary joint military, intelligence, security, and trade agreements, we weaken the United States. By taking the role of the Palestinians' negotiator in the guise of an "honest broker" and advancing Palestinian demands that should be the subjects of direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, not their preconditions, the administration is seriously weakening the security of Israel.
A report in the Politico that Vice President Biden, speaking to Prime Minister Netanyahu behind closed doors, explicitly linked Israeli housing policy with the safety of U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan is also of great concern. It demonstrates the false linkage between the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the war on terrorism often used by Israel's enemies to undermine Israel's legitimacy and efforts for security and peace.
We call on the Obama administration to halt immediately its unwarranted pressure against Israel, to take steps to heal the dangerous rift it has created between the two countries, and to return to the policy of its predecessors in supporting Israel's security and well-being as an important strategic ally.
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