[F]rom a military and intelligence-sharing perspective, the Obama administration is the best U.S. administration Israel has ever had. Administration critics were trying to distort that, he said, and Obama and his Jewish supporters in Congress needed to set the record straight.
IOA Editor: The more things change, the more they remain the same. So much for “Hope,” so much for “Change”.
By Natasha Mozgovaya, Haaretz – 20 May 2010
www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/obama-to-jewish-lawmakers-no-imposed-peace-plan-1.291130
Obama met with Jewish members of Congress on Tuesday night and reassured them of his support for Israel
WASHINGTON – U.S. President Barack Obama met with Jewish members of Congress on Tuesday night and reassured them of his support for Israel. He did not intend to impose a settlement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the president said, but also warned that if indirect talks drag on, a window of opportunity will close.
Jewish members of Congress urged Obama at the hour-and-a-half-long meeting to publicly discuss his commitment to Israel and travel to Israel to demonstrate his support, participants said.
Obama convened the meeting with 37 Jewish Democratic lawmakers, the first such gathering of his presidency, after some Congressmen raised concerns about his administration’s attitudes and positions on Israel, said Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Nev. ), one of the lawmakers who attended the meeting.
Obama spoke of his plans to boost Israeli security and his administration’s backing of sanctions on Iran.
The meeting came at a delicate time, with U.S.-brokered peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians getting under way. It also follows the March ruffle in diplomatic relations following the announcement of construction in contested East Jerusalem in the middle of a visit by American Vice President Joe Biden.
“It was agreed that both the Israelis and the U.S. government probably could have handled that situation a little better,” Rep. Steve Rothman (D-N.J. ) said. Rothman said that from a military and intelligence-sharing perspective, the Obama administration is the best U.S. administration Israel has ever had. Administration critics were trying to distort that, he said, and Obama and his Jewish supporters in Congress needed to set the record straight.
Obama said at the meeting that he sees a nuclear Iran as a threat to the United States and its forces in the region, and that he wanted the Arab states to say openly what they say behind closed doors – that the region’s greatest problem is Iran, not Israel.
