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JINSA Condemns Obama Administration's Castigation of Israel

JINSA executive director Tom Neumann said, "The Israeli government's announcement of construction in Jerusalem made during Vice President Biden's visit was unfortunate in timing but not in substance. Israel should not have to answer to the United States when it comes to building in Jerusalem, which was explicitly excluded from the agreed upon 'settlement freeze.'"

"The real issue here," Neumann continued, "is not Israel's announcement but the level to which the Obama Administration chose to play up its displeasure with Israel's policy. On a scale of one to ten it chose a ten. The question is why?"

The harsh statements issued by Secretary of State Clinton and Senior Advisor David Axelrod stand in stark contrast to past relations between democratic allies involved in a policy dispute, Neumann said. "I cannot recall this administration or almost any previous administration giving a similar public rebuke and tongue lashing to any other nation, friendly or unfriendly," he said.

Neumann continued to point out that "the language used by the Obama Administration was harsher than the language used to condemn Iran's nuclear weapons program. During the past year, the Obama Administration was restrained in its rhetoric as the Iranian people fought in the streets for democracy because it did not wish to interject itself in what the President declared to be an internal Iranian matter. The decision to expand housing in Jerusalem, Israel's capital, is an internal Israeli matter. To challenge it is to challenge Israel's sovereignty."

"The unfortunate reality," Neumann continued, "is that so far the administration's foreign policy has been to coddle those who criticize the United States such as Turkey, Syria and Iran and to punish those which support the United States like Poland, the Czech Republic and Israel."

"We are beginning to run the risk of abdicating our moral standing as leaders of the free world. But could this be a conscious decision?" Neumann asked.

For further information or to arrange an interview with Tom Neumann, JINSA Executive Director, contact Jim Colbert at 202-667-3900.

The Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs is an independent, non-profit, non-partisan, non-sectarian educational organization established in 1976 to educate the public on national and international security issues, including the importance of an effective U.S. defense capability and the key role of strategic allies, including Israel, to promote democratic values in the Middle East.

Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA)
Jim Colbert, 202-667-3900
jcolbert@jinsa.org