U.S. Jewish lawmakers urge Obama to visit Israel

[Ognir]

Three dozen Jewish Democratic lawmakers met with Obama for an hour on Tuesday night.
By The Associated Press

Jewish members of Congress urged President Barack Obama in a meeting Tuesday night to discuss his commitment to Israel publicly and travel to the country to demonstrate his support, participants said.

Obama convened the 1-hour meeting with three dozen Jewish Democratic lawmakers, the first such gathering of his presidency, after some members of Congress raised concerns about his administration's attitudes and positions on Israel, said Rep. Shelley Berkley, one lawmaker present.

The meeting came at a delicate time, with U.S.-brokered peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians getting under way. It also follows a diplomatic spat between the United States and Israel in March that occurred when construction plans in contested east Jerusalem were announced in the middle of a visit to Israel by Vice President Joe Biden.

The Obama administration strongly rebuked Israel over the incident, but some, particularly conservatives, criticized the U.S. reaction as too strong and unfair to Israel.

"It was agreed that both the Israelis and the U.S. government probably could have handled that situation a little better," Rep. Steve Rothman, said after Tuesday night's meeting, while asserting that from a military and intelligence-sharing perspective, the Obama administration is the best U.S. administration ever for Israel.

He said administration critics were trying to distort that, and Obama and his Jewish supporters in Congress needed to set the record straight.

Berkley, however, said that while she believed the president thought he was doing what was right for Israel and the United States, misgivings remained for those steeped in the issue and highly sensitive to nuances.

"I do want to see the president step up and vocalize his support for Israel far more than he has. He just needs to do that," Berkley said.

Obama supports a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians. Berkley said most lawmakers in the meeting did too, but not at the expense of Israel's security, and it could not be a U.S.-imposed peace.

Berkley said Obama assured the group he had no intention of imposing an American plan on the two parties.

Obama last visited Israel during his presidential campaign.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-d ... l-1.291037

[Anonymous]

I guess, that it's time for Barky to "bang your head!" ceremony.

[Travis]

Hey, I am sure the Jewish script writers have already written the narrative about this one; Obama goes to visit Israel to talk about peace, the Jews concede they are ready to give some land back to the Arabs so they can have their own state but then all of a sudden suicide bomber detonates and kills Obama and a huge amount of Jews that had escaped the German holocaust. Within hours the bomber is identified as an Iranian terrorist in collaboration with Hamas. America declares war on Iran.