AJC Praises Obama for Stressing Commitment to Israel at White House Meeting with...

AJC Praises Obama for Stressing Commitment to Israel at White House Meeting
with Jewish Leaders

WASHINGTON, July 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Jewish Committee
praised President Obama for the unequivocal commitment to Israel's security
that he expressed to U.S. Jewish leaders in an hour-long White House meeting
today.

"The President could not have been clearer that his primary motivation in
seeking to re-energize an Israeli-Palestinian peace process is Israel's
long-term security," said Jason Isaacson, AJC director of government and
international affairs, who participated in the Roosevelt Room session. "Nor
could he have been clearer in the priority he assigns to building
international unity against Iran's drive for nuclear weapons capability."

AJC said Obama focused the bulk of his remarks on Israel's security,
emphasizing the right of Israel to defend itself, the close U.S.-Israel
relationship, obligations of the Palestinian Authority and the Arab states,
and his administration's efforts to offer Iran an opportunity to engage -
while at the same time preparing for further international sanctions should
engagement prove fruitless. He also spoke of the administration's economic
agenda, its efforts to advance energy security, health care policy and the
fight against hunger in the U.S. and abroad.

In today's discussion, the President observed that news coverage of his
expectations for Israeli action on settlements has overemphasized just one
aspect of the messages his administration has been sending to Israeli,
Palestinian and Arab state leaders, and may leave the impression that
Washington exerts little pressure to combat anti-Israel incitement and urge
regional normalization with Israel. He said his calls for action by the
Palestinian Authority and Arab states have been firm and under-reported, and
will continue.

"President Obama said he understood the difficulty Prime Minister Netanyahu
faces on the issue of settlements, as well as on other policy questions that
carry profound security and political implications," Isaacson said. "His
message today was that, while important action has been taken on checkpoints
and on security cooperation, there are hard decisions that have been avoided
for too long and must be taken - for what he sees as the future well-being of
Israel - and that as the Israeli government takes the difficult steps he asks,
the United States will stand beside it.

Isaacson pointed out that President Obama was urged to underline the
obligations of Israel's neighbors. "Many states and key institutions
throughout the region consistently deny Israel's legitimacy and pose the most
fundamental obstacle to peace. That must be urgently addressed," Isaacson
said.

SOURCE American Jewish Committee

Ben Cohen of American Jewish Committee, +1-212-891-1385, cohenb@ajc.org