A friend of TWS passes along this letter that Rabbi Stuart Weinblatt wrote to his congressman, Steny Hoyer:
Dear Steny,
I am very concerned by the hostile and belligerent tone taken by this Administration towards a close ally over an administrative error made by a low-level bureaucrat, and for which Prime Minister Netanyahu has now apologized no less than four times.
While Israel is trying to downplay the issue and to show its willingness to accept responsibility for an unfortunate error in timing, it appears that President Obama is seeking to use this as a pretext to drive a wedge between us and an important reliable ally of long-standing.
One cannot help but wonder –
Why was Abbas’ refusal to accept the US request and Israeli offer for direct negotiations not an “insult and affront” to the United States and the Vice President?
Why was Assad’s meeting with Ahmadinejad the day after the US announced that we were sending an ambassador to Syria ignored by the State Department and not deemed to be an “insult and affront” to the United States?
Why is Palestinian Authority incitement of rioters in Jerusalem and elsewhere not condemned by this administration and not an “insult and affront” to the United States and the Vice President?
Why is the naming of the main public square in Ramallah by Abbas in honor of Fatah terrorist Dalal Mughrabi, murderer of 38 Israelis - 13 of them little kids not an impediment to the peace process and not an insult and affront to the US and Israel????
Not to mention – why does this administration insist on viewing construction in a vacant piece of land, adjacent to existing housing seen as thwarting the two state solution?
Israel is being asked to make concessions just to get the other side to come to negotiations, (while no demands are being made of the Palestinians) and is being told she can trust assurances by this administration that they will support her. As Seth Meyers of Saturday Night Live would say, “Oh really?!” In light of the apoplectic response over this issue how can Israel have any faith that this administration understands the risks it is taking for peace or that it will support her in a time of trouble. The administration response is doing little more than to pamper to and firm up the extremists and rejectionists in the Arab world.
I urge you to please speak out and let President Obama, Secretary Clinton and members of his administration know that friends do not treat friends in this manner – unless they are not interested in being friends anymore.
Sincerely yours,
Rabbi Stuart Weinblatt
