Statement from Emergency Committee for Israel

In response to the recent criticism of Israel by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and the U.S. ambassador to Belgium, Howard Gutman, today the chairman of the Emergency Committee for Israel, William Kristol, issued the following statement:

"Nobody believes President Obama when he claims, as he did last week, that he 'has done more for the security of the state of Israel than any previous administration.' That’s because he hasn’t -- and because President Obama and his administration keeps acting to weaken the security of the state of Israel.

"For example: as reported in the Israeli press, the U.S. ambassador to Belgium, Howard Gutman -- a top Obama fundraiser in 2008 -- told a conference in Brussels this week that Muslim anti-Semitism 'stems from the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.' Pardon us for retaining our belief that Muslim anti-Semitism in the Middle East predates 1967, and even 1948 -- and in any case is the fault of the anti-Semites, not of the Jews.....



...."The Obama message is loud and clear: the world would be a safer, simpler, and more peaceful place if not for the troublesome Jewish state.

"Ambassador Gutman’s comments were not way out of line with Obama’s worldview. Nonetheless, we expect he will be recalled because the Obama administration won’t want to expend political capital defending him. He should be recalled, of course. But what the events of recent days emphasize is that the problem is not with one ambassador or with one cabinet secretary. The problem is President Obama."

For more information please contact ECI executive director Noah Pollak: Noah@CommitteeForIsrael.com, 202-421-4092

This statement can be viewed online here: www.committeeforisrael.com/?p=1484
The report on Ambassador Gutman's remarks can be found here: www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4156355,00.html
Secretary Panetta's remarks can be found here: www.defense.gov/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=4937