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StumbleBerkley: Obama must not forget our old friend Israel
Congresswoman says president, conducting his first visit to Middle East, needs loyal opposition
GERALD HERBERT / ASSOCIATED PRESS
President Barack Obama sits with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after receiving a medal at the king’s farm in Riyadh.
Thursday, June 4, 2009 | 2 a.m.
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- The Week in Review: Washington D.C. (10-14-2007)
- Berkley makes trip to Gaza before settler withdrawal (8-12-2005)
- Berkley, in Israel, says Palestinians are at crossroads (11-11-2004)
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- Politico: Democrats pressure Barack Obama on Israel
- USA Today: Obama: Israel must halt West Bank settlements
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As President Barack Obama conducts his first Middle East visit, Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley has emerged as a vocal critic of his approach to Israel, and is among those pushing a tougher stand with Saudi Arabia.
When the president suggested a zero-growth policy for Israel’s settlements in the West Bank, Berkley voiced serious reservations with what she believes is a decisive policy shift coming from the White House.
As Air Force One touched down Wednesday in Saudi Arabia, Berkley was at a news conference denouncing anti-Semitic language found in Saudi government-issued school textbooks.
“I’m hoping the information contained in these textbooks will be part of the discussion President Obama has with the Saudi king and the royal family,” Berkley said. She and the other lawmakers called on the president to press Saudi Arabia to fulfill past promises to remove the offensive passages.
Berkley has been a pro-Israel activist since her high school days, and a student of international affairs ever since. She is serving a fifth term on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
The congresswoman said that after eight years of the Bush administration, she believes a president needs loyal opposition.
“I’ve become a stronger advocate for the three branches of government having an equal voice and an equal role,” she said during a brief interview.
“Certainly the president has extraordinary power, extraordinary charisma — he’s an intelligent man,” she said. “But I have a role to play, too, as 435 of us have a role to play,” she said of the members of the House.
“It’s important that we do that and we’re just not a rubber stamp for the latest statement coming out of the White House.”
Berkley has been particularly concerned about Obama’s statements about freezing the natural population growth among the Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
During an interview with National Public Radio this week, Obama reiterated his position that “a freeze on settlements including natural growth” is part of obligations he expects from Israel.
Berkley said the White House’s stance is fundamentally different from those of the Bush and Clinton administrations.
“I just am concerned that he not lose sight of the fact that Israel is our strongest ally and the only democracy in a very dangerous part of the world,” Berkley said.
“He ought not keep Israel’s feet to the fire without a commensurate action on the part of our administration with the Arabs and the Palestinians,” she said. “Making a major issue out of natural growth of the settlements seems to me that we’re concentrating our power and our focus on the wrong issues.”
Berkley insists that she is not opposing the president. “Quite the contrary, I’m a great admirer,” she said. “I’m sure he will make the United States very proud in the next few days. I just want to make sure there aren’t concessions made that are detrimental.”
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Maybe I will go and find Shelley Berkley's house and decide to build my own settlement on her front yard. I'm sure she won't mind.
Does the fact that Shelley Berkley is Jewish have anything to do wth here stance?
Are the Jewish people just now waking up to the realization that a strong and vocal portion of the Democratic Party thinks that the state of Israel is one of the most evil governments on the planet?
Do they now realize that Obama has been rubbing elbows and paling around with that crowd for decades?
Do they get it now?
Probably not.............
The arabs have one goal, and one goal ONLY, and that is the total destruction, and reconquest of Israel. All talk of peace, and compromise, is just "noise", games of deception to shake down the West for billions of dollars in aid that only benefit the few and the powerful, and never reach the masses whose lives must remain miserable, so the conflict can continue. The arabs are the makers of their own misery. They will gladly grind the arab masses to death against the walls of Israel, as long as it gets the sympathy of the West, and evokes hostility towards Israel. To compromise with terrorists, is to reward terrorism, to reward islamic imperialism. The islamic imperialists care neither for the jews, nor the "crusaders". There's no diplomatic solution to this conflict. Only a united front can defeat the scourge of muslim terror.
The anti semitic comments here are amazing. Looks like Obama is not the only one begging for oil Look out when the economy goes down. When there is nothing left to do, there is always hate.
Neiman1...you are soooo right. Having said that why would any Jewish person vote for BHO knowing (as his Muslim ties were well-publicized) where this could be headed? I'm not sure I have much sympathy for Jewish Americans in that quarter. I don't care for Berkley much, but she is right and I hope for Israel's sake that we are all wrong about Obama. Or, I should say, I hope I am wrong and he doesn't plan to throw Israel under the bus just to appease the Arabs. That would be a slippery slope now wouldn't it?
Old friend Israel...
The same people that bombed the USS Liberty in 1967 killing 34 and injuring 171.
The same people that continually spy on America with their Mossad.
The same people that claim they want peace with the Palestinians, but refuse to quit building settlements on their land.
Do some research and find out who owns the majority of radio and tv stations, movies studios and newspapers in this country.
The US should support Israel existance only behind the Green line (Pre-1967) border. Any other expansion by Isreal is illegal and should be stopped. After all we are not annexing Iraq or Afganistan.
Would all of the Pro-Israel supporters think that Iraq occuping Kuwait was right?
I hope the Preident and Congress looks after UNITED STATES interest first and foremost and not a foreign power even if it is an ally.
Buying wholesale into Arab propoganda just shows ignorance, not compassion not desire to work in the best interests of the US.
The Jewish National Home of the Mandate of Palestine (as it was originally called) was partitioned in 1922 when Britain was first given the Mandate to rule. They gave all the land east of the Jordan river (approximately 80% of the land) to the Palestinians. Although ruled by a Hashemite and called Jordan, that land is 80% Palestinian by population.
The lands to the west of the Jordan (Modern Israel, Gaza and the WB) were to be for the Jewish inhabbitants who were the majority in those lands at the time.
By the mid 30's and beyond, Britian began reducing Jewish immigration to those lands while making no such restriction on Arab immigration. Many if not most of the Arabs who today call themselves Palestinian are descendants of that influx (such as Yasser Arafat who was born in Egypt of Meshal, whose parents came from Syria).
The Jews lived on the land for over 2,000 years in an unbroken chain. They purchased lands from the Ottomans and rebuilt their country. Like most places, most of the land was unoccupied and government owned. The great myths of Arab displacements have truth in them, but they are certainly not true.
But the myth that the Jews came and wholesale stole the land is not a myth - it is a lie. And a lie repeated over and over again is no more true the umpteenth time it is said than the first. But like all propaganda, it is just believed by more.
gzeeee ...give us a break Shelly. You can't continue to talk around Israel's policy of ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians with our tax dollars. But the real problem is AIPAC ....the American Israel Political Action Committee of which Ms. Berkley is a former board member. Little wonder then that she is the all-time Congressional recipient of AIPAC money and leads the list of "Israel is always right" members of Congress. Little wonder too when Bush declared war on Iraq, Shelley was actually there in the White House asking "how will this affect Israel". One has to wonder where her priorities are - apparently not America's. The all too powerful AIPAC lobby works overtime to keep its favorite politicians, including Ms. Berkley in office and this is the single reason why middle east peace has been so elusive. AIPAC's inluence in Congress is the elephant in the room no U.S. politician wants to talk about for fear of AIPAC's smear tactics if they don't hold the pro-Israel line. This is an important issue. I hope Clark County voters will remember this when Ms. Berkley is up for re-election. Lastly, three cheers for President Obama for having the courage to confront AIPAC !
I urge all my fellow democrats to give, and give generously, to http://www.aipac.org/ to make sure that our president doesn't get lost in the maze of the middle east, like that man who ushered in almost 30 years of disastrous republican presidents, Jimmy Carter. Clearly there are some delusional readers here who believe that what didn't work in Munich in 1938, will work just fine in the middle east today, and that peace in our time is at hand, if only those nasty jews will just give up a mere square kilometer here, and another itty-bitty square kilometer there. Boy, do I have a hot stock tip for you kids!
Even DEMOCRATS are questioning Obama now ... it's all starting. They are turning on each other. Watch the fun begin!
...kinda like to throw this tid bit out when Israel/Palestine is in the news...the whole world is at war over the existence of the State of Israel which if it could be lifted from its present earthly location & relocated, would fit snugly inside the boundaries of Clark County NV...I recognize that passions are strong, but this always seems surreal to me...
The "natural" growth rate of Isreal is 1.5%. The growth rate in the settlements is 4-6%. Isreal signed the Annapolis "road map for peace" that dictated the "freezing" of the settlements. The continued expansion of the settlements is a poke in the eye to everyone, except Isreal. If I was a Palestinian I too would be launching rockets, rocks, marbles, whatever.
AIPAC should be banned from US soil. When not engaging in espionage they bribe our elected officials to support Israel. Shut the money flow off and see how long support for Israel's nonsense will last.
Israel is responsible for perpetuating the mess - all take and no give. Neither side is without fault, but the Jews speak of piece not peace.