Knesset speaker finds no comfort in return of Democrats’ omitted language on Jerusalem
Rivlin says Obama administration shows ‘total lack of understanding’ of roots of Middle East conflict
The reinstatement of the sentence about Jerusalem as Israel’s capital into the Democratic Party’s 2012 platform, reportedly at the behest of President Barack Obama, is no cause for optimism regarding the stance of the US on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin (Likud) said Thursday.
“It was no mistake nor instance of forgetfulness in the first place,” said Rivlin. “There is no doubt in my mind that President Obama restored Jerusalem to his party’s platform due to political and electoral considerations and the harsh criticism within Israel and the US.”
“This is a problematic sign of the erosion of the US government’s strategic commitment toward Israel,” he added.
The Democratic Party’s platform committee met in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Wednesday to restore language from the 2008 platform to this year’s platform.
The removal of the language addressing Jerusalem had provoked a firestorm of criticism from pro-Israel groups, as well as Republicans and Democratic lawmakers in Congress, who said the decision blindsided them.
“Jerusalem is and will remain the capital of Israel” appeared in the 2008 document, along with the caveat that the matter should be left to final status negotiations.
Rivlin on Wednesday said during a meeting with Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi that he was “less worried about Israel-US relations on the Iranian issue and more concerned about President Obama’s going back on the commitment to the principle of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.”
“This has a far-reaching significance, and this reflects a total lack of understanding by the Obama administration of the roots of the conflict in the Middle East,” he added.
