Orthodox rabbis blast Obama

The Rabbinical Council of America wishes to express its astonishment and
dismay at the ongoing response of our elected leaders to the recent
announcement by Israel of plans to continue building in a Jerusalem
neighborhood.



The construction in Jerusalem will take place in accordance with the
policies of every past Israeli administration, and in fulfillment of the
existing policies of the current one.



Some may question the wisdom of Israel's decision to proceed at this time
with this long-planned project. Some may find fault with the timing of its
announcement, coming during a sensitive visit to Israel by the Vice
President, himself a long-time friend of Israel and the Jewish people. Some
may even doubt Israel's right to expand the neighborhoods of a united
Jerusalem, the eternal capital of Israel.



But none of that can explain the disproportionate, extraordinary, and
unwarranted response by some spokesmen of the Obama administration in
excoriating, condemning, and publicly lashing out at the duly elected
representatives of the sovereign State of Israel.



There is no justification, neither on moral nor on diplomatic grounds, for
escalating this policy disagreement into what some in the administration
have called (to quote just one such phrase) "an affront to America." This,
even after the Prime Minister of Israel, in unmatched fashion, issued a
public apology to the government of the United States.



Compared to the repeated incitements by leaders of the Palestinian Authority
to mass murder of innocent civilians; compared to last week's official
Palestinian adulation of bloody terrorists; and compared to the refusal by
the Palestinian Authority to hold direct face to face talks to advance the
American-sponsored peace process without preconditions, the US response to
Israel's announcement is difficult to fathom. The public lashing by the
United States of its most dependable ally and friend in the Middle East, in
response to a decision to expand a neighborhood in its capital city, is a
sad betrayal of the promises and understandings, as well as shared values,
that have characterized US-Israel relations since 1948, and that were
so-well articulated by Vice President Biden.



We add our voices to the many that urge the government of our great country
to desist from this inappropriate treatment of a proven democratic ally and
partner.



As the largest Orthodox rabbinical association in the world, we pray, as we
do publicly in our synagogues every Sabbath and Jewish holiday, that God
grant President Obama, as well as his advisors and his counselors, the
wisdom and insight to discern and pursue true paths of peace, to distinguish
between the proven friends and allies of these United States - and those
who, in denying Israel's right to live in security and peace as a Jewish
State, would undermine not just Israel, but the interests of the United
States itself.