Wednesday 5 September 2012

For BHO'S Jews, Time to Bury Your Heads Deeper in the Sand................from Dan Friedman


[Couldn’t you just kvell? DNC Platform: Abortion and gay marriage is in, Jerusalem is out. Why, it’s the answer to your bubbe’s prayer! df]

Politico, 9/4/12

Jerusalem capital plank not included in DNC platform

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Language calling for Jerusalem to be recognized as the capital of Israel has been omitted from the 2012 Democratic Party platform.

As the Weekly Standard's Daniel Halper noted, the 2008 DNC platform included this language proclaiming the city's status: "Jerusalem is and will remain the capital of Israel. The parties have agreed that Jerusalem is a matter for final status negotiations. It should remain an undivided city accessible to people of all faiths."

That language has been replaced by a broader statement about unshakable U.S. support for the Jewish state — with no mention of Jerusalem at all. The statement also omits previously included language about Palestinian refugees and the designed terrorist group Hamas.

It's a nod to the realities of governing. Longstanding U.S. policy withholds recognition of the city as Israel's capital, and the U.S. embassy remains in Tel Aviv. It's easier for challengers to incorporate Jerusalem into their party platforms than it is for incumbents.

Asked about the issue in July, White House press secretary Jay Carney would only say that the U.S. position hasn't changed.

It's a thorny issue for the president who must balance longstanding U.S. foreign policy objectives against the electoral politics. Critics have accused him of being insufficiently supportive of Israel and he's had a difficult working relationship with the country's conservative government. Obama's miscues and difficulties with Israeli leadership came to a head when they cost the Democrats a safe House seat in a heavily Jewish district in New York City.

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Related: Dems. Remove Pro-Israel Language from Party Platform

[Urgent memo to Netanyahu: Don’t go down in history as the world's biggest shmuck. Under no circumstances do you make a deal with the Amalekite. df]

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