ZOA Deeply Concerned at Reports that Pres. Obama is Withholding Arms from Israel during Gaza War
Reports Say U.S. Likely to Delay Future Israeli Weapons Requests
A report in the Wall Street Journal claimed the White House and State Department had been angered by a transfer of arms to Israel by the Pentagon and had ordered greater oversight into future sales. Yet, a Defense Department official has confirmed that weapons transfer was unexceptional and that “The process for this transfer was followed precisely along the lines that it should have.” The same report notes that a “particularly combative phone call” is said to have taken place yesterday between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Adam Entous, ‘Gaza Crisis: Israel Outflanks the White House on Strategy,’ Wall Street Journal, August 14, 2014).
ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said, “We find these reports deeply disturbing. If these reports are true, it means that President Obama has been withholding arms to Israel in the middle of a war Israel is waging in protection of its citizens from Hamas terrorists who are continuously assaulting Israel with over 3,000 missiles in an attempt to murder as many Jews as possible. They are targeting major civilian population areas. If not for the Iron Dome missile defense system, thousands of Israelis would have ben killed by these missiles.
“Allies cannot always precisely agree on policy. But it is inexcusable for the American President to withhold urgent requests for arms, especially in the middle of a war.
“It is no secret — indeed, the ZOA has drawn attention to the fact — President Obama has publicly supported Israel’s right to deal with Hamas assaults and threats while simultaneously pressuring Israel to agree to an immediate ceasefire, which would amount to a negation of that publicly-expressed support. Now, it appears he is pressuring Israel by means of withholding weaponry during the actual fighting.
“If these reports are true, it makes a mockery of President Obama’s repeated, public statements in defense of Israel’s right to defend itself. When pressure is exerted to curtail the exercise of that right and arms requests in the middle of a war are delayed or denied, such public statements become empty and false.
“Many of President Obama’s defenders have repeatedly asserted that, even if the language he uses and the atmospherics with Israel are not good, the defense/security aspect of the U.S./Israel relationship between Israel is excellent. If these reports are true, then this assertion is greatly undermined.
“If these reports are untrue, then President Obama should say so. But if they are true, President Obama deserves stern criticism from American Jewry, the U.S. Congress and indeed all Americans who care about the safety and well-being of Israel and the strength and credibility of the U.S./Israeli relationship. The delay in granting Israel weaponry as previously agreed must be rescinded.”
ZOA
The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) is the oldest and one of the largest pro-Israel organizations in the United States. With offices around the country and in Israel, the ZOA educates the public, elected officials, the media, and college/high school students about the truth of the ongoing Arab war against Israel. The ZOA works to strengthen U.S.-Israel relations through educational activities, public affairs programs and our work on Capitol Hill, and to combat anti-Semitism and anti-Israel bias in the media, in textbooks, in schools and on college campuses. Under the leadership of such presidents as Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, Rabbis Abba Hillel Silver and Stephen Wise, and current President Morton A. Klein, the ZOA has been - and continues to be - on the front lines of Jewish activism. www.zoa.org.