from Protect Our Heritage Pac

THE ISSUES

U.S. LASHES OUT FOR JERUSALEM HOUSING PLANS
On a visit to Israel last week, Vice President Joe Biden "condemned" (extremely strong diplomatic language) an announcement by a mid-level Israeli official that the government had approved a planning stage for the construction of 1,600 housing units in a Jewish neighborhood in Jerusalem. The Vice President was not comfortable with the timing of the announcement but accepted Prime Minister Netanyahu's apology. Israel thought the incident was over.

UNPRECEDENTED ATTACK CONTINUES EVEN AFTER PM NETANYAHU'S APOLOGY IS ACCEPTED
In a 45-minute phone tirade to Israel's Prime Minister, Secretary of State Hilary Clinton said that Israel building in east Jerusalem is an "insult" to the United States, jeopardizes the bilateral relationship, and damages the cause of resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Days later President Barack Obama's chief political adviser David Axelrod took to the Sunday talk shows to slam the Israeli construction as "an affront" to the United States. The day after Israel thought that the level of rhetoric had calmed, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. was summoned to a reprimand by Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg. Oren spoke of his surprise at being summoned after believing that the crisis had ended on Thursday. "Steinberg read to me from the [American] letter of protest, whose content was extremely harsh."

VITRIOLIC WORDS ACCOMPANIED BY DANGEROUS DEMANDS
As penance for planning of Jewish homes, Clinton set forth a list of U.S. demands, which include reversing the decision to build in the Jewish neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo, releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, withdrawing the IDF from additional areas in the West Bank and removing roadblocks from the Gaza Strip to Israel. Because Israel planned housing which would not be built for another 3-4 years, convicted terrorists should be released and other potential terrorists should be allowed freer access to Israel. The underlying assumption that any area which the Palestinians want to fall under their sovereignty must be ethnically cleansed of all Jewish residents did not seem to be an affront to our State Department.

HOUSING PROJECT NEVER PART OF AREA INCLUDED IN ISRAEL'S TEMPORARY BUILDING FREEZE
The U.S. knew all along that Jerusalem was not part of the building freeze. Why is the construction of homes for Jews in Jerusalem considered an unforgivable offense to the U.S. when Jerusalem was never part of the building freeze area? This housing project falls within Jerusalem's municipal boundaries, is a primarily Jewish community with 16,000 Jewish residents, and was never included in the territory of Prime Minster Netanyahu 10-month building freeze in Judea and Samaria. When under pressure from the U.S., Netanyahu agreed to the building freeze on November 25, 2009, Secretary of State Clinton hailed the Netanyahu agreement as "unprecedented settlement concessions." On November 1, 2009, the U.S. State Department praised the announcement, "Today's announcement by the Government of Israel helps move forward toward resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." The same concession that was praised in November is today condemned as a punishable offence.

THE FALLOUT
ISRAEL'S AMBASSADOR: THE US: WORST U.S.-ISRAEL CRISIS IN 35 YEARS
The U.S. has esccalated a minor difference into what Ambassor Oren describes," U.S.-Israeli relations face their worst crisis in 35 years." America's verbal attacks against Israel will be paid in Israeli and Palestinian blood. After the American barrage against Israel, some prominent Palestinian leaders called for "a march against Jerusalem to protect if from the Jews.' Today, after Hamas called for a "day of Rage" outbreaks of Palestinian violence broke out in parts of Jerusalem with 10 Palestinains and one Israeli injured and more violence expected tomorrow.

PERCEIVED U.S. ABANDONMENT OF ISRAEL UNDERMINES ANY HOPE FOR MOVEMENT ON PEACE
The excessively disparaging rhetoric against Israel stopped any possibility of peace negotiations.The Palestinians have no reason to enter into negotiations in which they may have to give up something if they believe they can simply wait for the U.S. president to deliver them all of their demands without their recognition of the Jewish State of Israel. The Israelis feel less confident than ever in their ability to trust the U.S. as an honest broker if after they agreed to U.S. prompted unilateral concessions, their only reward is a demand for even more and even more dangerous concessions.