(Newsmax) - The U.S. government should be focusing on Iran’s treatment of its citizens and its nuclear program more than a few Jewish families who want to live in a predominantly Arab neighborhood of Jerusalem, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said in a visit to Jerusalem today.
Huckabee’s tour of Jewish communities in East Jerusalem underscored tensions between the current Israeli government and the Obama administration. The Fox News show host insisted his visit to Israeli settlements was not meant to be a provocation, however Huckabee’s trip is drawing protests from left-wing Israeli organizations and energizing proponents of the building in the predominantly Arab neighborhood.
“I’m not here to create a dispute with the current U.S administration and I’m certainly not here to give instructions to the Israelis,” he said. The highlight of his visit includes a dinner at the Shepherd Hotel, a Jewish-owned building in Arab East Jerusalem that has stirred new controversy between Israel and the United States over Israel’s right to build in certain areas of the country.
N.Y. State Assemblyman Dov Hikind, traveling with the former presidential candidate, launched a harsh tirade against America’s recent policy toward Israel, calling Obama’s relationship with the Netanyahu government “a horror.”
“The President of the United State over the last few months has reached out to every dictatorship in the world. The only country in the world that America has not embraced is Israel and that has dramatically undermined the peace process,” Hikind charged.
“The policy of President Obama, that Israel must not build in the communities of Judea and Samaria and East Jerusalem, even for natural growth, has now given (Palestinian President Mahmoud) Abbas, Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Middle East an absolute excuse not to sit down and talk peace,” the Brooklyn assemblyman said. Hikind said the administration’s policies toward Israel are causing American Jews to distance themselves from the Democrat-dominated government.
“There is a major change going on, slowly but surely, for a variety of reasons, but the Obama administration has been grossly unfair to the State of Israel,” he said. ”(Obama) thinks he can impose things on Israel and shove it down Israel’s throat. This is insulting to the people of Israel and to the American people as well.”
Huckabee’s tour of Jewish communities in East Jerusalem underscored tensions between the current Israeli government and the Obama administration. The Fox News show host insisted his visit to Israeli settlements was not meant to be a provocation, however Huckabee’s trip is drawing protests from left-wing Israeli organizations and energizing proponents of the building in the predominantly Arab neighborhood.
“I’m not here to create a dispute with the current U.S administration and I’m certainly not here to give instructions to the Israelis,” he said. The highlight of his visit includes a dinner at the Shepherd Hotel, a Jewish-owned building in Arab East Jerusalem that has stirred new controversy between Israel and the United States over Israel’s right to build in certain areas of the country.
N.Y. State Assemblyman Dov Hikind, traveling with the former presidential candidate, launched a harsh tirade against America’s recent policy toward Israel, calling Obama’s relationship with the Netanyahu government “a horror.”
“The President of the United State over the last few months has reached out to every dictatorship in the world. The only country in the world that America has not embraced is Israel and that has dramatically undermined the peace process,” Hikind charged.
“The policy of President Obama, that Israel must not build in the communities of Judea and Samaria and East Jerusalem, even for natural growth, has now given (Palestinian President Mahmoud) Abbas, Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Middle East an absolute excuse not to sit down and talk peace,” the Brooklyn assemblyman said. Hikind said the administration’s policies toward Israel are causing American Jews to distance themselves from the Democrat-dominated government.
“There is a major change going on, slowly but surely, for a variety of reasons, but the Obama administration has been grossly unfair to the State of Israel,” he said. ”(Obama) thinks he can impose things on Israel and shove it down Israel’s throat. This is insulting to the people of Israel and to the American people as well.”