(POLITICO 44).The mayor of Jerusalem is making round on Capitol Hill this week and he has a stern message for U.S. lawmakers: America’s demand for a settlement freeze in East Jerusalem is illegal.
Nir Barkat, the millionaire businessman and mayor of Israel’s largest city, will meet with a slew of lawmakers, including House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and both Republican and Democratic Israel caucuses.
Barkat is taking his criticism straight to Congress, where the administration’s position about Israel has come under fire from both parties.
Barkat's talking points, an aide told POLITICO: The U.S. would not ask certain religions or races to stop building in a city, so it should not demand the same of Israelis in East Jerusalem.
The Obama administration's demands that Israel halt construction in East Jerusalem as a precondition for negotiations, is “setting an obstacle for peace,” the aide said.
Stephan Miller, a spokesman to the mayor, said asking for a freeze is “an illegal demand in the United States, and illegal in the state of Israel” and “Jerusalem will continue to expand and grow for the benefit of all residents equally.”
Perhaps a starker preview of his message to Capitol Hill lawmakers came on Fox News Monday, when Neil Cavuto asked if the Obama administration was anti Israel
"I dont know," he said. "I dont know, we have yet to see. I will tell you in the next few months, in the next few years."
Nir Barkat, the millionaire businessman and mayor of Israel’s largest city, will meet with a slew of lawmakers, including House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and both Republican and Democratic Israel caucuses.
Barkat is taking his criticism straight to Congress, where the administration’s position about Israel has come under fire from both parties.
Barkat's talking points, an aide told POLITICO: The U.S. would not ask certain religions or races to stop building in a city, so it should not demand the same of Israelis in East Jerusalem.
The Obama administration's demands that Israel halt construction in East Jerusalem as a precondition for negotiations, is “setting an obstacle for peace,” the aide said.
Stephan Miller, a spokesman to the mayor, said asking for a freeze is “an illegal demand in the United States, and illegal in the state of Israel” and “Jerusalem will continue to expand and grow for the benefit of all residents equally.”
Perhaps a starker preview of his message to Capitol Hill lawmakers came on Fox News Monday, when Neil Cavuto asked if the Obama administration was anti Israel
"I dont know," he said. "I dont know, we have yet to see. I will tell you in the next few months, in the next few years."
