(Politico).In the wake of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s stormy visit to Washington last week, National Security Council Middle East Senior Director Dan Shapiro did a call with Jewish community representatives Friday, sources say.
What was the message?
“Not much,” one source, who declined to be identified, said. “No crisis. Media reports are wrong. More agreement than disagreement” inside the administration, regarding how to advance the Middle East peace process. [The administration’s] “hand was forced [with regard to] Jerusalem by circumstances during Biden’s trip,” the source said, referring to the Israeli government’s announcement last month during Vice President Joe Biden's good-will trip to Israel that it had approved construction of another 1,600 homes to be built in the Ramat Shlomo neighborhood.
[In other words, big internal debate some hack reported on last weekend? Overblown. All is harmony inside the administration on its approach, how hard to push, who to push, what to push for, etc. To which another source who'd been on the call Friday said, Oh that report? "It is so obviously true.”]
But the point of the call seemed to basically be to calm down any undue anxiety among Jewish American and pro-Israel groups in Washington following recent U.S.-Israeli tensions.
What was the message?
“Not much,” one source, who declined to be identified, said. “No crisis. Media reports are wrong. More agreement than disagreement” inside the administration, regarding how to advance the Middle East peace process. [The administration’s] “hand was forced [with regard to] Jerusalem by circumstances during Biden’s trip,” the source said, referring to the Israeli government’s announcement last month during Vice President Joe Biden's good-will trip to Israel that it had approved construction of another 1,600 homes to be built in the Ramat Shlomo neighborhood.
[In other words, big internal debate some hack reported on last weekend? Overblown. All is harmony inside the administration on its approach, how hard to push, who to push, what to push for, etc. To which another source who'd been on the call Friday said, Oh that report? "It is so obviously true.”]
But the point of the call seemed to basically be to calm down any undue anxiety among Jewish American and pro-Israel groups in Washington following recent U.S.-Israeli tensions.