Last week the American Thinker ran the screaming headline: "National Jewish Leader Turns Against Obama."
The leader in question was Alan Solow, chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations" and a longtime backer of President Obama. At issue was the statement issued by Solow and the chief executive of the Presidents Conference, Malcolm Hoenlein, criticizing any effort by the United States to pressure Israel into stopping Jewish construction in Jerusalem.
Now Solow has issued a response, denying that the statement represented a "general comment on Obama’s ongoing approach in his current discussions with Israel." He certainly sounds like a guy who still respects and trusts the president.
Here’s Solow’s full statement:
"The statement we issued on Jerusalem reflected long standing policy of the Conference of Presidents. Given the press attention focused on this issue, we thought it was appropriate to speak out. It was not intended as a general comment on President Obama’s ongoing approach in his current discussions with Israel. One thing the President made clear in our White House discussion of July 13 was that there might be points of disagreement over issues of strategy, but the President also wanted it known that his support for Israel as a Jewish State in the Middle East was unequivocal. The President’s commitment to Israel’s safety and security is one that he has previously stated publicly, as well as privately to me over the years. Our relationship remains excellent, and the President understood when I became Conference Chair that I would advocate for positions based on communal consensus. As Chairman of the Conference, I look forward to working with the President to make his support meaningful and effective, and his hosting of the meeting with Jewish leaders is an indication that he wants to hear from our community. I think all participants in the meeting would agree that it was valuable and productive. I intend to continue to engage with the Administration to advance the interests of American Jewry, and I expect that the President and his team will continue to value our input."
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