Mar 16
JCRC Responds to Recent U.S. – Israel Disagreement
2010 at 09:28 am posted by admin
Minneapolis, MN – Steve Hunegs, Executive Director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas (JCRC) issued the following statement today in response to the recent disagreement between the United States and Israel:
“For over sixty years, the United States and Israel have enjoyed a strong relationship based on mutual cooperation and shared values. The timing of the recent announcement of the construction of apartment units in Jerusalem was, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, ‘…a regrettable incident that was done in all innocence and was hurtful, and which certainly should not have occurred.’
“This difficult moment, however, should not disrupt the historic strong relationship between the United States and Israel, especially in light of our mutual concern regarding Iran’s quest for nuclear weapons which threatens the United States, Israel, the Arab world, and Europe. Furthermore, we encourage the Obama Administration and the Netanyahu Government, as well as their respective supporters and detractors, to restrain their rhetoric and proceed with caution. Lingering tensions between the United States and Israel is not in the best interest of either nation, and only bolsters our common foes. We are optimistic that the United States and Israel will continue to work together, as they have in the past, to provide security for the people of both nations and achieve a durable and lasting peace in the Middle East.
“The JCRC also strongly encourages the Obama Administration to continue to press the Palestinian Authority to end incitement against Israel and Jews. We urge the Administration to condemn the naming of a Palestinian public square after Dalal Mughrabi, a woman who led a 1978 terrorist attack that killed 38 Israeli civilians, including 13 children.”
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The JCRC… the public affairs voice of the Jewish community fighting anti-Semitism and prejudice, promoting tolerance and social justice, and representing Jews, individually and collectively, here and abroad.