(Council on Foreign Relations) Elliott Abrams - Last week President Obama spoke at Shimon Peres' funeral, but the White House actually issued a correction of its press release of Obama's remarks to strike the world "Israel." The ceremony was at Mount Herzl, the Jerusalem cemetery where many of Israel's greatest figures are buried: Herzl himself, Jabotinsky, Begin, Golda Meir, Rabin, and innumerable military heroes. It lies in western Jerusalem, near Yad Vashem - a place Palestinians do not even claim when they claim a share of Jerusalem, only those who seek to destroy Israel. There is no dispute about west Jerusalem, where the Knesset, Prime Minister's office, Supreme Court, National Library, and Mount Herzl all lie. One wonders if President Obama actually thought as he spoke at the grave site that he was not standing in Israel, and that Shimon Peres was not being buried in Israel. I doubt it. The writer, a senior fellow at CFR, handled Middle East affairs at the U.S. National Security Council from 2001 to 2009.
2016-10-05 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive