Israel Matzav

Obama tries to convince Jewish groups to disregard Israel's interests

On Tuesday, President Hussein Obama sent White House national security advisor Susan Rice, her deputies Ben Rhodes and Tony Blinken and Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman to meet with four Jewish organizations to convince them not to lobby Congress in favor of new sanctions against Iran.

The White House meeting witnessed forceful exchanges between the two sides on the merits of the sanctions package, sources tell The Jerusalem Post. 

The afternoon meeting lasted over an hour and was characterized as a "serious exchange" over strategy during this delicate diplomatic window.

One White House official called the meeting "constructive" and said no animus was expressed.

In recent days a number of leading Jewish groups, including AIPAC, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs and the Jewish Federations of North America, have reiterated support for advancing through Congress new and enhanced Iran sanctions, although the Obama administration has made clear publicly that it would prefer Congress put off dealing with the legislation until after the next round of talks in mid-November.

 If there were 'forceful exchanges' you can bet that J Street and 'Jewish' Voice for 'Peace' weren't there.

Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Iran sanctions regime, Iranian nuclear threat, J Street, Jewish Voice for Peace, Susan Rice, United States Senate

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:41 PM