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    GOP joins Jerusalem mayor in Obama criticism

    Arik
    Arik
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    GOP joins Jerusalem mayor in Obama criticism Empty GOP joins Jerusalem mayor in Obama criticism

    Post  Arik Thu Apr 29, 2010 9:06 am

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    POLITICO 44



    House Republicans joined the mayor of Jerusalem on Wednesday morning in criticizing the Obama administration’s Israel policies, making it clear that the GOP is not afraid to play foreign politicians against the president.

    Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, after a meeting with House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.), said the Obama administration is asking him to “discriminate” based on religion in its push to freeze construction in East Jerusalem.

    Barkat said he, too, was “shocked” and “surprised” by President Barack Obama’s request, which has caused ire in both the American Jewish community and in some corners of Capitol Hill.

    “I think in Washington or anywhere in the states its illegal, it’s anti constitutional, to ask who’s the owner, if he’s Jewish or Muslim,” Barkat told reporters in Cantor’s Capitol office. “You’re not allowed to discriminate, by race, by color, or by religion. And I’m surprised at the demand and the request to hint to us that we must discriminate…It’s against the law.”

    Barkat also pushed back on a report Wednesday that construction in the neighborhood has stopped, saying that it slowed after the Obama administration’s request, but is “back on track.”

    Barkat's view of the United States is it is "the best friend Israel ever had." He added, however, that "not every day" does the mayor of a city get a request from the administration to freeze construction — something he considers a municipal matter.

    Republicans have seized on the administration’s request to freeze building to paint Obama as anti-Israel and alienating a key democracy in the Middle East.

    Cantor, the highest-ranking Jewish Republican, has been at the forefront of that criticism.

    He is now also trying to tie Obama’s request for a construction freeze in Jerusalem to Iran sanctions – the Virginia Republican said that “given the larger challenges” the U.S. faces in the region, such as Iran and its “terrorist proxies,” many on Capitol Hill were “taken aback” by the request.

    Cantor said the bipartisan support on Capitol Hill for Iran sanctions and a united Jerusalem is “in contrast” to what is coming out of the White House.

    “Israel is an ally, Israel is not a project,” Roskam said. “There is sort of some, you would sense, in this town that don’t quite view Israel in that high regard and instead are viewing Israel as a project, as a stumbling block, and we’re here to say, ‘No, no, no, this is an ally and we need to do everything we can to reaffirm our relationship as an ally.’”

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