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Pence: Obama 'most anti-Israel' president in modern history
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08/04/10 12:41 PM ET
President Obama is running the most anti-Israel White House in modern history, a member of the House GOP leadership charged Wednesday.
House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence (Ind.), a staunch ally of Israel, assailed Obama for his record on that country.
Pence, the third-ranking Republican in the House, has long been an outspoken advocate of Israel and helped author the Iran Sanctions Act this year in part to help Israel with battling the influence of nearby Iran and its pursuit of nuclear technology.
The conference chairman has before chided Obama on his relationship with Israel and its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. The two leaders suffered from a frosty relationship after Obama condemned Israel's decision to push forward with the construction of certain settlements in Jerusalem. The two had a tense meeting earlier this year before Netanyahu canceled a return trip that was rescheduled for early July. That meeting showcased some thawing in the relationship between Obama and the Israeli prime minister.
"I'll be honest with you: I never thought I'd live to see the day that an American administration would denounce the Jewish state of Israel for rebuilding Jerusalem," said Pence, a potential 2012 Republican presidential candidate. "But in the wake of the dispute over the construction of apartment buildings in a certain area of Jerusalem, we saw just that. And the American people are fed up with it."
Pence said he welcomed the more positive tone of the recent meeting between Obama and Netanyahu, but said he wanted to "see more" from the president.
"Israel is our most cherished ally. The American people support Israel's right to self-defense," he said. "The American people support the Jewish state of Israel, and the American people expect the American president to unambiguously do the same."
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