Obama Continues Contradictory Statements On Jerusalem
WASHINGTON, July 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following
is being issued by the Republican National Committee:
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080519/RNCLOGO )
Today, Obama Continued Backtracking On His Statement That
Jerusalem Should Be The Undivided Capital Of Israel:
Obama Claimed That "The Wording Was Poor" On His Call For
Jerusalem To Be The Undivided Capital Of Israel. Gibson: "And
then there's the issue of Jerusalem. You've said in the
speech, to AIPAC, Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel.
And it must remain undivided. When you said that did you not
realize the significance that that has for so many people in
this region?" Obama: "Well, number one, the fact is that
Jerusalem is Israel's capital. And so I was simply saying a
fact, with respect to--" Gibson: "You said 'must remain
undivided,' (crosstalk) those are code words." Obama: "Well
the issue of it being undivided, I have said and I said
immediately after the speech that that word was poorly chosen,
that what I was referring to is making sure that we're not
setting up barbed wire across Israel--" Gibson: "But Senator,
it was a very simple, declarative statement. It must remain,
and you started the paragraph by saying, 'Let me be clear'--"
Obama: "Charlie, the day after, or the day of making the
speech I conceded that the wording was poor, and it's
immediately corrected--" Gibson: "Rookie mistake?" Obama:
"Well I wouldn't say rookie mistake, I think that veterans
make mistakes as well." ("Gibson Interviews Obama," ABC News,
7/23/08)
NOTE: Yesterday, Obama Claimed He Had Never Backtracked On The
Status Of Jerusalem. CBS's Katie Couric: "You said not too
long ago that Jerusalem should remain undivided. And then you
backtracked on that statement. Does that play into the
argument that some believe that someone more experienced would
not have made that kind of mistake?" Obama: "Well, if you look
at what happened, there was no shift in policy or backtracking
in policy. We just had phrased it poorly in the speech. That
has happened and will happen to every politician. You're not
always gonna hit your mark in terms of how you phrase your
policies. But my policy hasn't changed, and it's been very
consistent. It's the same policy that Bill Clinton has put
forward, and that says that Jerusalem will be the capital of
Israel, that we shouldn't divide it by barbed wire, but that,
ultimately that is a final status issue that has to be
resolved between the Palestinians and the Israelis." ("Obama:
Surge Doesn't Meet Long-Term Goals," CBS News, 7/22/08)
In His Remarks To The Annual AIPAC Policy Conference, Obama
Said That Jerusalem Should Be The Undivided Capital Of Israel,
But Just One Day Later Said The City's Future Should Be
Negotiated By Israel And The Palestinians:
Obama Said Jerusalem Would Be The Undivided Capital Of Israel.
Obama: "Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel, and it
must remain undivided." (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks At The
Annual AIPAC Policy Conference, Arlington, VA, 6/4/08)
One Day Later, Obama Said The Future Of Jerusalem Would Have
To Be Negotiated By Israel And The Palestinians. CNN's Candy
Crowley: "I want to ask you about something you said in AIPAC
yesterday. You said that Jerusalem must remain undivided. Do
Palestinians have no claim to Jerusalem in the future?" Obama:
"Well, obviously, it's going to be up to the parties to
negotiate a range of these issues." (CNN's "The Situation
Room," 6/5/08)
"Facing Criticism From Palestinians, Sen. Barack Obama
Acknowledged Today That The Status Of Jerusalem Will Need To
Be Negotiated In Future Peace Talks, Amending A Statement
Earlier In The Week That Jerusalem 'Must Remain
Undivided.'"(Glenn Kessler, "Obama Clarifies Remarks On
Jerusalem," The Washington Post's" The Trail" Blog,
blog.washingtonpost.com, 6/5/08)
Obama Has Previously Said That Jerusalem Should Be
"Undivided":
In An American Jewish Committee Election Questionnaire, Obama
Said "Jerusalem Will Remain Israel's Capital, And No One
Should Want Or Expect It To Be Re-Divided." "The United States
cannot dictate the terms of a final status agreement. We
should support the parties as they negotiate these difficult
issues, but they will have to reach agreements that they can
live with. In general terms, clearly Israel must emerge in a
final status agreement with secure borders. Jerusalem will
remain Israel's capital, and no one should want or expect it
to be re-divided." (American Jewish Committee Website,
www.ajc.org, Accessed 7/22/08)
In A 2000 Position Paper, Obama Stated That "Jerusalem Should
Remain United And Should Be Recognized As Israel's Capital."
"Third, he addressed the issue in 2000 in a position paper on
Israel as part of his unsuccessful congressional campaign that
year. In that paper, he stated, 'Jerusalem should remain
united and should be recognized as Israel's capital.'" (Rick
Richman, "Obama's Redivided Jerusalem," The New York Sun,
7/16/08)
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by any candidate or candidate's committee.
Republican National Committee
Web site: http://www.gop.com/
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