EMET Demands Consequences for the Beyond the Pale Insults Against the Leader of Our Strongest Ally in the Middle East

EMET Demands Consequences for the Beyond the Pale Insults Against the Leader of Our Strongest Ally in the Middle East Washington, DC (October 31, 2014) Today, The Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET) called on the White House to name, shame, and immediately dismiss the official who used profanity to describe the Prime Minster of the one democratic ally of the United States in the Middle East – Israel.

A story that ran Tuesday in The Atlantic by Jeffrey Goldberg quotes “a senior Obama administration official” calling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “chickensh*t,” and cites another unnamed senior official describing the Prime Minister as a “coward” on the issue of the Iranian nuclear threat. The official noted that two or three years ago the Prime Minister Netanyahu could have attacked Iran, but did not due to a combination of American “pressure” and Netanyahu’s “unwillingness.”

“It is precisely language like this that alienates America’s friends and empowers her enemies to attack. Words carry a tremendous amount of weight, particularly coming from the office of the presidency of the United States, and most particularly, when heard in the highly volatile region of the world, as is the Middle East,” Sarah Stern, the Founder and President of EMET said. “The Administration cannot have it both ways. They cannot demand restraint from Israel against attacking Iran, and then say Israel lacks courage when they follow their ally’s advice and holds back from attacking Iran,” Stern added.

Founded in 2006, EMET’s mission is to educate policymakers in Washington DC and the general public about the importance of Israel to the United States in their common struggle against radical Islam. For more information, please visit www.emetonline.org.