Aides of Democratic candidate Senator John Kerry are complaining that the Israeli government is making clear its preference of President George W. Bush in the American election campaign. Israeli Ambassador to the United States Danny Ayalon told Kerry aides that Israel is "absolutely neutral."
Democratic Party sources said they do not appreciate the fact that American Jews visiting Israel hear from the prime minister and his aides overstated praise for Bush, Haaretz reported. The officials warned that the praise for Bush is being interpreted as hints to the Jews that they should vote for the incumbent president in the coming election.
The sources expressed their disappointment that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon failed to meet with Kerry during the prime minister's last trip to Washington. Sharon's staff cited "scheduling difficulties" as the reason that the two did not meet.
The sources also noted that Kerry's brother Cameron, a convert to Judaism of over twenty years, recently visited Israel and met with Sharon, but photographers were banned from recording the meeting.
In addition, the sources mentioned Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's comments to the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, in which he stated that he doesn't know who will win the election, but he preferred Bush.
According to the Haaretz report, most of the complaints are not coming directly from members of Kerry's team but rather from Jewish activists in the Democratic Party.
In response to the allegations, an official at the Prime Minister's Office said that Kerry is welcome in Israel at any time and Sharon has not yet met him due to "technical reasons," the Jerusalem Post reported.
Ayalon held talks yesterday with Kerry and made it clear to him that Israel is not interfering in the campaign, Israel Radio reported.
A senior advisor to Kerry, Susan Rice, said if Kerry is elected he will reinvigorate the Middle East peace process. She told Ayalon that Kerry sees Israel as an important ally, and that its security is important for U.S. security, the radio report said.
Sources close to Kerry, including former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk, said they expect a change in Israel's attitude toward Kerry once he is nominated this week, Haaretz reported.
Meanwhile, a panel at the Democratic National Convention was told that American Jews remain faithful and reliable supporters of the Democratic Party and seem poised to overwhelmingly back John Kerry in the Nov. 2 presidential election, Reuters reported. President Bush won only 19 percent of the Jewish vote in the 2000 elections.
Kerry: I will not try to impose a peace agreement The Democratic Party platform adopted on Tuesday said Jerusalem should remain the undivided capital of Israel, that Palestinian refugees had no right of return and that it was unrealistic to expect Israel to return to its 1949 borders - all positions espoused by Bush.
Kerry told Haaretz recently that the Jewish state had no one to negotiate with on the Palestinian side and that he would not try to impose a peace agreement if elected.
"It's up to Israel to negotiate peace, and it needs a partner to do it with and they don't have one yet," he said.
Kerry angered Israel supporters last October when he told an Arab-American group that an array of fences and walls Israel was building through occupied West Bank land was a "barrier to peace."
But Kerry criticized the UN General Assembly's resolution passed last week urging Israel to comply with the International Court of Justice's ruling that it should dismantle the security fence.
He said as president he would "stand up for Israel's security in the UN or any international organization."
"I want to express my deep disappointment at the resolution passed Tuesday by the UN General Assembly. Let us remember: Israel's fence is a legitimate response to terror that only exists in response to the wave of terror attacks against Israel. The fence has proven to be an important tool in Israel's fight against terrorism," Kerry said in a statement.
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What the heck is this all about?
Are these amateurs under the impression that people HAVE to like him because he's the nominee for the DNC?
And isn't he the one whose always whispering in people's ears that behind closed doors unnamed leaders really want him?
Meanwhile, pro-Aristede demonstrators are rallying for Kerry in Port-au-Prince.