[jokemoke]

Oh great! Just what we need right now......

[Cato the Censor]

What a crock of bullsh*t!!! Israel has never had a better friend than Bush.

[BrooklynGOP]

I don't know about personally writing everyone letters, however it is kind of odd that americans are murdered and Bush is not THAT pissed off.... Imagine if americans where murdered inside our borders....Bet the reaction would've been much much different.

[vance]

The Post is just trying to make it look like Bush does not have Jewish support, which could not be more wrong. Liberal mischief at The Post.

[grimalkin]

(sigh)

[blam]

My mother (85 years old) still cherishes a letter she received from her US representative at the death of her father. I don't have the heart to tell her that it is a form letter with a stamped signature. What is with this?

[Dallas]

Leave it to WP to blow a story out of proportion when it relates to the GOP....

[Pokey78]

Lloyd Grove, as in "Let's spy on the Bush twins!" Lloyd Grove.

[Bahbah]

I think if I lost a loved one, even in a terrible event like this, it would not occur to me that the President should feel it obligatory to recognize me. This sounds like such a ME, ME thing. I hope I'm not being grossly insensitive and missing some very important point.

[Rodney King]

Waaah. What a bunch of crybabies. Will Bush calling them make them feel better? Will it bring thier loved ones back? No. It is just cry-babyism politics. If I had a loved one die the last thing that I would want is some politician giving me a courtesy call because he is afraid that I will cry to the media if he doesn't.

[First_Salute]

Take a letter ...

Dear W'Post,

Please send all proceeds from this article and any photos pertaining thereto, to the victims of 911, lest the Honorable Ted Kennedy and the Honorable Hillary Clinton be seen for gratuitously inserting themselves into another "photo op" ... er ... with your help, by the way.

Thank you.

[Recovering_Democrat]

This is a tempest in a teapot. Let 'em whine. The people of Israel have a great friend in G.W. Bush.

The fact Ted Kennedy and Hitlery Klinton's names are mentioned are evidence enough to show this is an attempt to besmirch the CIC.

[tomahawk]

Pres. Bush gave Sharon the green light to reoccupy much of the West Bank. Actions speak louder than words, and Bush's actions speak loud. God bless him.

[TLBSHOW]

The beast and Ted reached out to them, better check their pockets!

[Satadru]

Another angry family member fumed in a fax to the president: "The 9 miners who were trapped underground for 72 hours were rescued... A few days later you went to their celebration party... My cousin was murdered and you didn't even make a phone call or write a letter to her family."

Let me break it down for this grieving family member. Pennsylvania is a battle-ground state and with a little union help, Bush may carry it in 2004. As much as I like it to be, the people of Israel do not vote in US elections.

[RCW2001]

Those "citizens" were given more than ample warning from the U.S. State Department to 'defer' travel to Israel then and now...they suffered the consequences of ignoring that warning.

Travel Warning (Updated December 7, 2001):  The Department of State warns U.S. citizens to defer travel to Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. Ongoing violence has caused numerous civilian deaths and injuries, including to some American tourists. The potential for further terrorist acts remains high. The situation in Gaza and the West Bank remains extremely volatile with continuing confrontations and clashes.

American citizens should limit travel to the Old City of Jerusalem to daylight hours, Saturday through Thursday. U.S. Government personnel in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza are under tight security controls, including prohibition of travel to the West Bank and Gaza. Occasionally, U.S. Government personnel are prohibited from traveling to sections of Jerusalem, including areas in both West and East Jerusalem, depending on current security conditions. Private Americans who remain in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza despite this warning should follow similar precautions and remain in close communication with the American Embassy in Tel Aviv and the American Consulate General in Jerusalem for more detailed information. American citizens residing in the West Bank and Gaza should consider relocating to a safe location.

American citizens in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza should also exercise extreme caution and avoid locations such as restaurants and cafes, shopping areas and malls, pedestrian zones, public buses and bus stops and the areas around them as well as crowds and demonstrations. Roads designed for Israeli settlers including in East Jerusalem have been the site of frequent shooting attacks and roadside explosives, sometimes resulting in death or injury. U.S. Embassy and Consulate employees and their families have been prohibited from using public buses throughout Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. Dual Palestinian American citizens may encounter difficulties departing the West Bank and Gaza during times of Israeli closures in those areas.

[Blake#1]

This is a "Terrible Terry McCauliffe" news plant. It should be obvious to us all. TT is worried about the Liberal Jewish vote evaporating and emerging as a GOP voting block.

[PhiKapMom]

Thought we could all use a reality check about travel to Israel -- note the date and this was reissued 2 August of this year!

From the State Department (http://travel.state.gov/israel_westbank_gaza.html)

Israel, the West Bank and Gaza - Consular Information Sheet
January 3, 2002
Travel Warning (Updated December 7, 2001): The Department of State warns U.S. citizens to defer travel to Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. Ongoing violence has caused numerous civilian deaths and injuries, including to some American tourists. The potential for further terrorist acts remains high. The situation in Gaza and the West Bank remains extremely volatile with continuing confrontations and clashes.

American citizens should limit travel to the Old City of Jerusalem to daylight hours, Saturday through Thursday. U.S. Government personnel in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza are under tight security controls, including prohibition of travel to the West Bank and Gaza. Occasionally, U.S. Government personnel are prohibited from traveling to sections of Jerusalem, including areas in both West and East Jerusalem, depending on current security conditions. Private Americans who remain in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza despite this warning should follow similar precautions and remain in close communication with the American Embassy in Tel Aviv and the American Consulate General in Jerusalem for more detailed information. American citizens residing in the West Bank and Gaza should consider relocating to a safe location.

American citizens in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza should also exercise extreme caution and avoid locations such as restaurants and cafes, shopping areas and malls, pedestrian zones, public buses and bus stops and the areas around them as well as crowds and demonstrations. Roads designed for Israeli settlers including in East Jerusalem have been the site of frequent shooting attacks and roadside explosives, sometimes resulting in death or injury. U.S. Embassy and Consulate employees and their families have been prohibited from using public buses throughout Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. Dual Palestinian American citizens may encounter difficulties departing the West Bank and Gaza during times of Israeli closures in those areas.

From time to time, the Embassy and Consulate General may temporarily suspend public services as necessary to review their security posture. Travel restrictions on official travel into the West Bank and Gaza impair the Embassy's and Consulate General's ability to render emergency services to American citizens in the West Bank and Gaza. In those instances, U.S. citizens who require emergency services may telephone the Consulate General in Jerusalem at (972) (2) 622-7230 or the Embassy in Tel Aviv at (972) (3) 519-7355.

For further information on travel to Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, please consult the Department of State's latest Consular Information Sheet for Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza. The most up-to-date information on security conditions can also be accessed at http://www.usembassy-israel.org.il or http://www.uscongen-jerusalem.org.

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

What a bunch of whiners. They're upset because a head of state is not groveling at their feet. Anybody who would be this upset isn't worthy of a visit by the President. This is just another way of saying, "Me first!" and using their dead relatives as an excuse to be so brazen about it. Disgusting.

[Dog Gone]

I will bet you a nickel or a shekel that none of these relatives cast a vote for Bush. They want him to feel their pain like Clinton would have.

Barf. I hired Bush to run this country, not babysit.

[Amerigomag]

I also feel this is being blow out of proportion but a little thoughtfulness and effort on the part of the White House staff would have been comforting to the family.