This came today from the Jewish Telegraph Agency:
March 17, 2010
Oren, White House deny 'crisis quotes'
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Israel's ambassador to Washington and the White House denied remarks that have fueled the current Israel-U.S. crisis.
Israel's Michael Oren was quoted this week by Ha'aretz as saying that relations were at a 35-year-low after Israel embarrassed Vice President Joe Biden during visit to the region by announcing a massive housing start in Jerusalem.
On Tuesday evening, Oren issued a statement flatly denying that account of a conference call he had Saturday night with Israeli diplomats.
"I
was flagrantly misquoted about remarks I made in a confidential
briefing this past Saturday," Oren said in a statement. "Recent events
do not — I repeat — do not represent the lowest point in the
relations between Israel and the United States. Though we differ on
certain issues, our discussions are being conducted in an atmosphere of
cooperation as befitting long-standing relations between allies. I am
confident that we will overcome these differences shortly."
Separately,
numerous media quoted senior White House officials as denying an
account in Yediot Achronot last week that Biden had told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel was endangering the lives of American troops in the region.
"He
never said that, and there's no basis to assert that he did," The
Atlantic quoted one official as saying. "What he did say in a meeting
with the prime minister and his senior advisers and his own team was
that the U.S. is doing a number of things in our national security interest,
and in Israel's national security interest, and they include a strong
effort to build a coalition against Iran's nuclear program; deploying
200,000 troops in conflict areas in the region; standing against
efforts to delegitimize Israel in various international bodies,
sometimes virtually alone; acting decisively against terrorists in very
significant ways; and building probably the strongest defense
cooperation relationship with Israel that we've seen, including on missile defense."
Read more from JTA's Washington bureau chief, Ron Kampeas, on efforts to get the Obama and Netanyahu governments to turn down the temperature. Plus editor in chief Ami Eden reflects on the initial report about Oren and the ambassador's subsequent denial.
Visit JTA's politics blog or read the Daily Briefing later today for more information.
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