President Obama was scheduled to address the Jewish Federation of North America's annual meeting. He was forced to back out to attend a service for those who were murdered at Fort Hood. Considering how important a gathering this was, Obama sent his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, in his stead.
This is what he said:
"Make no mistake, the path toward peace is not one that Israel should be asked to walk alone. That is why the U.S. will remain actively engaged, and Israel's one true friend. The Palestinians must come to the table, recognize Israel's right to exist and reject violence," he went on to say.
"As the president has said many times, as the president said in Cairo, the bond between the Israel and the U.S. is unbreakable," Emanuel said. "It's a bond rooted in shared interests and shared values."
At the same time, Emanuel made clear that President Obama wants Israel to halt settlement activity to try and draw whoever may soon represent the Palestinians to the negotiating table. Though, he also also criticized the Palestinian leadership for putting preconditions on negotiations in the first place:
Emanuel called for peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians to begin as soon as possible and without preconditions. He said that negotiations must address permanent status issues, including borders, refugees and Jerusalem.
President Obama has a lot of his plate, dealing with health care reform, two wars, a potentially-nuclear Iran, and the decades old Israel/Palestinians situation.
The I/P issue always brings out the worst in people, but I know as Democrats, we all support President Obama. Therefore, I feel it's important that we all stand, united, behind him and his efforts to bring a just peace to the people of Israel and the Palestinians.