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June 1, 2012 SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH EVERYONE Number 13

In This Issue:
From the Beginning .................................... 1
Myths and Facts .......................................... 2
President Obamas Message at the UN ......4
Malicious Gossip .........................................4
Obama to the UN ......................................... 5
Obamas Commitment to Israel ......................... 5
President Obama Compared to Other
Presidents .................................................... 6
Israeli Leaders Praise President Obama ...7
FDRs Acceptance Speech .......................... 8
Obama & Israel
Myths and Facts
From the beginning of his administration,
Barack Obama has consistently exemplified
Americas unbreakable commitment to Israel. He
has worked tirelessly to ensure Israels security,
and in light of recent turmoil in the region, has
dramatically increased Americas support for Is-
raels security and qualitative military edge.
The President has a deep understanding of the
grave threats Israel faces and he has been steadfast
in supporting Israels right to defend itself.
He has worked closely with Israel on the Israeli-
Palestinian confict to facilitate a resolution that
protects Israels core interests, addresses Israels
security needs, and recognizes Israel as a Jewish
state and the homeland for the Jewish people.
The Obama administration has executed a
robust multilateral strategy to counter efforts to
de-legitimize Israel.
Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs
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Myths and Facts
Myth: President Obama is pressuring Israel more
than he is pressuring the Palestinians.
Fact: President Obama has strongly objected to
Palestinian plans to unilaterally declare statehood,
condemned Palestinian incitement against Israel,
and demanded that Hamas forgo violence and
recognize Israel.
Myth: President Obama has put forward parameters
that weaken the Israeli negotiating position including
forcing Israel to return to the indefensible 1967 lines.
Fact: In discussing 1967 borders with mutually
agreed land swaps, President Obama insisted
that the future border adjustments of the 1967 lines
accommodate Israels security and demographic
concerns. Any lines must be negotiated between Israel
and its neighbors.
Myth: Obama is forcing Israel to give up Jerusalem
or the Western Wall.
Fact: President Obama has never made any
statements about the fnal status of Jerusalem and
he has repeated that resolution of the core issues
of the Israeli-Palestinian confict will be reached
through direct bilateral negotiations between the
two parties.
Myth: Obama is not doing enough to prevent a
nuclear Iran, the largest threat to Israels security.
Fact: President Obama is determined to prevent
a nuclear Iran and signed into law the toughest
sanctions against Iran; Obama was praised by
Netanyahu for his work. Obama has also built
the frst international sanctions which have now
brought Iran to the negotiating table.
Myth: President Obama has not been vocal
enough about his support for Israel in the United
Nations.
Fact: President Obama has continually placed
its support behind Israel through numerous
UN actions, including using the U.S.s frst and
only security council veto against a biased anti-
Israel resolution, and opposing the Palestinians
unilateral bid for independence.
Myth: Obama frequently visits and prays in
mosques.
Fact: President Obama is a practicing Christian
who does not pray in Mosques.
Myth: President Obama believes that Israel is at
the root of all problems in the Middle East today.
Fact: President Obama declared Israel a source
of inspiration for the American people as the sole
true democracy in the Middle East.
Myth: The Obama administration put Israel on a
list of countries that sponsor terrorism.
Fact: The US does not and never has considered
Israel to have links to terrorism.
Myth: Obama is soft on Hamas.
Fact: President Obama has repeatedly spoken
out forcefully to condemn Hamas, calling on
Hamas to renounce violence and support all past
agreements.
Myth: If President Obama really cares about
Israel he would go visit.
Fact: President Obama has met with Prime
Minister Netanyahu nine times since taking offce
and dispatched numerous senior administration
offcials, He has also visited Israel twice in 2006 and
2008.
Myth: Obama is an appeaser who is soft on
terrorism.
Fact: President Obamas administration has killed
more Taliban and al-Queda offcials than during the
Bush years, and . . . he got Bin Laden.
Myth: Obama doesnt trade with Israel.
Fact: The US-Israel Free Trade Agreement is the
best trade agreement in Israels history.
[Continued on page 3, Myths]
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Myth: Obama has no Jewish advisors he has
flled the White House with Muslims and his
advisors are anti-Israel.
Fact: Wrong on all three counts.
Obama has more Jewish aides than any
president and both his previous and current
chiefs-of-staff are Jewish: Rahm Emanuel and
Jack Lew.
Many members of Obamas cabinet have visited
Israel; VP Biden has visited Israel; Obama has
sent numerous envoys to Israel.
Obama nominated Daniel Tartullo to the
Federal Reserve Board; Elena Kagan to the
Supreme Court; and many Jews to lower
courts.
Myth: Obama never criticizes Hamas, Hezbollah,
jihadists.
Fact: He has done so many times.
Hasnt negotiated with Hamas.
Objected to unilateral Palestinian statehood
plan.
Demanded Hamas recognize Israel.
Sanctions on Syria.
Condemned Syrian arms transfers to Hezbollah.
Myth: Obama never stands with Israel.
Fact:
Obama took a personal role in ensuring that
Israeli diplomats caught in the siege of Israels
embassy in Cairo were released safely.
Obama had the US cast a veto against the
anti-Israel UN Security Council resolution on
settlements
Obama refused the international communitys
requests to criticize Israeli attacks on Syrian
weapon sites.
Obama ordered US to provide full assistance
to Israel during the Carmel forest fires.
Obama opposed the Goldstone Report.
Myth: President Obama is the only president to
criticize Israels settlements.
Fact: In fact, most Republican presidents have
criticized Israels settlement policy:
Ford threatened to reassess US-Israeli
relations.
Reagan suspended arms shipments to Israel.
Reagan supported a UN resolution criticizing
Israel for bombing the Iraqi nuclear site.
Bush I repeatedly threatened to withhold US
aid to Israel because of the settlements.
Bush II pressured Israel to allow Hamas to
participate in Gaza elections.
Bush II ignored Israels requests to slow the
push for democratic elections in the Mideast.
Myth: Obama is naive and does not understand
the threats that Israel faces.
Fact: President Obama recognizes, and has
spoken about, the seriousness of Israels security
concerns and has backed up that concern with
signifcant American investment and involvement
in Israeli security.
Myth: Obama snubbed Netanyahu.
Fact: This is an urban legend refuted by Israeli
Ambassador Michael Oren. Ambassador Oren has
said that the allegations that Obama sat upstairs
watching TV or having dinner while Netanyahu
waited or that Netanyahu was brought in through
a service entrance are untrue.
[Myths, continued from page 2]
For more Myths and Facts
Google: Myths and Facts
Israel.
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Here Is What President Obama
Said To The Worlds Assembled
Leaders At The UN On
Wednesday, September 21st, 2011
Americas commitment
to Israels security is
unshakeable, and our
friendship with Israel
is deep and enduring.
And so we believe that
any lasting peace must
acknowledge the very real security concerns
that Israel faces every single day.
Let us be honest with ourselves: Israel
is surrounded by neighbors that have
waged repeated wars against it. Israels
citizens have been killed by rockets fired
at their houses and suicide bombs on
their buses. Israels children come of
age knowing that throughout the region,
other children are taught to hate them.
Israel, a small country of less than eight mil-
lion people, looks out at a world where lead-
ers of much larger nations threaten to wipe
it off of the map. The Jewish people carry the
burden of centuries of exile and persecution,
and fresh memories of knowing that six mil-
lion people were killed simply because of who
they were. Those are facts. They cannot be
denied.
The Jewish people have forged a suc-
cessful state in their historic homeland.
Israel deserves recognition. It deserves
normal relations with its neighbors.
And friends of the Palestinians do them
no favors by ignoring this truth, just as
friends of Israel must recognize the need
to pursue a two-state solution with a secure
Israel next to an independent Palestine.
Malicious Gossip
Letter to his constituents from
Congressman Gary Ackerman (D-NY)
Dear Friends:
...malicious gossip has been on my mind lately as
our national politics grow ever more venomous,
and I encounter more and more emails and
delusional denunciations of the President and his
view of Israel...
...to suggest that President Obama is anti-Israel
is like saying President Kennedy was opposed to
space exploration. Its ridiculous and insulting.
Does an anti-Israel President:
demand Congress supplement Israels
annual $ 3 billion in U.S. military assistance
(the most ever) with nearly $300 million $ 205
million in emergency funds to purchase the Iron
Dome anti-rocket protection systems?
ramp up the visits of senior military,
defense and intelligence officials to Israel
and order a significant expansion of our military
and intelligence sharing and cooperation to
levels unheard of during the administrations
of his two immediate predecessors?
support Israels development of the
Davids Sling and Arrow anti-missile
systems in addition to the Iron Dome system
and the establishment and operation of an
advanced American X-band air-defense radar
by U.S. forces stationed in Israel?
respond to Israeli concerns that their
qualitative military edge had slipped
during the Bush Administration by responding
immediately--according to Israeli Ambassador
to the United States Michael Oren--We
are going to address this issue, we are going
to make sure that we maintain your QME
[qualitative military edge]?
allow the largest ever joint U.S.-Israel
military exercise (Juniper Cobra) and
withdraw American participation for a Turkish-
led NATO exercise (Anatolian Eagle) when the
Turks refused to allow Israeli participation?
[Continued on Page 5, GOSSIP]
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devote himself to successfully organizing
international political and economic
sanctions on Iran and sign crippling new
U.S. sanctions into law?
succeed in getting massive multinational
corporations like Shell, Total, ENI, Statoil,
Respsol, Lukoil, KIA, Toyota, Siemans, GE,
and Honeywell to back out of Irans energy
sector?
drop what hes doing and utilize all
the power and influence of the United
States to effect the [recent] rescue of six
Israeli diplomatic personnel under siege in the
Israeli embassy in Cairo?
lead the fight in the UN Human Rights
Council to defend Israel and quash efforts to
use the shameful Goldstone report to inhibit
and delegitimize Israels right to self-defense?
Congressman Ackerman adds,
Thats anti-Israel? Thats anti-Jewish?
Pro-Arab? Marxist? Socialist? Radical?
Communist? Anti-American appeasement?
...Enough is enough. ...the lies and smears
and spit-flecked hostility that have emerged
in some parts of our communitys debate are
a disgrace to a people that regularly asks in
prayer for divine assistance to guard my
tongue from evil speech and my lips from
speaking lies.
Sincerely,
Gary L. Ackerman
Member of Congress
President Obamas Unwavering
Commitment to the State of Israel
and the US-Israel Relationship
Unshakeable Commitment. President Obama
has consistently demonstrated his unshakeable
commitment to Israels security and well-being,
strengthening the unbreakable bond between our
two nations. In both word and deed, the President
has signaled to the world that the US-Israel
relationship is stronger than ever. Our Presidents
stellar record speaks for itself:
Special Relationship. President Obama has
repeatedly reaffirmed the special relationship
between the US and Israel, meeting with Prime
Minister Netanyahu more than any other world
leader since he took office.
Security Assistance. President Obama raised US
security assistance to unprecedented levels, sending
Israel the largest-ever security assistance funding
$3.1 billion for 2011. He has shown his commitment
to maintaining Israels qualitative military edge by
arming Israel with the most advanced military hardware
and missile defense systems, including the Iron Dome
missile shield.
Defense Cooperation. Under President Obama,
US-Israeli defense cooperation is broader and
deeper than ever.
President Obama has strengthened existing
policies and cultivated new ways to ensure Israels
security and enhance our bilateral military
relationship, including launching the Gaza
Counter-Arms Smuggling Initiative with 10 other
countries and hosting the largest-ever US-
Israeli joint military exercise.
Iron Dome Missile Shield
[GOSSIP, continued from page 4]
[Continued on page 6, Commitment]
The truth is that if Israel
were to put down its arms
there would be no more
Israel. If the Arabs were to
put down their arms there
would be no more war.
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The President has arranged hundreds of senior-
level Department of Defense visits to Israel
since taking office, including visits with the Vice
President, top US military officials, and several
Cabinet members.
Resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.
Obamas leadership toward a resolution of the Israeli-
Palestinian conflict has Israels core interests at heart.
The President is working to address Israels security
needs and ensuring Israels future as a Jewish
state and the homeland for the Jewish people.
His recognition that a final border will differ from
the 1967 lines allows Israel and the Palestinians
to negotiate a settlement that includes the vast
majority of Israelis living beyond those lines.
Called For a Non-Militarized Palestinian State.
President Obama publicly called for a non-militarized
Palestinian state. He has consistently condemned
Hamas and violence against Israelis. He has
supported Israels refusal to negotiate with Hamas
before it recognizes Israels right to exist, rejects
violence, and adheres to all existing agreements.
Passed Sanctions on Iran and Syria. As a
result of President Obamas determination to
prevent a nuclear Iran, and his efforts to form an
international coalition of partners including China
and Russia, the United Nations Security Council
passed the most comprehensive international
sanctions Iran has ever faced.
The President also worked with Congress to
craft the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions and
Divestment Act, the most far-reaching package of
American sanctions against Iran. The President
has also reinstituted sanctions against Iran-allied
Syria and strongly condemned Syrias transfer of
arms to Hezbollah, Irans proxy in Lebanon.
Defends Israels Right To Self Defense.
Obama stood with Israel on an international level
with allies--and alone when necessary--to defend
Israels right to self-defense against anti-semitism
and de-legitimization.
The President has consistently voted against anti-
Israel UN resolutions. He has stood before global
audiences to insist that Palestinians must abandon
violence and recognize Israels right to exist. He
has also stood up against efforts to single out Israel,
opposing the Goldstone report, and opposing efforts
to single out Israel in the aftermath of the Gaza
flotilla.
President Obama Compared to
Other Presidents
President Gerald Ford
and Henry Kissinger
threatened to reassess
America s relationship
with Israel. Presi dent
Obama has decl ared t hat
Ameri ca s bond wi t h
I srael i s unbreakable,
and Israeli Defense Minister, Ehud Barak,
credited President Obama for the strongest
relationship between the two countries
ever.
President Ronald Reagan
suspended arms shipments
to Israel and supported a UN
resolution criticizing Israel for
bombing Iraqs nuclear reactor.
President Obama cast the only
UN veto of his administration
against the one-sided anti-Israel
UN Security Council resolution on
settlements.
President George W.
Bush pressured Israel
to allow Hamas to par-
ticipate in Gaza elec-
tions and made little
progress in stopping Irans
march toward nuclear
weapons. Obama has not
negotiated with Hamas.
Visiting Israel: Jimmy Carter
and Bill Clinton are the only two
presidents who visited Israel
during their first terms in office.
George W. Bush did not visit
Israel until his seventh year as
president. Ronald Reagan never
visited in his entire life. Barack
Obama went to Israel as recently
as 2006 and 2008.
[Commitment, Continued from page 5]
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ongoing and unwavering commitment
to the peace and security of our land.
[June 30, 2011]
President Peres called President Obamas
speech at AIPAC the most pro-Israel
speech that [he had] ever heard from
an American President. As an Israeli,
I could not help but be moved by your
remarks in which you expressed the
deepest support for the State of Israel.
These words attest to your strong and
unshakable position regarding the
strategic security of the State of Israel
and to your clear positions regarding
IranThis was the most pro-Israel
speech that I have ever heard from an
American President. [March 4, 2012]
Defense Minister and Former Prime
Minister Ehud Barak:
The unshakable bonds between
Israel and America and their
respective defense establishments
under the guiding hand of President
Barack Obama are stronger and
deeper than ever and we are very thankful and
appreciative of that. [December 16, 2011]
Our countries are good friends. And Im
the minister of defense, I can tell you I
can hardly remember a better period of
support, American support and backing
and cooperation and similar strategic
understanding of events around us than
what we have right now. [August 3, 2011]
Ambassador to the United States
Michael Oren:
We see things very much
eye-to-eye on how to move
forward. ... The Presidents
speech here at the General
Assembly was quite strong
in his support for Israel in its security
needs, in its sympathy for the Israeli
people and the situation they find
themselves in the Middle East and I think
the most important thing was the strong
emphasis placed on the connection
between the Jewish people of Israel and
the Land of Israel. [September 26, 2011]
Israeli Leaders Praise President Obama
PM Benjamin Netanyahu:
Following President Obamas
2011 address to the United
Nations, Prime Minister
Netanyahu called the Presi-
dents support for Israel a
badge of honor. I think
that standing your ground,
taking this position of prin-
ciple I think this is a badge of honor and I
want to thank you for wearing that badge
of honor. [September 22, 2011]
After President Obama came to Israels aid
as protesters attacked the Israeli embassy
in Cairo, Prime Minister Netanyahu said
Israel owed the President a special
measure of gratitude. I would like to
express my gratitude to the President
of the United States, Barack Obama. I
asked for his help. ... He said, I will do
everything I can. And so he did. ... We
owe him a special measure of gratitude.
[September 10, 2011]
After President Obamas speech to
AIPAC, Prime Minister Netanyahu said
the one thing that stands out clearly
in the Middle East is that Israel and
America stand together. Thank you.
Mr. President, thank you for those kind
words, and thank you too for that strong
speech yesterdayIf theres one thing
that stands out clearly in the Middle East
today, its that Israel and America stand
together. [March 5, 2012]
I trust Barack Obama, President of the
United States to carry out with me the
policies that have joined Israel and the
United States. [July 7, 2010]
President Shimon Peres:
Thank you America
for being our friend
and our ally. And
thank you President
Barack Obama, for
your leadership, for
your deep and moving
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In his acceptance speech to the
Democratic National Conven-
tion in 1936, President Franklin
Delano Roosevelt explained that:
Liberty requires opportunity to
make a living . . . a living which
gives man not only enough to live
by, but something to live for.
For too many of us the political equality we once
had won was meaningless in the face of economic
inequality. A small group had concentrated into
their own hands an almost complete control over
other peoples property, other peoples money,
other peoples labor - other peoples lives. For
too many of us life was no longer free; liberty
no longer real; men could no longer follow the
pursuit of happiness.
Against economic tyranny such as this, the
American citizen could appeal only to the
organized power of government.
Since 2009, Americas jobless have made those
appeals time and time again, but to no avail. Their
government proved unresponsive in their time of
greatest need.
Fully cognizant of the link between economic
tyranny and the forces of reaction, Roosevelt
would have been appalled that so little was done.
In fact, his 1936 speech contained this paragraph:
We are poor indeed if this nation cannot
afford to lift from every recess of Ameri-
can life the dread fear of the unemployed
that they are not needed in the world. We
cannot afford to accumulate a defcit in the
books of human fortitude.
And yet, we have. Republican politicians are
focused on the other defcits, the federal and state
defcits, to appease the economic tyrants of our
day.
Americas jobless may have lost their freedom, lost
their liberty, and lost their opportunity to make
a living. But they still hold dear, one last vestige
of that political equality they won step by bloody
step since 1776: the right to vote.
Cast courageously, 40 million votes from jobless
households can eliminate the economic tyranny
that exists today.
VOTE
Elections 2012
Mark Your 2012 Calendar!
Primary Election
Primary Election Day:
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Mail Ballots Arrive About July 10
General Election
General Election Day: Tuesday, November 6, 2012