PRESS RELEASE: AIAC Applauds Ronald Lauder Letter To President Obama

26 April 2010

Following is a press release by the American Israeli Action Coalition:

April 26, 2010 - The American Israeli Action Coalition (AIAC) today applauded Ronald Lauder’s recent letter to President Obama expressing his concern about the recent “dramatic deterioration of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Israel.” AIAC announced that it joins in the letter and called upon all American Jewish organizations to do the same.

AIAC is a non-partisan, non-political, issue-oriented NGO whose purpose is to represent the united voice of the more than 250,000 Americans living in Israel on issues which affect Israel, Israel-U.S. relations, and the Jewish people worldwide.

Ambassador Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress, recently wrote to President Obama about worldwide Jewry’s concern that Israel is being “isolated and delegitimized.” He expressed his alarm that the apparent thrust of the Obama administration’s Middle East policy was to blame Israel for the lack of movement on peace talks and questioned whether its self-created friction with Israel is part of the administration’s new strategy to improve relations with the Muslim world.

Harvey Schwartz, AIAC Chairman, lauded the Lauder letter as an “historic document.” “Ron Lauder has hit the nail on the head and expressed the views of the overwhelming majority of Israeli and American Jews. For too long have American Jews stood silent in the face of growing threats to Israel and its citizens. The Lauder letter is a most welcome public expression of American Jewish concern for the safety and security of Israel and its Jewish population.”

“In point of fact,” continued Chairman Schwartz, “it is not only American Jews who are highly troubled by the Obama anti-Israel tilt. Rather, a large majority of the American non-Jewish public disagrees with it and recognizes that Israel is America’s best friend in the Middle East. They recognize that it is the Palestinians – not Israel—which are the true impediment to achieving a lasting peace in the Middle East. The Americans well remember that while Israel mourned with the U.S. the horrific 9/11 disaster, the Palestinians danced in the streets and distributed sweets to their children in celebration of this tragedy.”

Aaron Tirschwell, AIAC’s Executive Director, stated that “now is the time for all American Jews to speak with a united voice. AIAC calls upon all American Jewish organizations to express their support for the Lauder letter and announce publicly that they join in it.”