NEW YORK (Press Release) — The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) has praised Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) for his recent criticism of “friends” who pressure Israel to accept peace deals by warning them that, if they didn’t, the movement against Israel will only strengthen.
Senator Schumer said at the 2014 AIPAC Policy Conference that such actions — which are generally regarded to refer to recent statements by President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry asserting that Israel would face increased boycotts and isolation if it did not accede to the Administration’s peace proposals, suggesting that the Administration would do nothing to stop such developments — added to the strength of the Boycott, Sanctions, Divestment (BDS) movement.
The ZOA also praised Senator Schumer for differing with the Obama Administration on Iran sanctions, strongly backing the Nuclear Weapons Free Iran Act, which aims to tighten sanctions on Iran in the event of Iran breaching the Geneva interim agreement or failing to reach agreement on dismantling its nuclear weapons program, which President Obama has vowed to veto.
Senator Schumer said, “friends should be condemning the boycotts in every possible way, weakening them.” He also said that the the BDS movement fit in to a long historical pattern on unfair treatment of Jews that could only be described as “anti-Semitism” (Rebecca Shimoni Stoil, ‘Schumer pans Kerry’s BDS warnings to Israel,’ Times of Israel, March 4, 2014).
ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said, “Senator Schumer is to be applauded for his stand on these two important matters.
“The ZOA agrees with Senator Schumer that veiled threats to Israel of weak or no support against a hostile movement of boycott and ostracism — as occurred in Secretary Kerry’s Munich speech last month — are wrong and do not befit an ally.
“Similarly, Senator Schumer deserves praise for standing by the Nuclear Weapons Free Iran Act, introduced by Senators Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ). This legislation, if passed, would enhance the Administration’s leverage in negotiations with Iran by showing that serious consequences await Tehran if refuses to come to a diplomatic deal that terminates its nuclear weapons program.
“President Obama’s threat of a veto, thus siding with Iran over a bipartisan Senate majority, sends the destructive message that the U.S. is not serious about stopping Iran. Senator Schumer is right that the bill should be passed into law, something which would send a necessary message tat America is resolved to stop Iran from becoming a nuclear break-out power.”
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Preceding provided by the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA)
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