Dropping criticism of Israel served to confirm Arab fears that Bush would not pressure Israel, said the Post

WASHINGTON, June 21 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – With presidential elections knocking the doors, U.S. President George W. Bush tried to reassure Jewish leaders in the U.S. of his support for Israel after they were irked by his criticism of an Israeli attack against a senior Hamas leader, shifting to place the responsibility for Mideast violence on Hamas and leaving Israel blameless, a leading U.S. newspaper revealed Saturday, June 21.

On June 10, the White House spokesman stressed was "deeply troubled" by Israel's attempted assassination on the life of Abdul Aziz al-Rantissi.

The following day, Bush was dinning at the White House with 100 Jewish leaders, many of them political donors, and did some damage control, The Washington Post reported.

Malcolm Hoenlein, one of the Jewish leaders who attended the dinner, stressed "people were taken a little aback by the comments and, from what everyone could tell, the White House was well aware of it."

He asserted that "(Bush) and others at the White House recognized that their reaction could be counterproductive."

Shift

"He (Bush) and others at the White House recognized that their reaction could be counterproductive," said Hoenlein

Any by June 15, Bush starting heaping the blame on Hamas for spiraling violence, and urged the world to "deal harshly" with the Palestinian resistance group.

"The free world and those who love freedom and peace must deal harshly with Hamas and the killers," Bush said, sparing Israel any blame.

Holding separate talks with Israeli and Palestinian premier Friday, June 20, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell dubbed Hamas "an enemy of peace."

Quoting diplomats, administration officials and others involved, the Post underlined that the shift in emphasis came about because of a variety of factors.

It asserted that Bush faced a barrage of dissent and protest from Israel's defenders on Capitol Hill and, including many of those invited to the White House dinner.

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (Tex.), who declared that "America must stand by Israel as it fights its own war on terror," had a private meeting with Bush aides and threatened to promote a congressional resolution in support of Israel's actions if Bush persisted in criticizing Israel, said the daily quoting Republican sources.

At the White House dinner, Jewish leaders were assured in private talks with Bush that he was not going to waver in his solidarity with Israel.

"Everybody came away encouraged and pleased," said Nathan Diament, who had helped to craft a statement from orthodox Jews criticizing the White House.

Diament said he was convinced the administration "clearly is not going to put pressure on Israel in the face of terrorist assaults."

The brief episode illustrates the pressure Bush will be under as he seeks to implement the road map, commented the Post.

The reaction to Bush's mild rebuke of Israel brought him grief from his conservative supporters, and his dropping of the criticism served to confirm Arab fears that he would not pressure Israel, added the American daily.

Bush 2004 elections campaign does also contribute to shift as Edward S. Walker, a former ambassador to Israel and now president of the Middle East Institute, noting that "any president that overuses our relationship with Israel to put their feet to the fire will not be able to do it when the key time comes.

"It's something that has to be preserved for the very important decisions, and last week was not one of them."

On Thursday, June 19, a British Jewish MP said that Israel was subjecting Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to the same suffering endured by Jews in the Warsaw ghetto during the Nazi era.

"Gaza is the same in nature as the Warsaw ghetto," said Labor lawmaker Oona King on returning from a trip to the Middle East.