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Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) National President Morton A. Klein released the following statement:
The ZOA is deeply disappointed that Senator and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Robert (Bob) Menendez recently warned former Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu against including supposed “right wing extremists” in a future coalition government, and threatened this would harm bipartisan support for Israel and Israeli-U.S. bilateral relations. Senator Menendez moreover ignored the real danger of making a governing coalition with radical Islamist parties that oppose Israel’s existence or with true left wing extremist appeasers. (See “ZOA to Israeli Parties: Make No Coalition With Anti-Israel Ra’am Islamic Movement Party,” Apr. 7, 2021; Also see numerous pro-terror and anti-Israel actions and statements of Arab Knesset members and parties here.)
As former PM Netanyahu aptly responded to Menendez: “I would have expected them [Menendez] to warn us of a government that depends on the Muslim Brotherhood who support terrorism and Ahmad Tibi and [Arab Joint List/Hadash party leader and Knesset member] Ayman Odeh. Odeh said that [Hezbollah leader] Nasrallah is a hero. . . [Caretaker PM] Lapid ran to sell [Hezbollah] the gas of the citizens of Israel.”
Senator Menendez’s thoroughly inappropriate threat interferes with Israel’s democratic elections and sovereignty; disenfranchises hundreds of thousands of Israeli voters; and interferes with the hoped-for formation of a strong, stable rational centrist, right-leaning Israeli governing coalition. Israel is America’s most solid ally – and a strong Israel is in America’s best interest. A strong Israeli governing coalition is especially needed now, to undo the massive harm that Yair Lapid has been doing in just a few short months as Israel’s temporary “caretaker” Prime Minister. Against the will of the majority of the Israeli people, Lapid endangered Israel by endorsing and legitimizing a Palestinian-Arab terrorist dictatorship state at the UN; and by making an unauthorized and illegal deal to give Israel’s gas fields to Hezbollah.
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