Israel-U.S. ties stronger than recent tensions, Elie Wiesel says after Obama meeting
Meeting comes after Nobel laureate published a full-page ad supporting Israel's stance on Jerusalem construction.
By Natasha Mozgovaya Tags: Israel news Barack Obama Elie Wiesel Middle East peaceThe relationship between Israel and the United States is strong enough to weather recent tensions over the stalled Middle East peace process, Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel said Tuesday following a private get-together with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington.
 |
Elie Wiesel talking to reporters outside the White House May 4, 2010 |
| Photo by: AP |
Speaking to reporters after the White House lunch meeting, Wiesel said that while there were "moments of tension" between Jerusalem and Washington, he believed that "the relationship is strong."
"Relations between Israel and the United States have a history. And that history is has always been one of understanding,” Wiesel said.
The meeting between the two came about after Wiesel published a full page ad in the Washington Post last month, criticizing recent American pressure on Israel and claiming that it would not produce a solution to the issue of Jerusalem.
"For me, the Jew that I am, Jerusalem is above politics," Wiesel wrote in the ad. "It is mentioned more than six hundred times in Scripture - and not a single time in the Koran...the first song I heard was my mother's lullaby about and for Jerusalem."
Following Tuesday's White House meeting, Wiesel referred to recent attempts to bring Israel and the Palestinian Authority back to the negotiations table, saying that both "sides must understand each other and work together."
"There is no substitute to peace," Wiesel said, adding that "there is no absolute justice in the world and no absolute peace. Each side has to treat each other with respect and to have sovereignty in its decision making."
After the meeting, Wiesel told Haaretz that he and Obama have long been "friends, and the meeting, which lasted more than one hour, strengthened our friendship."
"It was a very warm meeting. I think now he understands me better, and I understand better his motivation," the Nobel laureate said, adding that he and Obama "discussed lots of things, some of them I cannot tell, things certainly became more clear."
Wiesel added that there was "nothing but mutual respect for one another," saying that the two spoke about Jerusalem, and I got a feeling that he respects my advice to wait with Jerusalem until the end of the process, and understands my position, I can’t tell whether he accepts it or not. He didn’t try to convince me."
Asked whether or not the issue of recent U.S. pressure on Israel was discussed during the lunch, the Nobel laureate said that "The word pressure wasn't used, but he said he had a very good phone conversation with Prime Minster Netanyahu yesterday. And he thinks the peace process will continue."
Speaking on the subject of Iran's contentious nuclear program, Wiesel said that the "danger that Iran presents to Israel and other nations to the regions was an important part of our conversation."
Referring to a comment made by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during an interview with Charlie Rose earlier Tuesday, top Obama advisor adviser David Axelrod told Haaretz after the Obama-Wiesel meeting that "Ahmadinejad has been the source of consternation for a long time and you can just add this one to the list."
Axelrod also said that the meeting between the Nobel laureate and the U.S. president had not been prompted by recent unease in Israel-U.S. ties, saying that Obama "and Eli Wiesel are good friends and they discussed a whole range of issues."
Axelrod added that "president Obama quite agrees that Jerusalem cannot be the first issue for negotiations."
Why Facebook Connect?
Comment on Haaretz.com articles with your Facebook login, and share your thoughts on your own wall.
- Latest
- Most Viewed
- Most Rated
- Open all
President Obaba is excellent speaker, but does completely different. than what he says. Watch him and you would see that yourself,
This person is the greatest charlatan of the 20th century. It is a disgrace to the U.S. that Obama takes him seriously.
This is the same Mr Wiesel that believed in Mr Madoff's integrity - Is his delusion an age or a Madoff problem it is sorrowful to see such wasted genius making a fool of himself - Please Mr Wiesel sit down for all our sakes and lives
has singled out the Jewish state to be accused of ills in society worldwide and in the region with which this tiny state has little to do. This approach of singling out the nation-state of the Jewish people reminds one of singling out the Jew in society to be accused, and to expect its members to refrain from even moving into certain neighborhoods only because they are Jewish . This, sadly, is what the "progressive" Obama has done!
"behold a people that dwells apart not reckoned among the nations." logios will never understand. he is all theory.
does wiesel understand why obama wants to deprive israel of her major deterrence? does wiesel understand obama's singular attempts to undermine israeli sovereignty--a sovereignty bought with the blood of many millions over a two thousand year exile? does wiesel understand that in fact obama represents a real danger to the state of israel?
Dear fiends: Israel apply to USA to approve joint venture Israel-Russia to produce unmanned planes. It was a week ago. Maybe USA will approve it? I pay respect to professional and diplomatic skills of E.Viesel, maybe it is more than the best diplomatic skills of Bibi??? Vlad
Obama is a US citizen, and he made it to elections fair and square, your comment reflects exactly why the Palestinians started gaining momentum globally, that is : facing such type of racism. Hopefully one day, a Kenyan Jew will be Prime Minister of Israel, to teach you a lesson or ten on democracy.
There are Jews of all races in Israel. More langauges are spoken in Israel than in any other country on the planet. Your inuendo that Jews or Israel is a racist country is loshen hora, a group libel.
If we know nothing else about this community organizer, know this; this man will say anything, to anyone in any circumstance. He doesn't have to love israel more than any other nation and he doesn't have to treat her in a special way either...what he DOES have to do is treat israel respectfully, based on true history, both ancient and present day and based on shared values. If he is the real deal and IS the fair man he purports to be, then he MUST visit israel and shout out her legitimacy then and now, as a jewish state. He must exert tough love on ALL parties , not just one...this man is SUPPOSED to be a healer, unifier, globalist..well then, show it...come to israel and make one of your grand speeches about the falsehood of the protocols and the falsehood of anti semtism and the legitimacy of israel....he can say what he wants about the territories, he can even discuss the failure of both sides about the territories post 1967...but he MUST come and he MUST speak the truth finally, without fear of the arab street or without fear of iran, osama, nasrallah etc...if this president is THE man you all want him to be, then let him show it. His words are eloquent, but so far his ACTIONS are lacking. He went to copehagen but can't come to israel? Perhaps the most important visit he could and ought to make? Let him explain that while he demands certain things of israel, he demands others of the arabs. So far, it's been a one way slope and while that's been their strategy, the whole notion of linkage permeates all his FP and is fundamentally flawed. I fear they have lit a match that will be hard to control or extinguish. Ironically, by making the argument for linkage, all he is doing is lowering his leverage and ultimately his chances of success. Iran has nothing to do with the territories. Neither does saudi. Egypt does and so does jordan. But make no mistake, the PLO was set up in 1964 3 full years PRIOR to any 'occupation'...so don't kid yourselves, this is not now nor was it ever about the "territories" ...I dont like them as much as anyone else, but, if peace is to happen, then ALL sides must accept certain realities and inevitabilities. While you all scream about the nutty settlers, I think you have more chance for peace with them as opposed to your chances with the average palestinian.
This administration wants you to vote out Mr. Netenyahu and become weak and afraid like he is trying too make us here in the U.S.
What scares you in the US, Elray? Is Obama the boogieman hiding under your bed?
who cares if it's in the koran!? PEOPLE LIVE THERE! Israel is a secular state; stop trying to boost the legitimacy of the colonial settler enterprise with ridiculous biblical claims.
Israel is officially a Jewish state, just like Greece is an officially Greek Orthodox state. Israel is also a special purpose state, specifically established as a homeland for Jews with preference given to them in land ownership by UNR 181.
As a holocaust survivor, I never had a LOT OF RESPECT for eli wisel. I always felt that he was a self promoter. He has never contributed much to the state of Israel. Althought as a religous Jew he is concerned about Jerusalem, the rest of Israel is not a great concern for him.
Obama needs to hire 16,500 new IRS agents to enforce the health care bill so they will need housing in Washington D.C. and the surrouding areas, tell Obama he is not permitted to build those houses and let us know what the result is. Will the bully stop bullying you if you give him your lunch money?
I cannot believe Wiesel thinks Obama is a friend of Israel. What were/are you thinking?
I think he has a poor knowledge of the holly Koran
Lionel, Elie Weisel is correct. Jerusalem is not mentioned at all in the Koran. I think your knowledge needs to be updated. The Koran does mention that Mohammed had a dream that he went to 'Aksa' (The furthest Mosque). Their is an El Aksa Mosque in Jerusalem but it was was built about 500 years after Mohammed died. Jerusalem itself is never mentioned anywhere in the Koran.
Muslims oft claim that Jerusalem is mentioned "over 5,000 times" in quran--an impossible statistic given that the whole book has less than 10,000 verses total--and also that al-Aqsa mosque was "constructed by djinns way prior to Mohammed's time" (way wrong, it was constructed AFTER his time--as Romans specifically documented their razing of Second Temple).
For all his moral bombast, Elie Wiesel cannot even apologize for the massacre by his employer, the Irgun. Alas, as Noam Chomsky once said, Wiesel is a terrible fraud.
Who the hell elected Elie to speak in our name? Let him collect his millions from his stupid speaches. He belongs to Satmar and not to our world.
beyond reason and can and must only be viewed as systemic, rooted in an ideology only Rev. Wright can explain and Min. Farakhan can second. Having been both friends and follower of the two, much of Obama's thinking and pronounced policies must be seen in the context of the world view of these two people.
What Did Obama Do to Schumer and Elie to change their Minds in 24 hours? Elie Wiesel is used by every American President when needed. Isn't it time to go to a nursing home and stop stop being a politician when the brains do no work anymore? Unless we fight our morons and traitors from whatever street Israel and American Jews look helpless and stupid at the same time. We are facing a strong, smart enemy in Obama with support from the Arab lobby and Jewish Rahms, Axelrods and other scam. Do Elie Wiesel and Senator Schumer have any shame?
Politicians lie, Elie.
Obama is no friend of Israel; He will pull the rug right out from under you like he did the Americans. The Kenyan Obama
well
Isn't this a shame? Some rich Jewish Lobby man sponsors the publication of an anti-Obama letter by Wiesel in all top US newspapers, and what happens next? Obama has a talk with Wiesel after his pressure on Israel had borne the expected fruits, and Wiesel goes out and says good things about Obama? Isn't is a modern Balaam story? My only question is: Who plays the ass here? I think there are at least two candidates: Wiesel himself may have a double role in the story, or perhaps it is the letter's sponsor (Ronald Lauder?). In any case, all's well that ends well.
logios why do you put such tempting morsels before our eyes.replying you is all too easy.
behold a people that dwells apart not reckoned among the nations. that is something you will never understand logios.your body is soulless.
a living danger to the US
just that you know
or just taken to the white house and lied to by obama? overwhelmed by attention? elie your first perception was the right one.obama is out to get israel.
The International community (including the Obama administration) has already decided the fate of Jerusalem: If Israel isn't willing (for understandable reasons) to swallow the one-state solution, Jerusalem will serve in the future as the shared capital of Israel (West Jerusalem) and a Palestinian state in the West Bank (East Jerusalem). But instead of giving that clear message both to the mainstream Jewish Diaspora in the U.S. and the Israelis, he is playing games with the emotions of the Jewish people for (voting) tactical reasons. Not because he would be afraid of less Jewish support for the Democrats at the ballot box in automn, but rather less Jewish donors to the Democratic party in the future. The problem with that kind of approach: The Obama administration will lose credibility with its allies abroad, and keeps on strengthening the already widespread view of Jewish (financial) control over U.S. foreign policy.... Not a very responsible approach from my point of view.
Your post sounds just like Ahmedinejad's rhetoric in his answers to Charley Ross. Not necessarily the same words and same subject but the same idea of putting all the blame on Obama and USA, not taking even a small piece of responsibility on himself. And BTW; this article was about the elections
For years now Mr. Wiesel is just a figurehead with less and less common -sense left in brain. Mr. Wiesel's great achievement of popularizing the Holocaust does not making a representative of Jewish and Israeli interests.
Growing up I learned about Mr Wiesel and had respect and empathy for what he survived; but this is 21 st century geo-politics and America has serious security risks. Jeruselum already is politicalized by the occupation..nothing else to say.
Wiesel would like the "peace process' to delay discussions regarding Jerusalem for another forty-three years. There's no reason why if two peoples can co-exist why two governments can't co-exist there as well.
Of course ties between Israel and the US are stronger than ever! They have to be with the growing Islamic extremist threat in Iran, Pakistan, Iraq, Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Afhganistan, Time Square NYC, and world wide. Who can the US and Israel trust while being threatened by Islamic militants world wide but each other?
in Great Britain, France, the Netherlands, Sweden...
Pollard would have made aliyah long ago. Israel would be given access to the F35's avionics' internals. Israel would have received complete control of the US military x-band radar site in the negev. The list is endless... if you think the US trusts Israel, you are deluding yourself.
Like Shimon Peres, 85, whose wit and political wisdom still tempers and guides Israel out of some of its blunders, Elie Wiesel, 83, who is in an age to retire and have some peace after his life marked by the Holocaust, is a beacon of light. I am quite ashamed that it has to be the old and fragile who do the work of younger generations. Wise and sober, intelligent and insightful leaders must rise in the Jewish people who, like Jerusalem, are also truly above politics and PR. May G'd bless these two wise old men, and give them strength and health at least until such leaders emerge.
Jerusalem must be addressed immediately. One can only hope the President set Mr. Wiesel right in thinking that anyone can live anywhere in Jerusalem under Israel's occupation of EJ. Hopefully, Mr. Wiesel now is aware that no Arab resident of EJ would be permitted to buy property in WJ or reclaim that which was stolen from him in 1948.
It bought in 1948, not stolen. BIG difference.
Nothing was stolen. The Jews were attacked in 1948, they fought back and recaptured the place that is dear to every Jews on this planet. Just in case you forgot you must have repeated the line “Next Year in Jerusalem” every year during Pesah that is before you converted to Islam. No one is talking about driving anyone out: the only issue is jurisdiction. Large Jewish settlements will not be uprooted and moved – you can forget about it.
Nothing was stolen. The Jews were attacked in 1948, they fought back and recaptured the place that is dear to every Jews on this planet. Just in case you forgot you must have repeated the line “Next Year in Jerusalem” every year during Pesah that is before you converted to Islam. No one is talking about driving anyone out: the only issue is jurisdiction. Large Jewish settlements will not be uprooted and moved – you can forget about it.
You jump from 1948 to 1967 and seem confused. Over 600 villages were razed and Palestinians driven out, there property declared abandoned and then taken over by the State. You are right about the occupied territories and EJ,Israelis are not talking about driving out, the ARE driving out. This is being done to acquire territory and populated it with Jews only.Next Year in Jerusalem, surely, but not by any means that defame Jewish values that have developed since the times of the Judges, where you prefer to dwell. Large Jewish settlements may not be moved but without an equitable and just solution to the conflict, they will wither. They cannot be sustained in a sea of people whom Israel prefers to keep as their enemies.
You are referring to pre 1948 when cetain palestinian absentee landlords living in Egypt or Lebanon sold land to the Jewish agencies. This does not refer to the hundreds of villages throughout Galil and the triangle that were ethnically cleansed and razed by Israel. They bought nothing but destroyed or simply stole it.
Yakov, Israel did not drive the populations of 600 villages out. There were two factually documented accounts of such action: Lydda and Ramaleh, whose populations were indeed driven out with the total numbers close to 70,000 residents. This was in response to a Jordanian Reconnaissance Brigade that clashed with the IDF killing several Jews that triggered the event. Moreover, the expulsions of Jews were also carried by the Arab countries on a mass scale during the same time. Israel went into great lengths of trying to defuse the situation and begged the Arab populations not to flee. It was largely the Arab Governments who encouraged the local Arab populations to flee promising them to push the Jews into the Sea and then return them back to their homes. As the result, majority of refugees fled without seeing a single Israeli soldier. Israel indeed appropriated and razed the abandoned villages. We can dispute the legality of this decision but you are lying about Israel forcing out the populations of those villages.
Darth Zader if you really believe that you should start sincerely researching. Read Ilan Pappe's ' The ethnic cleansing of Palestine' which am sure you have heard of. Extensive bibliography which you can research for yourself. Cheers.
This is the same type of rhetoric Jews heard from Obama while he was on the campain trail. We have seen his administration's attitude since the election, and it doesn't match the rhetoric. Why is he more believable now. I have the greatest respect for Mr. Wiesel, but even he can be misled.
In saying one thing, promising one thing and doing another. It is precisely that phenomenon that makes the world sick to their stomach. Arrogance and hypocracy do not make for trust.
...and Eli said, "oops, my bad, I guess Jerusalem is important to Islam". Now there is a better understanding. Well, and that pesky rule of law that Israel must follow to survive. Survival is important to Eli rather than seeing the colonists destroy Israel totally. Now there is even more understanding. Eli is a rational man. He understands now.
and there is your answer.no president has hated us with this intensity.
well
obama must think we are a bunch of fools.
Are you not ?
the election are close and obama is desperate. he kicked nad insulted netanyau now he is back pedalling.till november that is.after november netanyahu better b
Is it any surprise that when 76 of 100 senators and 330 of 435 congressmen write a letter to the administration telling it to back off Israel, Obama would back peddle? It is shameful that these senators and congressmen have more allegiance to the Israel lobby and money than to their country and the President.
since the 1990's with Israel's (Likud) foreign policies and the Obama administration is no different from previous U.S. administrations' policies regarding the Middle East, whether it's the Republicans or Democrats, the objective is two states side by side living in peace and finding a just settlement.
This is a good thing that the US has more allegiance to it's allies than to their enemies. The US needs to seem sympathetic to Palestinians to appease our Saudi Arabian oil masters and nothing else. This goes with the rest of the world who use this issue to attack Israel and distract their miserable constituents from their corrupt leadership.
Without East Jerusalem there will be no two-state solution. Isn't it clear by now that the Palestinians have no partner for peace?
Please explain why the division of Israel's capital--and moving the front-line of terrorism into the hear of Israel--is a prerequisite to a 2-state solution? If the Palestinian Arabs' goal is a state, then pray tell, why is Jerusalem such a sticking point?
There are 250,000 (rather unhappy) Arabs in East Jerusalem. If they are reduced to a life of dhimmitude by Israel's policy of denying them national rights (the same ones Jews in Israel have), they definitely will bring a new intifada into the heart of Jerusalem. Is that what you want?