Pod Save America Hosts Call on Democrats to Cut All Israel Military Aid, No Longer Accept AIPAC Funding
Jews, Israelis Targeted in Austria Amid Surge in Antisemitic Incidents; Local Jewish Community Calls for Action
‘All of Our Strength’: Over 1,000 Pro-Israel Activists Gather in DC for Solidarity Conference
‘Devastated’: Wesley LePatner, Killed in Manhattan Mass Shooting, Was a Jewish Communal, Philanthropic Leader
Sen. Angus King Vows to No Longer Vote for Israel Military Aid Until Gaza Conditions Improve
Europe Won’t Pressure Israel to ‘Commit Suicide’ Amid Gaza Backlash, Palestinian State Push, Says Israeli FM
Israel’s National Soccer Coach Attacked in Athens Before Soccer Fans Chant ‘F–K Israel, Free Palestine’ at Match
New York Judge Sentences Neo-Nazi to 5 Years for Livestreaming Bomb Threats Against Jewish Hospitals
US Pressures Lebanon to Issue Cabinet Decision to Disarm Hezbollah Before Talks Continue
UK Plans to Recognize Palestinian State in September Unless Israel Meets Conditions, Starmer Says
Knesset Member Blasts Obama for Not Inviting Ariel Students to Speech
Error: Contact form not found.
by JNS.org
Knesset member Yoni Chetboun. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
In a letter sent to the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv, Member of Knesset Yoni Chetboun of the Habayit Hayehudi party criticized U.S. President Barack Obama for not inviting students from Ariel University of Samaria to his speech at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem next week, Israel Hayom reported.
Chetboun also questioned Obama’s decision to not deliver the speech at the Knesset, calling that move unprecedented for a visiting foreign leader.
“Next week, Obama will deliver his main speech in front of students, not the Knesset,” Chetboun said. “He claimed that he wanted to speak directly to Israeli society, saying this was not a political visit.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from JNS.org.
Ariel University was recognized last year as Israel’s eighth full-fledged state university and the first located on the other side of the Green Line, the 1949 armistice line that served as a de facto border before 1967. The Obama administration has been a consistent critic of Israel’s decisions to expand construction in Jewish communities situated beyond the Green Line.
“And I ask, is the decision to boycott Ariel not political?” Chetboun said. “On one hand, the president says his speech isn’t political, but on the other hand, he rejects and boycotts the students from Ariel.”
“I very much hope the boycott decision was made by the president’s advisers and not by the president himself,” he said.
Additionally, head of the Ariel University Student Union Shay Shahaf said of not receiving invitations to the speech, “We were pretty shocked about the discrimination and the way in which they are giving up on a university in Israel,” according to Yedioth Ahronoth.
MK Chetboun’s letter was addressed to U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro. Shapiro on Tuesday called Obama’s upcoming visit “historic.” On Wednesday, in a Hebrew language interview on with Israel’s Channel 10 that was cited by the Times of Israel, Shapiro said rumors of Obama disliking Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are “incorrect” and that the two leaders “share common interests.”
