Bret Stephens, Columnist and Deputy Editorial Page Editor for the Wall Street Journal. Photo: Twitter.

A prominent Wall Street Journal editor firmly denounced President Barack Obama’s foreign policy approach to Israel in a recent speech to a Jewish group, saying the White House treats the Jewish state like a criminal entity.

“Treating a democratic government as if it is a virtual outlaw state, as if it is embarrassing to bring the prime minster through the front door… there have been a series of slides and insults that are unbecoming of a great and serious power,” said Bret Stephens, columnist and deputy editorial page editor for the Journal.

Stephens made the comments at the 13th annual Iranian American Jewish Federation of New York (IAJF) gala dinner in New York City on Nov. 6 where he was a guest speaker. The event celebrated over $29 million raised for over 170 organizations, primarily in Israel.

Stephens penned an op-ed for the Journal in late October titled “Bibi and Barack on the Rocks” wherein he chastised the White House for its “petty insults” against Israel, which he said puts the strategic relationship between the countries at risk. He wrote that the Obama administration “seems to give more thought to pursuing personal vendettas against allies like Israel than it does to waging effective military campaigns against enemies like ISIS.”

Expanding on his views about the Obama administration’s relationship with Israel, Stephens told guests at the IAJF event that the U.S. needs to view things from Israel’s perspective.

“You listen to Obama administration officials talk about war and they say ‘Well, let’s take a look at Crimea. Look at it from a Russian point of view.’ [But] when was the last time the [Obama] administration said ‘Let’s see the world through the eyes of the Israeli prime minister or the Israeli defense minister?'” Stephens asked. “What does it mean to them to say ‘Oh yeah, let’s just get out of the West Bank. Let’s do so in a six month time table.’ Does that make sense?”