Obama Continues Contradictory Statements On Jerusalem



    WASHINGTON, July 23 /EMWNews/ -- The following is being

issued by the Republican National Committee:



    



    Today, Obama Continued Backtracking On His Statement That Jerusalem

Should Be The Undivided Capital Of Israel:



    Obama Claimed That "The Wording Was Poor" On His Call For Jerusalem To

Be The Undivided Capital Of Israel. Gibson: "And then there's the issue of

Jerusalem. You've said in the speech, to AIPAC, Jerusalem will remain the

capital of Israel. And it must remain undivided. When you said that did you

not realize the significance that that has for so many people in this

region?" Obama: "Well, number one, the fact is that Jerusalem is Israel's

capital. And so I was simply saying a fact, with respect to--" Gibson: "You

said 'must remain undivided,' (crosstalk) those are code words." Obama:

"Well the issue of it being undivided, I have said and I said immediately

after the speech that that word was poorly chosen, that what I was

referring to is making sure that we're not setting up barbed wire across

Israel--" Gibson: "But Senator, it was a very simple, declarative

statement. It must remain, and you started the paragraph by saying, 'Let me

be clear'--" Obama: "Charlie, the day after, or the day of making the

speech I conceded that the wording was poor, and it's immediately

corrected--" Gibson: "Rookie mistake?" Obama: "Well I wouldn't say rookie

mistake, I think that veterans make mistakes as well." ("Gibson Interviews

Obama," ABC News, 7/23/08)



    NOTE: Yesterday, Obama Claimed He Had Never Backtracked On The Status

Of Jerusalem. CBS's Katie Couric: "You said not too long ago that Jerusalem

should remain undivided. And then you backtracked on that statement. Does

that play into the argument that some believe that someone more experienced

would not have made that kind of mistake?" Obama: "Well, if you look at

what happened, there was no shift in policy or backtracking in policy. We

just had phrased it poorly in the speech. That has happened and will happen

to every politician. You're not always gonna hit your mark in terms of how

you phrase your policies. But my policy hasn't changed, and it's been very

consistent. It's the same policy that Bill Clinton has put forward, and

that says that Jerusalem will be the capital of Israel, that we shouldn't

divide it by barbed wire, but that, ultimately that is a final status issue

that has to be resolved between the Palestinians and the Israelis."

("Obama: Surge Doesn't Meet Long-Term Goals," CBS News, 7/22/08)



    In His Remarks To The Annual AIPAC Policy Conference, Obama Said That

Jerusalem Should Be The Undivided Capital Of Israel, But Just One Day Later

Said The City's Future Should Be Negotiated By Israel And The Palestinians:



    Obama Said Jerusalem Would Be The Undivided Capital Of Israel. Obama:

"Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel, and it must remain

undivided." (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks At The Annual AIPAC Policy

Conference, Arlington, VA, 6/4/08)



    One Day Later, Obama Said The Future Of Jerusalem Would Have To Be

Negotiated By Israel And The Palestinians. CNN's Candy Crowley: "I want to

ask you about something you said in AIPAC yesterday. You said that

Jerusalem must remain undivided. Do Palestinians have no claim to Jerusalem

in the future?" Obama: "Well, obviously, it's going to be up to the parties

to negotiate a range of these issues." (CNN's "The Situation Room," 6/5/08)



    "Facing Criticism From Palestinians, Sen. Barack Obama Acknowledged

Today That The Status Of Jerusalem Will Need To Be Negotiated In Future

Peace Talks, Amending A Statement Earlier In The Week That Jerusalem 'Must

Remain Undivided.'"(Glenn Kessler, "Obama Clarifies Remarks On Jerusalem,"

The Washington Post's" The Trail" Blog, blog.washingtonpost.com, 6/5/08)



    Obama Has Previously Said That Jerusalem Should Be "Undivided":



    In An American Jewish Committee Election Questionnaire, Obama Said

"Jerusalem Will Remain Israel's Capital, And No One Should Want Or Expect

It To Be Re-Divided." "The United States cannot dictate the terms of a

final status agreement. We should support the parties as they negotiate

these difficult issues, but they will have to reach agreements that they

can live with. In general terms, clearly Israel must emerge in a final

status agreement with secure borders. Jerusalem will remain Israel's

capital, and no one should want or expect it to be re-divided." (American

Jewish Committee Website, http://www.ajc.org, Accessed 7/22/08)



    In A 2000 Position Paper, Obama Stated That "Jerusalem Should Remain

United And Should Be Recognized As Israel's Capital." "Third, he addressed

the issue in 2000 in a position paper on Israel as part of his unsuccessful

congressional campaign that year. In that paper, he stated, 'Jerusalem

should remain united and should be recognized as Israel's capital.'" (Rick

Richman, "Obama's Redivided Jerusalem," The New York Sun, 7/16/08)



    Paid for by the Republican National Committee. Not authorized by any

candidate or candidate's committee.