Saturday, June 11, 2011

Where Cohen Didn't Go

Reported:

On the last day of his trip to Egypt, Israel and the Palestinian territories, U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., said he spent more time on the West Bank and received a different perspective than he did on an official visit in 2007.

Cohen led a five-member congressional delegation on a trip organized by J Street, the nonprofit, pro-Israel lobby that supports a two-state Israeli-Palestinian solution. The trip in 2007 was sponsored by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, known as AIPAC.

Both trips were privately funded by the two pro-Israel lobby groups and no taxpayer money was involved, according to Cohen's chief of staff, Marilyn Dillihay.

...On this trip, he spent time in Ramallah in the Palestinian territories on the West Back of the Jordan, meeting Palestinian leader Salam Fayyad, among others. He also visited East Jerusalem.

He also met with Israeli "settlement people," who he said "don't want any changes at all."...

a) while he met "settlement people", it seems he didn't visit any Jewish communities;

b) it seems it would behoove AIPAC to include visits to communities in Judea and Samaria on a regular basis;

c) will the leadership of YESHA press to have visits of congressmen and senators a priority? it appears there is nothing wrong in crossing the 'Green Line'.

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1 comment:

Juniper in the Desert said...

As a Democrat, I feel his mind was probably made up before he left the States. He is just adding insult to injury by making this statement. I think Israel does not need to deal with these traitors, there are plenty of people who support Israel and Yesha as belonging to one another.