Newsmax.com is reporting that Israel's Army Radio is reporting the Biden comments were made to Israeli leaders "behind closed doors" when Biden visited the embattled state several years ago. According to Army Radio those leaders were stunned by his words.
Within Israel, a consensus across the political spectrum has developed on the Iran matter. Iran's president Ahmadinejad has stated that he will wipe Israel off the map, making clear his use weapons of mass destruction against the Jewish state.
News of that report has sent Biden aides scurrying to deny the story, even as Ha'artez, one of Israel's top respected newspapers added their voice to the comments. On ABC News' Jake Tapper blog, he writes:
"This is a lie peddled by partisan opponents of Senators Obama and Biden," said Wade, "and we will not tolerate anyone questioning Senator Biden’s 35-year record of standing up for the security of Israel. Joe Biden’s first trip as a Senator was to Israel, he has worked with every Israeli leader from Golda Meir to Prime Minister Olmert, and he takes a back seat to no one when it comes to protecting the relationship between Israel and the US."
Reports of the Biden comments have thrown confusion into the Jewish Community. As the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Biden wields considerable influence over American foreign policy, or at least the purse strings that guide that policy. Long considered a friend to the Israeli state, the choice by Sen Obama of Biden as a Vice Presidential running mate was seen by many as an olive branch to Jewish voters who have been distrustful of Obama's commitment to that country.
Comments in support of Sen Obama from leaders of Hamas and other terrorist organizations in the region, and his complete lack of foreign policy experience have cast doubts in the minds of some Jewish voters as to his views on the situation in the Middle East. Some see his selection of Sen Biden as a recognition of that distrust, and an attempt to allay those fears.
Regardless of what Sen Biden might have told Israeli leaders privately several years ago, his public statements on the campaign trail have been unambiguous in their support for the state.
The Obama-Biden campaign pointed out that just a few weeks ago, at a July 9 Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, Biden said that "Iran's acquisition of a nuclear weapon would dramatically destabilize an already unstable region and probably fuel a nuclear arms race in the region. It is profoundly in our interest to prevent that from happening.”
On the American cable TV channel Shalom TV last year, Biden said, "I am a Zionist. You don't have to be a Jew to be a Zionist." He addded that "Israel is the single greatest strength that America has in the Middle East."
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Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a rock.