"If You Like Your Israel, You Can Keep Your Israel;" Did President Obama Actually Say That?

“If You Like Your Israel, You Can Keep Your Israel:” Did President Obama Say That? Not exactly, but he kinda, sorta said that in an interview with the New York Times’ Thomas Friedman on January 6: “But what I would say to [Israelis] is that not only am I absolutely committed to making sure that they maintain their qualitative military edge, and that they can deter any potential future attacks, but what I’m willing to do is to make the kind of commitments that would give everybody in the neighborhood, including Iran, a clarity that if Israel were to be attacked by any state, that we would stand by them.” How serious is the Obama Administration about Israel’s security? Not very, as shown by a recent decision which received little publicity in the United States. The United States entered into a strategic agreement with Israel in 1975 to guarantee access to oil at a reasonable cost. The original agreement expired on November 25, 1994 and was twice extended for 10 years each. It last expired on November 25, 2014. The State Department did not renew the agreement last November. The oilless Israel never drew upon the guarantee, but its leaders knew the United States promise was there if needed. President Obama is believed to have denied the larger bunker buster bombs to Israel, to have lagged in resupplying Israel, and to have threatened to shoot down Israeli jets attacking Iran. Here’s the question: Does President Obama have Israel’s back? Or Will President Obama turn his back on Israel in its times of need? Russia invaded Ukraine with tanks, soldiers, special ops, and para-military. President Obama responded by sending MRE’s to the Ukrainian forces. President Obama drew a line in the sand with Syria’s President Assad on August 20, 2012: “A red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized.” Syria at least twice used chemical weapons and President Obama winced. President Obama touted “shovel-ready jobs” in pushing The Stimulus Bill: “We’ve got shovel-ready projects all over the country, and governors and mayors are pleading to fund it. The minute we can get these investments to the state level, jobs are going to be created.” Millions of shovel-ready jobs were waiting to be created. The shovel-ready jobs were an illusion. The President admitted, to laughter, at a meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina on June 12, 2011 “’Shovel-ready” was not as ‘shovel-ready’ as we expected.” Remember, “If you like your healthplan, you can keep your healthplan” and “If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor.” Any doubts about those repetitive misrepresentations were laid to rest by the loquacious Professor Jonathon Gruber. Six years of President Obama have taught us that his talking points are divorced from reality.