President Obama: ‘I Am The Closest Thing To A Jew That Has Ever Sat In This Office’

Former advisor to President Barack Obama, David Axelrod, gave an interview to an Israeli news station where he claimed that the president was hurt over accusations that he was anti-semitic. “You know, I think I am the closest thing to a Jew that has ever sat in this office,” the president reportedly told Mr. Axelrod. “For people to say that I am anti-Israel, or, even worse, anti-Semitic, it hurts.”

Axelrod’s comments were like a lightning rod on conservative media and blogs, who see the president as having weakened ties to America’s ally in the Middle East. Axelrod seems to think the problem lies with the behavior of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who he thinks is only in politics because he wants to “be somebody,” as opposed to President Obama who is “respectable,” and wants to do “something positive.

“The world of politics everywhere is divided into two categories: the first and more common is the people who run for public office because they want to be somebody,” he explained. “A smaller group is made of respectable people who run for public office because they want to do something – something positive. Shape the future in a positive way. I think Benjamin Netanyahu completely falls in the first category. He is a great politician. He knows what he needs to do to get through the next election. But it seems to me that Israel has to think about what they need to do to get through the next generation.”

President Obama recently stated that he believes that Israel has lost credibility as a peacemaker, due to the terms for diplomacy proposed by Netanyahu towards the Palestinians. “So the danger is that Israel as a whole loses credibility. Already, the international community does not believe that Israel is serious about a two-state solution.”

Netanyahu has not responded directly to President Obama’s comments. However, at a defense drill yesterday, Bibi remarked that “When it comes to Israel’s security, I rely, first of all, on ourselves.”