US finds Netanyahu aide’s comments ‘troubling and offensive’

Rob Malley, the National Security Council coordinator for the Middle East, said that bringing the two-state solution – which has been the longstanding USA position – to fruition is “not in the cards” for the remainder of Obama’s term. “In this case it is readily apparent that that apology was warranted”. The pro-Israel pressure groups actively work to steer United States foreign policy in favor of Israel.

Ran Baratz delivers a lecture at The Jewish Statesmanship Center.

Within hours of his appointment, Israeli media outlets found a clutch of cuttings, headline-grabbing quotes on Facebook and articles he had penned on news web sites.

Israeli officials say that Baratz will not be accompanying Netanyahu to the U.S.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest speaking to reporters, October 7, 2015.

Next week, Netanyahu will be making a visit to Washington for the U.S.-Israeli summit, but has however kept his distance from Baratz.

Netanyahu branded Baratz’s posts “totally unacceptable” in a statement Thursday, saying he was unaware of his appointee’s comments beforehand, and that the remarks “in no way reflect my positions”. Netanyahu explained that “Ran Baratz apologized and requested to clarify his comments in a meeting which will take place when I return from DC”.

President Barack Obama has had a rocky, at times testy relationship with the Israeli leader, while Republican critics accuse Obama of not doing enough to support the Jewish state and of making too may concessions to Iran in a recently concluded nuclear accord. The officials on the call said Obama will discuss the deal with Netanyahu as well as other issues in the region such as the Syrian conflict.

“Given that reality, which is a new one, how does the prime minister himself see Israel going forward?”. “These postings were written hastily and sometimes humorously, in a manner appropriate for a private person writing on the Internet”, Baratz said.

Rivlin’s office said it asked the prime minister’s office for clarifications.

In a Facebook entry last March, Baratz criticized Obama’s response to Netanyahu’s speech to the US Congress. The USA president’s reaction “was what modern anti-Semitism looks like in Western and liberal countries”, Baratz said.

“Allow me to be a bit blunt, which is a break from my usual moderation”, Baratz wrote. And, of course, it comes with a great deal of tolerance and understanding for Islamic anti-Semitism.

Clinton stressed that she has stood with Israel throughout her career, and rattled off her peace-seeking accomplishments from her four-year stint as Obama’s first secretary of state. It mainly says that he is such a marginal figure that there’s no need to fear for his life.

He then suggested putting Rivlin in a paraglider and sending him into Islamic State-controlled Syria.

Baratz, a former university professor with right-wing views, founded the online Hebrew-language journal MIDA. If Israel’s cabinet approves Netanyahu’s nomination of Baratz, he will serve as spokesman to the Israeli media and become a close adviser.

Baratz is the latest in a series of controversial Netanyahu appointees.

Tensions and violence are escalating amid a series of Palestinian knife attacks on Israelis and Palestinian deaths at the hands of Israeli security forces.