Addressing the Adas Israel synagogue in Washington, D.C., Obama justified his open criticism of Israel and defended his approach to dealing with Iran.

US President Barack Obama reaffirmed his support of Israel while defending his criticism of Israeli policies at a Washington, D.C. synagogue on Friday.

Addressing some 1,200 worshipers at Adas Israel synagogue on the occasion of Jewish Heritage Month, a US federal event in the US during the month of May, Obama underscored the values and vision shared by the US and Israel and touched upon the many challenges facing both countries.

Citing the common principles shared by Israel and the US and “given the tumult that is taking place in so many corners of the globe in one of the world’s most dangerous neighborhoods” Obama pledged his commitment to Israel’s security. “Those shared values compel us to reaffirm that our enduring friendship with the people of Israel and our unbreakable bonds with the state of Israel – that those bonds, that friendship cannot be broken. Those values compel us to say that our commitment to Israel’s security – and my commitment to Israel’s security – is and always will be unshakable.”

It would be a moral failing on the part of the US government, the American people and the president himself if the US did not stand up “firmly, steadfastly not just on behalf of Israel’s right to exist, but its right to thrive and prosper,” Obama said. Not standing up for Israel would be tantamount to ignoring the history that brought about the establishment of the state of Israel and to ignoring “the struggle that’s taken place through millennia to try to affirm the kinds of values that say everybody has a place, everybody has rights, everybody is a child of God.”

Positing that that no US President has done more than he has to ensure that Israel is able to protect itself, he restated his pledge that “Iran must not, under any circumstances, be allowed to get a nuclear weapon.”

There is a debate about how to achieve that goal, and that’s “a healthy debate,” he said. As the nuclear deal with Iran will have his “name on it,” nobody has a bigger personal stake in “making sure that it delivers on its promise.”

“I want a good deal,” Obama continued, although he conceded that he could not guarantee that an agreement will be reached.

Palestinians Are Not ‘the Easiest of Partners’

Obama referred to the disagreements between his administration and Israel as well as his public criticism of Netanyahu government policies, saying that he does so because he cares “so deeply” about Israel. He explained that he has high expectations for Israel, “the same way I have high expectations for the United States of America,” and that he feels a responsibility to “speak out honestly” about what he thinks would lead to long-term security and to “the preservation of a true democracy in the Jewish homeland.”

Over recent months, Obama has verbally attacked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s newly elected government. In a recent interview he alleged that Netanyahu’s policies were discriminatory against Israel’s Arabs, which will be taken into consideration by the Obama administration regarding its foreign policy.

“The Palestinians are not the easiest of partners,” the “neighborhood is dangerous” and Israel’s security must be taken into consideration, he said, but his “sense of shared values” and fight against anti-Semitism  also “compel” him to “think about a Palestinian child in Ramallah that feels trapped without opportunity. That’s what Jewish values teach me. That’s what the Judeo-Christian tradition teaches me. These things are connected,” he stated.

“So may we always remember that our shared heritage makes us stronger, that our roots are intertwined,” the president concluded. “May we always choose faith over nihilism, and courage over despair, and hope over cynicism and fear. As we walk our own leg of a timeless, sacred march, may we always stand together, here at home and around the world.”

By: Max Gelber, United with Israel