Obama: Passover Wrap Up, "Next Year In Jerusalem ," Deemed "Provocative"

Shana Habbab (AP White House Correspondent)

(AP) — An unidentified Israeli official has confirmed that private discussions between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu included an urgent request from the President that the traditional closing refrain “next year in Jerusalem” be deleted during the upcoming Passover holiday, calling the ancient passage provocative and unhelpful for the future of peace talks. Calling it “an easy fix,” Obama strongly urged the Jewish People to replace it with “next year in peace” or “next year in Tel Aviv,” leaving the exact wording to final status talks between Israelis and Palestinians. Netanyahu is said to have balked at the request, indicating that the refrain dates back well before the UN Partition of 1947 and well before the U.S. Declaration of Independence, for that matter. The Prime Minister reportedly attempted to diffuse the situation by offering to remove it from the conclusion of the lesser-known Yom Kippur service, and suggesting the phrase was defunct anyway since Jews have controlled all of Jerusalem since 1967. However, a visibly irritated President Obama flatly rejected the compromise, adding it was another indication the “stiff-necked” Prime Minister did not appear “serious about peace.”

Shortly after the meeting, both sides issued a terse statement saying that no agreement had been reached on the matter.

Comment: Need anything more be said or written in order to confirm the Obama Administration's position relative to Israel? This action regarding centuries old statement made in the name of Jewish people world-wide demonstrates his agenda. He is willing to ignore the facts, the history in order to fulfill his personal beliefs. He does not speak for his country, rather he has elected to use his position as a country's leader to fulfill his own personal vendetta it appears to me. This is the height of arrogance as well as power out of control. No Jew should now question Obama's willingness to undo thousands of years of history and you had best understand that he uses Jews to undermine a nation that fought hard and long to become a state among the international community.