Wasserman Schultz: ‘U.S.-Israel Relationship Has Never Been Stronger’
BLITZER: “U.S./Israeli relations -- the relationship between President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu, pretty awful right now, right?”
SCHULTZ: “Well, I think you have to remember that regardless of the personalities involved, the U.S./Israel relationship remains as strong if not stronger than ever. In fact, when the prime minister spoke before the joint session of Congress a couple of weeks ago, he emphasized how appreciative he was of President Obama’s leadership, his support for Israel. So, no, I don’t think -- on the contrary, I think the U.S./Israel relationship has never been stronger and --“[crosstalk]
BLITZER: “Let’s take a look at it. The president of the United States refuses to even meet with the prime minister who comes to Washington. I don’t know if that’s ever happened before. They don’t even talk to each other right now. A lot of your Democratic colleagues, members of the United States -- one of your predecessors, Senator Kaine of Virginia, former chair of the Democratic party, he boycotts the invitation. He doesn’t even go to that meeting when the prime minister is speaking. That’s pretty awful, right?”
SCHULTZ: “Two separate issues.”
BLITZER: “It underscores a pretty serious strain in U.S./Israel relations when so many of your fellow Democrats are boycotting the prime minister of Israel.”
SCHULTZ: “No. First of all, President Obama followed longstanding presidential practice which is that as it gets close to Israeli election or any election, the president doesn’t meet with the candidate –-“
BLITZER: “So you blame prime minister for accepting this invitation.“
SCHULTZ: “No. Actually, I blame Speaker Boehner because Speaker Boehner violated protocol by extending that invitation not only without –-“[crosstalk]
BLITZER: “The prime minister didn’t have to accept. He could have consulted with the president.”
SCHULTZ: “It was a violation of a longstanding protocol when the speaker invited the prime minister to speak to a joint session. Not only not notifying the White House but actually not telling the truth in sending the letter to the prime minister saying it was extended on behalf of a bipartisan leadership, which was not true because Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid were never consulted. So making sure above all else that Israel does not become a partisan issue is absolutely paramount --“
BLITZER: “Do you blame the prime minister at all for this serious strain in the U.S./Israeli relationship right now?”
SCHULTZ: “There is not a serious strain in the U.S./Israel relationship. In fact, the prime minister was very clear in both his speech to AIPAC and to the joint session that the U.S./Israel relationship p remains strong and there are going to be bumps along the way.”
BLITZER: “What do you think of the prime minister’s statement yesterday that he no longer supports what's called a two-state solution, new state of Palestine, living next to state of Israel; that he says there will never be on his watch a state of Palestine?”
SCHULTZ: “I want to be careful because the polls have not closed about making any statements that might affect or interfere with their election. But I’m confident that number one, Israelis are going to go to the polls. They have a most vibrant democracy. They are our most significant ally in the region. They are going to go to the pools in significant numbers and make the choice that's best for them. And on the issue of a two-state solution, longstanding American policy both in Congress and through President Obama and previous presidents is that we support and believe a two-state solution, two people living side by side in peace, the Palestinian state and the state of Israel maintaining its Jewish character as a Jewish democracy, is absolutely essential to make sure that we can have a peace in the region.“
BLITZER: “So you disagree with the prime minister on this latest statement?“
SCHULTZ: “I support U.S. policy which supports a two-state solution.”
