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'US shouldn't tell Jews where to live'

Aug. 17, 2009
AP and abe selig , THE JERUSALEM POST

Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee.

Former Arkansas governor and presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee says the US has taken too harsh a stance against Israel on the issue of settlements.

Huckabee said the US should not "be telling Jewish people in Israel where they should and should not live."

 

Huckabee made the comment Monday while visiting Jewish enclaves in east Jerusalem. Affiliated with the conservative wing of the Republican Party, Huckabee has been touted as a possible candidate in 2012.

 

The US administration is pressuring Israel to stop building settlements on lands the Palestinians claim for a future state, including east Jerusalem.

Israel says east Jerusalem would remain part of its capital and insists some settlement construction must continue.

 

A Monday reception featuring Huckabee at the Shepherd Hotel in east Jerusalem has turned into a hotly contested venue for protests both for and against Israeli policy in the area.

 

Two groups - Peace Now and Im Tirtzu - have called for a protest and counter-protest, respectively, on Monday evening, to coincide with the former Arkansas governor's planned appearance at the disputed east Jerusalem landmark. The groups represent either side of the growing debate over Jewish building rights in the annexed parts of the capital.

 

The reception itself is private and will be closed to the public, but representatives from both groups told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday that the event presented an important opportunity to make their voices heard, as the recent evictions of Arab families from their homes in the area and ongoing plans for the additional construction of Jewish housing in east Jerusalem have spurred a chorus of condemnation and thrust the area into the international limelight.

 

The Shepherd Hotel became the focus of American-Israeli tensions last month, after the US demanded that Ateret Cohanim - the group overseeing construction at the hotel and sponsoring Huckabee's arrival there Monday - halt its plans to build apartments at the site.

This article can also be read at http://www.jpost.com /servlet/Satellite?cid=1249418626286&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFull

‘Huckabee the Maccabee’ in Eastern Jerusalem to Challenge Obama

Av 27, 5769, 17 August 09 07:58

by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

  

 Huckabee during a previous visit to Jerusalem

 

(Israelnationalnews.com)

Former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee will take on the policies of U.S. President Barack Obama when he appears in eastern Jerusalem Monday to begin a three-day tour of Israel. Israel National News, Israel National Radio and INN TV will cover the opening event at the Shepherd’s Hotel, the Jewish-owned property whose renovation President Obama has tried to force Israel to block in order to prevent Jewish residents from moving in.

 

Nicknamed ‘Huckabee the Maccabee’ in name of the Jewish warriors who fought Greek invaders nearly 2,000 years ago, the former Arkansas governor will attend a gala dinner at the hotel, along with more than 100 guests.

Huckabee also will visit other Jewish neighborhoods in eastern Jerusalem, the Jewish areas of the Judean holy city of Hevron and the Jerusalem suburb of Maaleh Adumim, located east of the capital. President Obama has refused to fulfill a promise by former President George W. Bush that Maaleh Adumim and other major Jewish populations centers in Judea and Samaria will remain under Israeli sovereignty if a new Palestinian Authority state is created.

The national religious Ateret Kohanim Yeshiva is sponsoring Huckabee's trip.

Likud Knesset Member Danny Danon, who will accompany Huckabee, said on Sunday that the visit is a sharp message protesting President Obama’s policy against construction for Jews in the area.

MK Danon also said that Obama's failure to bring the Palestinian Authority back to the negotiating table is in line with his failure on the domestic front, where the president’s health care plan is in deep trouble.

The leftist Peace Now organization plans to stage a protest when Huckabee visits eastern Jerusalem. Its American branch and the relatively new anti-nationalist J Street lobby have become highly influential in the White House since President Obama was elected.

The pro-Zionist Im Tirtzu group will face Peace Now outside the hotel when it supports Huckabee's backing for a united Jerusalem. 

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