Defending Israel's Borders

In declaring his support for shifting Israeli-Palestinanian borders back to where they stood over 40 years ago, before the 1967 Arab-Israeli conflict, President Obama has turned his back on our greatest ally in the Middle East. Beyond this deliberate assault on Israel's sovereignty, the president also chose to ignore two critical issues: Who would retain control of Jerusalem, and where Palestinian refugees would go if boundaries were, in fact, negotiated.

Israel has long been one of our nation’s closest allies, and President Obama’s statement is rife with audacity, contempt, and disregard. As civil unrest continues to expand across the Middle East, President Obama has shaped a foreign policy that is disjointed and disconnected. His decision to deploy U.S. forces with the Libyan rebels without consulting Congress only further muddled our involvement in the region.

To prevent President Obama’s damaging Middle East policy from gaining any traction, I have drafted an amendment that would block the White House from negotiating a peace treaty with the Palestinanians based in whole or in part on imposing Israel's pre-1967 borders.