Tough Crowd

Obama: Israel Is Still Ally

President stands firm on return to ’67 borders.

President Obama addressed the annual assembly of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in an attempt to reassure Jews about his support for Israel—but Obama said he will not waver on his call to return to the 1967 Palestinian border. But he clarified that the border would not be the exact one agreed on then, but would call for concessions from Israel in exchange for keeping West Bank settlements. “That's what mutually agreed upon swaps means,” he said. “"It allows the parties themselves to account for the changes that have taken place over the last forty-four years.” Though he faced some boos, applause mostly drowned them out, and the Israeli culture minister, a member of Prime Minister Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party, welcomed the president's statement as “important words.”