WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release)– Speaking at the inaugural Israeli American Council (IAC) National Conference, former Presidential candidate Gov. Mitt Romney blasted President Obama for his Iran policy and recent secret letter to Iranian leaders, saying he was “stunned” the administration would attempt to connect with a “rogue” state.
“That the president would write a letter of this nature, in effect legitimizing a nation and a leadership that is violating international norms and is threatening the world, is so far beyond the pale, I was stunned. I was speechless,” Romney said on Friday, Nov. 7. Romney called Obama’s approach “naïve” and said the “right kind of approach in dealing with Iran is that we consider them a pariah, their leaders are shunned and we exert that kind of moral suasion on them.”
Romney was referring to reports, which the White House has confirmed, that Obama sent a letter to Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, urging him to sign a nuclear agreement and join the U.S.-led international military campaign against the radical Muslim group ISIS. Romney said it was Iranian backing for the Syrian regime against rebels that sparked the rise of ISIS, and that the U.S. was now seeking its help to battle the group.
Obama “continues to diminish himself and America and leads bad people to think America can be pushed around,” he said.
At the same time, Romney also strongly criticized the administration for its approach to Israel, saying Obama has been “divisive and dictatorial to our friends.”
Romney, in a forum with journalist and Start-Up Nation author Dan Senor, joined an array of VIPs from the U.S. and Israel including former Vice Presidential candidate Sen. Joe Lieberman at the opening of the IAC conference, Nov. 7-9 in Washington, D.C.
Lieberman called the IAC conference a “history-making” event. “As individuals and as the Israeli-American community, you have a vision and you have values and you are organizing now to take action based on that vision and those values,” he said. “You are starting something bold and important. You are going to serve two great causes larger than yourself – the cause of Israel and the cause of America.”
The Israeli-American Council (IAC)’s first-ever national gathering, which sold out weeks beforehand, brings the emerging community of Israeli-Americans together for the first time to solidify its voice and explore how to strengthen the American-Jewish community, the next generation and the relationship between the State of Israel and the United States. The Israeli-American community is currently estimated at over 600,000.
The conference served as Romney’s first formal address to the Jewish and Israeli-American community since the 2012 presidential elections and Lieberman’s first address to the Israeli-American community. Taking place at the Washington Hilton, the IAC National Conference is also hosting such global figures as Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC); Sen. Ted Deutch (D-FL); Israel’s Ambassador to the U.S. Ron Dermer; Israel’s Representative to the UN Ron Prosor; Israel’s Minister of Communications and Homefront Protection, Gilad Erdan; Israel’s former UN Ambassador Dan Gillerman; Israeli National Security Council member and terrorism expert Dr. Anat Berko; actress and advocate Noa Tishbi; high-tech entrepreneur Yossi Vardi; Sheldon and Dr. Miriam Adelson; Haim Saban and many more.
The preeminent Israeli-American organization in the U.S., the IAC is headquartered in Los Angeles and expanding nationwide, with offices already in Boston, New York, New Jersey, Miami and Las Vegas. The IAC mission is to build an engaged and united Israeli-American community that strengthens our next generations, the American Jewish community and the State of Israel.
“As Americans and Israelis, we see it as our duty and obligation to strengthen the relationship between Israel and the United States,” said IAC National Chairman Shawn Evenhaim. “This conference marks the first time that leaders and professionals from the Israeli-American and Jewish communities from across the country are coming together to explore how to build a united and engaged community.”
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Preceding provided by the Israeli American Council