Florida Sen. Marco Rubio accused President Barack Obama of “making a historic mistake” in his treatment of Israel, warning in a fiery floor speech the tension could endanger the safety of the nation.
“This President is making a historic mistake,” he said on the Senate floor Thursday night.
“Allies have differences, but allies like Israel, when you have a difference with them and it is public, it emboldens their enemies to launch more rockets out of southern Lebanon and Gaza, to launch more terrorist attacks, to go to international forums and de-legitimize Israel’s right to exist. And this is what they’re doing.”
Obama waited two days to call Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to wish him congratulations on his win this week, and during the call warned the U.S. would “reassess” its relationship with the nation after a notably tense period between the two leaders, during which Netanyahu spoke to Congress without alerting the White House to his visit.
Rubio, a potential Republican presidential contender, said he would be “even angrier” if a Republican president were acting the same way, and called Obama’s shift “outrageous,” “irresponsible” and “dangerous.”
“No people on Earth want peace more than the people of Israel. No people have suffered more at the hands of this violence and this terrorism than the people of Israel. And they need America’s support, unconditionally,” he added.
