Rep. Pete Olson (R-Texas) on Thursday called on President Obama to apologize to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the profanity-laced attacks from unidentified senior administration officials.
A story in The Atlantic this week quoted senior administration officials calling Netanyahu a “chickens—‘ and a ‘coward.’
{mosads}Olson said President Obama should personally apologize to Netanyahu on behalf of the unnamed officials.
“President Obama should immediately denounce this behavior and apologize to Prime Minister Netanyahu,” Olson said. “This kind of offensive behavior is no way to treat a friend.”
The Texas Republican argued that anonymous attacks from the Obama administration on Netanyahu ultimately undermine U.S. interests.
“Our best hope for any kind of resolution to the violence and refusal on the part of many to acknowledge Israel’s basic right to exist is full support from the United States, not a shameful attack that strengthens the opposition,” Olson said.
House GOP leaders, including Speaker John Boehner (Ohio), Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) and Majority Whip Steve Scalise (La.), have also called on President Obama to denounce the comments.
The White House said Wednesday that the derogatory comments were “inappropriate and counterproductive.”
“Certainly, that’s not the administration’s view, and we think such comments are inappropriate and counterproductive,” National Security Council spokesman Alistair Baskey said.