Obama White House acknowledges 'West Bank' part of Israel

Obama White House acknowledges 'West Bank' part of Israel

The Obama White House, in announcing President Obama's visit to the Dead Sea Scrolls while in Israel, has acknowledged that the 'West Bank' (Judea and Samaria) is part of Israel, and that the Jewish people have an historical connection to it.

In describing President Obama’s itinerary during his trip to Israel and Jordan next week, Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes conceded that the Jewish connection to the West Bank is as strong as it is to Israel, and indeed, spoke of the two interchangeably:

Thursday, the President will begin by going to the Israel Museum. At the Israel Museum, he will view the Dead Sea Scrolls, which are a testament, of course, to the ancient Jewish connection to Israel and, frankly, a marvel that the Israelis have restored within the Israel Museum in a very substantial, impressive way. So the President very much looks forward to the opportunity to see the Dead Sea Scrolls.

The Dead Sea Scrolls were first discovered in the Qumran caves in 1947, when it was part of the League of Nations Mandate for Palestine. Thus the White House seems to recognize that Israel’s history and borders are rooted in the Mandate – what happened in the “West Bank” in 1947 is somehow “connected” to Israel.

Moreover, most the the scrolls were recovered in the the 1950s, after this portion of the Mandate was illegally invaded and occupied by the Jordan. To put it simply, the Dead Sea Scrolls are from the West Bank, otherwise known as “Occupied Palestinian Territory.” The Dead Sea Scrolls, one might say, are written by settlers.

Read the whole thing. 

It's likely that this was an unintentional slip of the tongue and is likely to be walked back by the White House when and if they become aware of it. But it would be nice if it got enough publicity to force them to have to do that before Obama even gets here.

Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Judea and Samaria, Palestine mandate