Andrew Adler, the owner of local publication the Atlanta Jewish Times, has apologized after suggesting that assassinating President Barack Obama is an option that should be considered by the Israeli government. As reported by Gawker, Adler's article, written earlier this month, describes the urgency in protecting the Israeli people from threats such as Hamas and Hezbollah and argues that there are essentially only three options available: attack Hamas, beat back Hezbollah, or assassinate Obama.
From Adler's column, which is not available online, but which Gawker uploaded to the web:
Yes, you read "three" correctly. Order a hit on a president in order to preserve Israel's existence. Think about it. If I have thought of this Tom Clancy-type scenario, don't you think that this almost unfathomable idea has been discussed in Israel's most inner circles?
Another way of putting "three" in perspective goes something like this: How far would you go to save a nation comprised of seven million lives ... Jews, Christians and Arabs alike?
You have got to believe, like I do, that all options are on the table.
In a subsequent interview with Gawker, Adler seemed hesitant to stand by his words, saying he had written them just to "see what kind of reaction I would get from readers."
Now, however, Adler has issued a full apology.
"I very much regret it, I wish I hadn't made reference to it at all," he told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency on Friday.
Of course this is not the first time Obama has come under fire for his talk of diplomacy in the region, as well as his overall foreign policy platform, which his detractors have viewed as too passive at times. In the midst of the 2012 election cycle, GOP hopefuls such as Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney have attacked the president on his handling of threats from unfriendly nations. According to The Hill, some GOP candidates feel that the president is being too hard on Israel and not tough enough on its enemies.
"This president appears more generous to our enemies than he is to our friends," Romney said at the Republican Jewish Coalition forum in December.
Former presidential candidate Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) also claimed that "Obama has confused engagement with appeasement, and it has inspired Israel's enemies."
Despite the criticism from GOP hopefuls and the rhetoric of local spectators, Obama seems to be holding up well in his popularity within the Jewish community, a voting populace that is considered imperative to his re-election. According to Forward, a Jewish news site, top-level Jewish fundraisers from Obama's 2008 campaign are sticking with the president in 2012.
