US diplomat slammed for criticizing Oren

Haviv Retig Gur
International/JPost
25 December 09

(No surprises here. See related article below.)

Major Jewish organizations on Thursday blasted an Obama administration diplomat with connections to J Street for criticizing Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren in a newspaper interview.

Hannah Rosenthal, a former J Street board member, currently serves as the State Department's director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism.

Rosenthal criticized Oren for refusing to attend the recent conference of the left-wing Jewish group J Street because of deep disagreements between the organization's platform and the Israeli government's positions on issues ranging from Iran to peace negotiations with the Palestinians.

Rosenthal called Oren's refusal "most unfortunate" and said he "would have learned a lot" had he attended the conference, which was held in Washington in October.

"I was surprised to see an official of the American government commenting on the positions taken by Ambassador Oren," said Alan Solow, who is a long-time supporter of US President Barack Obama, is considered close to the administration, and is the chairman of the New York-based Conference of Presidents.

Rosenthal's comments "go beyond her responsibilities," he said, and reflected only her "personal feelings."

(Read full article)

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