David HaIvri
David HaIvriIsrael news photo

After a State Department official requested Jewish pioneers' reaction to U.S. President Barack Obama's speech at the United Nations General Assembly, the Shomron (Samaria) Liaison Office responded by explaining that the American leader failed to grasp the basic issues involved.

The American official, Cyndee Trinh of the Political Section of the U.S. Consulate-General in Jerusalem, sent an e-mail message Thursday to David HaIvri, Head of the Shomron Liaison Office, in which she asked him for a reaction to Obama's speech in New York on Wednesday. Obama said there that he “does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements" and called to "end the occupation that began in 1967."  

Trinh asked HaIvri: “I was wondering if you saw, heard, or read about President Obama’s speech before the UN yesterday, and if so, if you have any opinions or reactions you would like to convey to Washington?”

She added: “Your opinions and thoughts are important to us” and wished him “Chatima Tovah.”

HaIvri responded by writing that “President Obama's speech reflects his failure to understand the basic issues,” which he went on to list:

(1) The Jewish "settlements" in Judea and Samaria are not illegal; Geneva IV is not applicable.

(2) Israel has not illegally "occupied" anyone else's land.

(3) The Armistice lines of 1949 were never accepted by any Arab country as Israel's borders; nor does Israel consider them as such.

(4) A second (or third) Arab Palestinian state will not resolve core issues ("refugees," Jerusalem, etc) -- the solution is regional and comprehensive, not local and piecemeal.

(5) Opposition to Jewish building in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria is rank discrimination.

(6) "Palestinian" terrorism and incitement are ongoing and officially sanctioned; it must stop immediately before anything else.

A source in the Liaison Office said that while Trinh is officially an adviser to the Consul, her actual assignment is to keep tabs on settlement growth. “They come out to visit and ask for our explanations regarding building efforts, etc.,” the source said. “Unofficially, she is a spy. I heard from knowledgeable sources that she reports directly to [U.S. Middle East Special Envoy George] Mitchell.”