Israel National News TV recently interviewed Rubin Margules, President of the Zionist Organization of America’s (ZOA) Brooklyn Region.

During the interview, Margules addressed the tough relations between Israel and the United States since the beginning of the Obama Administration.

“I’m not sure if those tough times from the beginning [of the Obama Administration] are still not with us,” he admitted. “Reflecting what Israel’s policy has become, it shows that there is tremendous pressure to stop the growth of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria and that’s due to the executive branch of government.”

He noted that not all is negative and that “the Congress is overwhelmingly supportive of Israel’s position, and that’s something that should be noted.”

Margules also pointed out that when it comes to killing heads of terror organizations such as Osama bin Laden, the United States has not been as big a problem for Israel as the European Union has been.

“I think the United States has given Israel a lot of leeway in protecting its own borders,” he said. “When that involved, occasionally, the elimination of the heads of these terrorist organizations, I don’t think the United States was that quick to condemn.”

Margules noted that when Israel changes its policy to appease the United Nations, the EU, or even the U.S., it ends up getting pressured even further. “Israel has to do what it has to do and it can’t be subject to the dictates of either the United Nations, the EU, or the United States.”

He noted that many Americans are just not knowledgeable enough about the real threats facing Israel. “Israel is still faced with the hostility of a hundred million Arabs. They’ve created a conflict where it’s only Israel against some sort of Palestinian Authority, but that Palestinian people is only the front; the vast majority of Americans, even American Jews, believe that Israel uses disproportionate force, that Israel is occupying Palestinian territory, when there never was a Palestinian territory.”

Margules added that in order to make people understand the true essence of the conflict, better background and history must be provided to them.

He noted that while Jews worldwide want peace, “there has to be a peace partner as well, and so far there has not been any indication that the Arabs are forthcoming.”

Margules spoke of his recent trip to Israel, where he met with government officials, told them that Israel has a large support in Congress, and urged them to make use of this support.

“Congress, which includes the Senate, also has a certain say in policy making when it comes to foreign affairs,” he explained. “And there, Israel has tremendous strength.”

Margules concluded by saying: “My heart is [in Israel], and I hope that between Israel, the United States, and the Jewish in the United States who are helping, we will continue to see a strong, vibrant and growing Israel.”