A Jewish newspaper publisher in the US apologized on Friday for suggesting
in a column published last week that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu consider deploying Mossad agents to assassinate US President Barack Obama.
Atlanta Jewish Times
owner and publisher Andrew Adler suggested that Netanyahu deploy Mossad
agents to “take out a president deemed unfriendly to Israel” in the
case that Iran got a nuclear weapon.
RELATED:Has Obama lost Jews' support – and funding?Why do US Jews still vote for Obama?In his column he listed
three options for Israel to counter Iran’s nuclear weapons. The first
was to launch a pre-emptive strike against Hezbollah and Hamas and the
second was to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities. The third, according to
Adler, was to “give the go-ahead for US-based Mossad agents to take out a
president deemed unfriendly to Israel in order for the current vice
president to take his place and forcefully dictate that the United
States’ policy includes its helping the Jewish state obliterate its
enemies.”
“Yes, you read 'three' correctly," the publisher
continued. "Order a hit on a president in order to preserve Israel’s
existence. Think about it. If 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?”
In
an interview with JTA Friday, Adler expressed contrition for his column.
"I very much regret it, I wish I hadn't made reference to it at all," Adler said of a presidential assassination.
He also told the Internet site Gawker,
which first reported on his
column, that he had published his piece to see what kind of reaction
he’d get from readers but that he in no way endorsed such action or
thought Israel was considering it.
According to JTA, the many calls and emails he received were overwhelmingly negative.
The Anti-Defamation League strongly condemned the column, with National
Director Abraham Foxman saying in a statement, “There is absolutely no
excuse, no justification, no rationalization for this kind of rhetoric.
It doesn’t even belong in fiction. These are irresponsible and extremist
words. It is outrageous and beyond the pale. An apology cannot possibly
repair the damage.”