'Israel clash may keep Obama out of mostly Jewish country club'

The Woodmont Country Club was first established in 1913 by the Washington DC Jewish community in response to being excluded from local golf courses.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Updated: JANUARY 12, 2017 13:10
US President Barack Obama (photo credit: REUTERS)
US President Barack Obama
(photo credit: REUTERS)
An upscale country club is debating whether to grant outgoing President of the United States Barack Obama membership due to his contentious relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,The New York Post, citing a confidential source reported Wednesday.
A number of members of the mostly Jewish Woodmont Country Club in Maryland are demanding that Obama be rejected from joining, according to The Post, citing his decision not to veto an anti-settlement resolution in the UN Security Council late last year.
On December 23, UNSC resolution 2334 was adopted after the US abstained from vetoing the decision, which condemned settlement construction in east Jerusalem and the West Bank, outraging officials in Jerusalem. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, the US has the power to reject any motion approved in the 15-member international body.    
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“In light of the votes at the UN and... everything else, there’s this major uproar with having him part of the club, and a significant portion of the club has opposed offering him membership,” a source told The Post.
The Maryland golf club, which Obama would join only after he becomes a private citizen on January 20, has a $80,000 initiation fee with additional annual dues totaling nearly $10,000.
“Originally, this was supposed to be a back-door thing to get this done and give him the membership — free of charge — and circumvent the rules,” said a source.
“But now, with the UN thing, they are not in position or likely to do it,” he added, saying that angry members are threatening litigation and lawsuits against the club if it waives its bylaws for the outgoing president.
Woodmont Country Club CEO and general manager, Brian Pizzimenti, has stated previously that he would be "honored" to have the president as a member.
The White House did not respond for comment from the New York daily.  
The Woodmont Country Club was first established in 1913 by the Washington DC Jewish community in response to being excluded from local golf courses, The Post noted.