{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://web.archive.org/web/20141031192525/http://www.boozman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=75ffa22c-0ddb-4223-a88f-eec31822f27e", "Boozman, Moran, Kirk, Coats & Vitter Call Administration's Anonymous Attacks on Israeli PM \"Disgraceful\"", "2014-10-31", "2014", "2014-10", "Republican", "House", "AR", "John Boozman", "B001236", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON \u2013In a letter sent to President Obama today, U.S. Senators John Boozman (R-AR), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Mark Kirk (R-IL), Dan Coats (R-IN) and David Vitter (R-LA) expressed their disappointment in vulgar insults directed at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from an unnamed administration official during an interview with Jeffrey Goldberg from The Atlantic.\n\u201cIt is with grave concern that we read reports in The Atlantic that public, yet anonymous, vulgar and disparaging characterizations of Prime Minister Netanyahu are being made by those whom work and speak on your behalf,\u201d the senators wrote. \u201cIsrael has long been one of our country\u2019s closest allies, and we believe that attacks of a personal nature on its current head of state are wholly inappropriate, unacceptable and disgraceful.\u201d\nThe senators note that President Obama\u2019s unwillingness to hold accountable the individual responsible for the comments will have a detrimental impact on a long standing friendship and our country\u2019s role in the Middle East peace process.\n\u201cWhile your administration\u2019s official policy has been supportive of Israel, your refusal to hold those making these comments accountable gives the appearance of a faltering in a long standing friendship. It also significantly weakens our ability to broker an agreement that brings a sustainable peace to the Middle East,\u201d the letter states.\nGoldberg\u2019s article begins with a quote from an unnamed \u201csenior Obama administration official\u201d who responds to an inquiry about diplomatic relations with obscene comments directed at the Prime Minister of Israel. \u00a0\nThe following is the letter in its entirety:\nDear Mr. President,\nWe, the undersigned Senators, write to you to express our concerns with recent comments made by senior officials in your administration about the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu.\nIt is with grave concern that we read reports in The Atlantic that public, yet anonymous, vulgar and disparaging characterizations of Prime Minister Netanyahu are being made by those whom work and speak on your behalf. Israel has long been one of our country\u2019s closest allies, and we believe that attacks of a personal nature on its current head of state are wholly inappropriate, unacceptable and disgraceful. The United States Senate, and Congress as a whole, has a long history of overwhelming, bipartisan support for the only stable democratic country in the Middle East. In these trying times, Israel needs the reassurances that come from our strong bilateral relationship. Disparaging off\u2013the-record comments like these only serve to cast doubt on our commitment to fulfill promises made to those abroad.\u00a0\nAs we move towards the beginning of a new Congress in January, we want to take this opportunity to reaffirm our support for the state of Israel and our intentions to ensure, through the legislative process, that our ties with Israel remain as strong as ever. With the continued emergence of threats in the region, and to Israel itself, the need for strong U.S. \u2013 Israel relations is now as great as ever. As we have seen in recent months, a strong bilateral relationship is not only important to ensuring Israel\u2019s safety but also that of the United States.\u00a0\nWhile your administration\u2019s official policy has been supportive of Israel, your refusal to hold those making these comments accountable gives the appearance of a faltering in a long standing friendship. It also significantly weakens our ability to broker an agreement that brings a sustainable peace to the Middle East. It is our hope that your administration will refocus its efforts from personal attacks to the faithful execution of Congressional instruction.\u00a0\nSincerely,", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://web.archive.org/web/20141031192525/http://www.boozman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=75ffa22c-0ddb-4223-a88f-eec31822f27e"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9637430775910616, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}