Rice: Israeli Criticism of Kerry ‘Unacceptable’

Insists Kerry Remains 'Rock Solid' in Pro-Israel Stance

US officials had previously expressed some disquiet after past criticism of Secretary of State John Kerry, but the National Security Adviser Susan Rice today took the backlash to a new level.

Fresh off of Israeli officials calling Kerry an anti-Semite, Rice has termed the attacks on Kerry “totally unfounded and unacceptable,” insisting Kerry is committedly pro-Israel.

Kerry’s push for peace talks has clearly rubbed a lot of Israel’s far-right coalition the wrong way, and many have lashed out publicly at Kerry, accusing him of anti-Israel bias based on some deep-seated hatred of Jews.

Kerry’s warnings that if the peace talks collapse Israel might face renewed boycott efforts were also seen as a threat by many in Israel, though Rice insisted that both she and the rest of the US government remains unconditionally opposed to the boycott of Israel, no matter what.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.