Israeli officials had no direct comment on the matter, as none were invited to the meeting.
Washington, April 21 - President Barack Obama sought to reassure Israel and its allies in the US that an impending deal with Iran over the latter's nuclear ambitions would not compromise his commitment to backing the Jewish State if it is completely obliterated by Iran's atomic weapons.
The president met with Jewish leaders at the White House today, and told them his administration does not intend to withdraw even an ounce of support for Israel in the event of a ballistic missile attack that wipes the country off the map, a goal Iran's leadership has publicly declared. Jews and israelis need not worry, said Obama, for if Iran follows through on its goal of destroying Israel, the US would maintain its commitment to vetoing UN Security Council resolutions that single out the Jewish State for condemnation. He also promised that existing trade agreements would be honored, and that offers for help would remain open.
Jewish leaders welcomed the president's declaration, but admitted they had hoped for more concrete demonstrations of Obama's commitment to Israel. "I must confess I was looking for a statement that the US might be willing, for example, to extend loans or some other form of aid to Israel after Iranian nukes remove her from the face of the Earth," said Malcolm Hoenlein, a former Chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations. "Alternatively, he could affirm his resolve to pay lip service to the notion of a Jewish national home. But what the president did say is certainly a step in the right direction."
A White House spokesman took pains to point out that no other country has ever been singled out by the US for such statements. "American and British interests, for example, have dovetailed on most major issues since the latter half of the nineteenth century, but no president has ever pledged this kind of support for the United Kingdom in case she were ever to be erased from history," said Press Secretary Josh Earnest. "Even at the darkest moments on the Western Front in World War Two, when Nazi forces threatened an invasion of the British Isles, President Roosevelt never even hinted that the American commitment to Britain extended even past Britain's very existence. This is a unique event in American foreign policy to date."
Israeli officials had no direct comment on the matter, as none were invited to the meeting.