Congress urges Obama not to abandon Israel at U.N.

Ninety percent of Congress sent a clear message to President Obama—back Israel. House Republicans and Democrats united in urging President Barack Obama to reject any one-sided actions by the United Nations attempting to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that are biased against Israel, a move Obama is reportedly considering. In a letter sent to Obama on Thursday, authored by Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY) and signed by 394, including Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, House members warned that one-sided initiatives may come up at the U.N. in the coming months. They say the proposals should be vetoed because they could “dangerously hinder” the prospects of the two sides resuming the direct negotiations that are key to resolving their differences. “We are deeply troubled by reports that one-sided initiatives may arise at the U.N. in the coming months concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” the letter says. “Such efforts dangerously hinder the prospects for resuming direct negotiations,” the lawmakers wrote. “We therefore urge you to continue to insist that it is only at the negotiating table—and not at the UN—that the parties can resolve their complicated differences. Your continued commitment to longstanding U.S. policy to veto one-sided U.N. Security Council resolutions remains fundamentally critical.” The letter calls on the administration to refuse support for “counterproductive efforts aimed at imposing a solution on the parties” and to oppose “and, if need be, veto one-sided United Nations Security Council resolutions.”