Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said on Wednesday that the US-Israel relationship must not be turned into a partisanship battle after President Donald Trump's controversial comments alleging that Jews who vote for the Democratic party were "disloyal" to Israel.
"I spoke to [US House] Speaker Nancy Pelosi and we discussed the importance of the strong relationship between the US and Israel and I thanked her for her commitment," President Rivlin tweeted.
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"Our connection is a connection between peoples, which relies on historical ties, deep and strong friendships and shared values that do not derive from one or the other party affiliation," he added, in an apparent reference to controversial remarks by the US president which sparked a backlash from the American Jewish community.
Donald Trump told reporters outside the White House on Wednesday that by voting for a Democrat, Jews were "being disloyal to the Jewish people and very disloyal to Israel."
The remarks doubled-down on comments made the previous day asserting that "any Jewish person who would vote for a Democrat ... shows either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty."
His comments, which drew fierce rebuke from Jewish groups, came amid his ongoing dispute with Muslim congresswomen Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), both of whom support a boycott of the Jewish state for its treatment of the Palestinians.
Last week, Israel barred Omar and Tlaib from the entry on the grounds that they supported the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement, and after Trump urged the Jewish state to block the two from entering the country (Tlaib was later granted permission on a humanitarian basis to visit her grandmother, but refused).
This article was originally published by i24NEWS.
