JustASC

Interesting and telling release from The Israel Project, titled:

Israeli Minister Apologizes for Timing of Jerusalem Building Plans

TIP is among the most visible of the groups formed to improve Israel’s public image, saying its mission is to help people “see a more positive public face of Israel. This helps protect Israel, reduce anti-Semitism and increase pride in Israel.”

If they’re being pro-active in getting Israel’s apology out there (as opposed to defending the housing plan and scoring Israel’s critics), it suggests that the pro-Israel mainstream thinks Israel fumbled this one, and damage control is necessary. Note among the suggested “expert sources” are Malcolm Hoenlein, Executive Vice Chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major american Jewish Organizations, and Michael Oren, Israel’s Ambassador to the United States.

Of course, TIP squeezes in a defense of the housing plan, saying Netanyahu’s previously decared freeze on new settlements “would not apply to Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem that lie beyond the pre-1967 borders.”