White House Animosity of Its Own Unhelpful Rhetoric

The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
March 16, 2010
Briefing by White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs

...

Q ...Israel claims over the years it's tried to protect holy sites -- Christian, Muslim and Jewish holy sites. Have you ever discussed this with the Palestinians and asked them to refrain from attacks on either people's holy sites?

MR. GIBBS: We have -- I would say -- I'm taking this a little bit broader -- I would say the types of things that you've heard us and, quite frankly, administrations in the past discuss as unhelpful to moving this process along are -- is any call for the incitement of violence. Again, I mentioned the State Department -- reiterated the State Department's guidance on what we believed was unhelpful rhetoric around the rededication of a synagogue in Jerusalem as a real-time example of the type of action and rhetoric that is not in any way productive and undermines the trust that's
needed for both of these sides to sit down and directly address their issues and move forward on peace.

You noticed that he didn't answer the question of Have you ever discussed this with the Palestinians and asked them to refrain from attacks on either people's holy sites?



(Kippah tip: TG)