So Where Does Biden Stand On Israel?

I wrote earlier how Senator Joe Biden said in an interview about Iran that

at the end of the day, if they posed the missile, stuck it on a pad, I'd take it out.

Earlier this week, it was reported that Biden had given up on preventing a nuclear Iran:

On Monday Israel's Army Radio reported details of the comments Biden made when he met with "senior Israeli officials behind closed doors."

Reportedly Biden told the officials he opposed "opening a additional military and diplomatic front" against Iran.

"Israel will have to reconcile itself with the nuclearization of Iran," Army Radio quoted Biden as telling the Israelis.

Now the Obama camp denies Biden said anything of the sort and stresses his working relationship with various Israeli leaders:

"Joe Biden's first trip as a Senator was to Israel, he has worked with every Israeli leader from Golda Meir to Prime Minister Olmert, and he takes a back seat to no one when it comes to protecting the relationship between Israel and the U.S. Senator Biden has consistently stated - publicly and privately - that a nuclear Iran would pose a grave threat to Israel and the United States and that we must prevent a nuclear Iran," the statement continued.

Included in that list of Israeli leaders is Menachem Begin. In a post on Soccer Dad, I quoted from The New York Sun's now defunct blog, It Shines For All:

When hearing the name Biden, we always think of the famous exchange between Biden and Prime Minister Begin. As Moshe Zak recounted in a March 13, 1992, piece in the Jerusalem Post:

In a conversation with Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, after a sharp confrontation in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the subject of the settlements, Begin defined himself as "a proud Jew who does not tremble with fear" when speaking with foreign statesmen.

During that committee hearing, at the height of the Lebanon War, Sen. John [sic] Biden (Delaware) had attacked Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria and threatened that if Israel did not immediately cease this activity, the US would have to cut economic aid to Israel.

When the senator raised his voice and banged twice on the table with his fist, Begin commented to him: "This desk is designed for writing, not for fists. Don't threaten us with slashing aid. Do you think that because the US lends us money it is entitled to impose on us what we must do? We are grateful for the assistance we have received, but we are not to be threatened. I am a proud Jew. Three thousand years of culture are behind me, and you will not frighten me with threats. Take note: we do not want a single soldier of yours to die for us."

After the meeting, Sen. Moynihan approached Begin and praised him for his cutting reply. To which Begin answered with thanks, defining his stand against threats.

Technorati Tag: Israel.