2
18
During a contentious and heated exchange on CNN this morning, anchor Don Lemon attempted to get Israeli Ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer to present evidence that the Obama Administration was involved in orchestrating the recent UN resolution on settlements.
Yesterday, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that they had “ironclad information” that the administration was involved in crafting the resolution, telling CNN they had sources internationally that backed this up. The United States abstained from the vote in the Security Council.
Speaking to Lemon this morning, Dermer claimed that the United Nations “ganged up” on Israel, which is an “old story,” but what made this “outrageous is that the United States was actually behind that gang-up.” Seeing where Dermer was going with this, Lemon asked him if he had any proof.
“Ambassador, what’s the evidence that the United Nations is behind this gang-up? I’ve heard that a lot,” the CNN anchor pressed Dermer.
After the ambassador said they had “clear evidence” and would present it to the Trump administration, Lemon wondered “why not now?”
Dermer once again claimed they would present the evidence to the new administration and allow them to give it to the American people. This led to Lemon noting that this is the first resolution that President Obama’s been involved with that’s been critical of Israel and this one doesn’t impose sanctions. He then explained past presidents have been involved in other resolutions that have gone even further.
This brought forth an animated debate over past actions by the US, with Dermer dismissing Lemon’s statements as “false” while saying his history “goes back beyond Brexit.” “That’s not false,” Lemon retorted.