Knesset Member: 'Obama Decided Not to Decide'

The deputy speaker of the Israeli Knesset told MSNBC today that he believes it will most likely fall to Israel to stop Iran’s nuclear program, “but it should be a joint effort of the Western societies and not only Israel should take the burden to deal with this threat.”

“Apparently President Obama decided not to decide. We know Iran is building a nuclear bomb. We can ask whether it will be in a few months or maybe less than a year. We wanted to ask our ally, the United States of America, do you want Israel to wait? Give us a date. Give us a line and tell us, you know what? We will wait until the end of the year after the elections,” said Danny Dannon, chairman of World Likud.

“But we feel today that the people in Washington, mainly President Obama and Secretary Clinton, telling us, hold your horses. Do not do anything regarding Iran. Ignore what they’re doing there. Ignore what they are saying. And maybe one day we will decide about this issue,” he said. “It cannot happen.”

Dannon said he believes moral support should come first and foremost from Washington. “Then you can discuss whether we will get the accords to fly about Saudi Arabia, whether we get the missiles that you have and we do not have,” he said. “We do not expect to send American troops to the Middle East. But when we see Iran become nuclear — and by the way, it is a problem for the American people as well, because Iran is saying we want to wipe out Israel first. But then we want to wipe out the United States of America. So it is not on your shores today, but it will be.”

He said Israel does “absolutely not” have as resolute a partner in Washington as in past years.

“I analyze it and say that President Obama took a different approach. He tried to speak to the Arab world, to reach a hand to them. It did not work. Look at the Cairo speech he gave. A beautiful speech,” Dannon said. “But look what’s happening today in Cairo, in the American embassy. Look what’s happening today in Syria. The area is a tough neighborhood. And I think we change the approach that we speak with our neighbors. And also we expect from the people in Washington to understand that they have to stand with us today.”

“We can all agree that 2013, it is a year that a decision must be taken,” he added. “…And I think, unfortunately, that we will have to stop Iran from becoming nuclear. It is not easy for us as well.”