American Zionists furious at Tillerson over his remarks on flight from Saudi Arabia to Israel

“We’re shocked at Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s remark to reporters during their Air Force One flight from Riyadh to Israel,” the Zionist Organization of America ZOA)  announced today, according to Israeli Arutz Sheva website

The ZOA, the oldest pro-Israel organization in the United States,  reportedly took great offense that Tillerson said he was on his way to “Tel Aviv, home of Judaism,” and that he would not acknowledge that the Western Wall is in Israel.

‘Only the blind cannot point to Jerusalem as the center of Judaism and Israel,’ ZOA claimed.

Former Israeli Consul-General (Ambassadorial level) Yoram Ettinger wrote on Friday that, despite President Trump’s positions, Tillerson and his State Department “still cling to political correctness ‎on U.S.-Israel and U.S.-Arab relations, the Palestinian issue and the relocation ‎of the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem.”

During Trump’s visit to Israel, the White House captioned a live video feed of him speaking with Prime Minister Netanyahu as being broadcast from “Jerusalem, Israel” – clearly denoting that Israel is sovereign over the holy city.

Tillerson , “assumes that enhanced U.S.-Israel relations undermine U.S.-‎Arab relations,” according to Ettinger.

Tillerson stressed strategic and economic partnerships in a joint address with Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir in Riyadh on Saturday, saying it was a “historic moment” in U.S.-Saudi relations.

Accompanying President Donald Trump on his first trip abroad as commander in chief — and hours after the administration announced some $110 billion in arms sales to Saudi Arabia and $350 billion in direct U.S. investment over 10 years by the Muslim-majority country — Tillerson referenced multiple potential threats facing the two countries.

“This huge arms sales package reduces the burden on the United States to provide the same equipment to our own military forces,” he said. “It will strengthen Saudi security forces for the future so Saudi Arabia is more capable of carrying a greater share of the burden.”

Tillerson said Saudi Arabia’s direct investment in the U.S. would bring “hundreds of thousands” of jobs to American workers.