McCain on Israel

With a hat tip to the Bald-Headed Geek, here's an article in The Jewish Press which shows John McCain eager to set the record straight:

In statements to The Jewish Press this week, Arizona Senator John McCain reacted sharply to an article earlier this month in the Israeli daily Haaretz that he said left "several serious misimpressions" regarding his views on Israel and the Middle East. ...

A source in McCain’s office characterized the Haaretz interview as a brief, impromptu session and the resulting article as long on the reporter’s suppositions and short on concrete quotes from McCain.

"You’ll note," said the source, "that the article featured perhaps one complete sentence from the senator; otherwise the report is basically the reporter’s narrative interspersed with several fragmentary quotes" from McCain.

The senator himself was clearly miffed at his portrayal in Haaretz, saying that "after reading the Haaretz article and subsequent report in The Jewish Press," he felt the need to "clear up several serious misimpressions."

McCain said that "in contrast to the impression left by the Haaretz article, I’ve never held the position that Israel should return to 1967 lines, and that is not my position today." ...

McCain was unequivocal in his remarks to The Jewish Press.

"I’m proudly pro-Israel, and my positions have been consistent and clear," he said. "Israel, as one of America’s closest allies and the only democracy in a dangerous neighborhood, deserves our support and assistance. That’s why I view with such alarm the victory of Hamas and the Iranian president’s vile comments about wiping Israel off the map."

Go read the whole article at the link.