Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu called off his trip to Washington next week to attend a conference on the spread of nuclear weapons, officials in his office said Thursday night, fearing Israel would be singled out over its own nuclear facilities.
Power Line nails it (emphasis added):
Netanyahu reportedly decided not to come to Washington because U.S. sources informed Israel that a group of participating Arab countries led by Turkey and Egypt plan to use the summit to demand that Israel sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and allow its nuclear capabilities to be placed under international inspection. Previously, the Obama administration had assured Netanyahu that it would not let this issue take over the conference, the focus of which is supposed to be on keeping nuclear capabilities out of the hands of terrorists.
But at this point, Netanyahu has no reason to credit any assurances from the Obama administration.
Indeed, Netanyahu has every reason to distrust and disbelieve the Obama administration. Joshuapundit posts a link to an article in Hebrew that Israeli nuclear technicians are being denied visas to the US, and that the US has an unofficial embargo on selling anything to be used at the site:
NRG/Maariv (Hebrew link only, sorry) reported today that the Israeli government was stunned when every nuclear technician at Israel’s Dimona reactor who had submitted visa requests to visit the United States for ongoing university education in Physics, Chemistry and Nuclear Engineering had their visa applications summarily rejected, specifically because of their association with the Dimona reactor.
This is a new policy decision of the Obama administration. Up until now, it was routine for Israeli nuclear scientists and technicians to receive such visas and to study at US universities.
Israeli security officials have confirmed that these technicians are being denied visas solely because of their employment at the Dimona reactor.
Not only are employees at Dimonas taboo, but reportedly the US has an unofficial embargo on selling anything to be used at the site.
Professor Zeev Alfasi, the head of Nuclear Engineering at Ben-Gurion University in the Negev stated that “the United States doesn’t sell anything nuclear-related to the Dimona reactor, and that means absolutely nothing. Radiation detectors, for example have to be purchased now in France because the USA refuses to sell these to Israel.”
In case you’re wondering, Allahpundit points out,
Worth noting: Israel won’t be the only country in attendance [at the DC summit] that hasn’t signed the Nonproliferation Treaty. India and Pakistan haven’t signed either and they’ll both be there, so any attempt to frame Tel Aviv as the sole “rogue” outlier is DOA.
Liberty Pundits asks,
Does Barack Obama really believe that by treating them shabbily, that Muslim nations that hate Israel and America will treat us better?
By now, I actually believe he does.
This post has been linked for the HOT5 Daily 4/9/2010, at The Unreligious Right
Thanks for the link UNRR!