Let’s face it: Barack Obama is the least Israeli-friendly president since Peanut Farmer Jimmuh. Actually, Jimmuh looks like an AIPAC board member compared to this guy.

Obama attended for twenty years a church that reprinted the Hamas terror manifesto in its weekly bulletin. The pastor of the same church today blames Jews for a lack of communication between him and Obama. Seriously. He blames Jews for the president not talking with a political albatross.

When he wasn’t attending the Israel-hating church with its antisemitic pastor, Obama was attending dinner parties honoring Palestinian apologists who previously advised terrorist leaders. In fact, Obama himself praised Rashid Khalidi, former adviser and continued apologist for terror leader Yasser Arafat.

Even while running for president Obama was no big fan of the State of Israel. When he attended AIPAC even Jon Stewart was reduced to mocking him for his pathetic remarks. Obama lied at the same event, promising an undivided Jerusalem during the speech before back-peddling on the statement later in the day.

And now that he’s president, Obama focuses much of his attention in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on criticizing Israel for building houses. Which is the subject of an editorial in today’s Wall Street Journal.

In recent weeks, the Obama Administration has endorsed “healthy relations” between Iran and Syria, mildly rebuked Syrian President Bashar Assad for accusing the U.S. of “colonialism,” and publicly apologized to Moammar Gadhafi for treating him with less than appropriate deference after the Libyan called for “a jihad” against Switzerland.

When it comes to Israel, however, the Administration has no trouble rising to a high pitch of public indignation. On a visit to Israel last week, Vice President Joe Biden condemned an announcement by a mid-level Israeli official that the government had approved a planning stage—the fourth out of seven required—for the construction of 1,600 housing units in north Jerusalem. Assuming final approval, no ground will be broken on the project for at least three years.

But neither that nor repeated apologies from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prevented Secretary of State Hillary Clinton—at what White House sources ostentatiously said was the personal direction of President Obama—from calling the announcement “an insult to the United States.” White House political chief David Axelrod got in his licks on NBC’s Meet the Press yesterday, lambasting Israel for what he described as “an affront.”

So even while the Obama Administration makes overtures of peace with state-sponsors of terrorism like Iran, which currently oppresses its people and was responsible for many American troop deaths in Iraq, the same group of administration officials condemn our regional ally, Israel, for…building homes three years from now.

Since nobody is defending the Israeli announcement, least of all an obviously embarrassed Israeli government, it’s difficult to see why the Administration has chosen this occasion to spark a full-blown diplomatic crisis with its most reliable Middle Eastern ally. Mr. Biden’s visit was intended to reassure Israelis that the Administration remained fully committed to Israeli security and legitimacy. In a speech at Tel Aviv University two days after the Israeli announcement, Mr. Biden publicly thanked Mr. Netanyahu for “putting in place a process to prevent the recurrence” of similar incidents.

The subsequent escalation by Mrs. Clinton was clearly intended as a highly public rebuke to the Israelis, but its political and strategic logic is puzzling. The U.S. needs Israel’s acquiescence in the Obama Administration’s increasingly drawn-out efforts to halt Iran’s nuclear bid through diplomacy or sanctions. But Israel’s restraint is measured in direct proportion to its sense U.S. security guarantees are good. If Israel senses that the Administration is looking for any pretext to blow up relations, it will care much less how the U.S. might react to a military strike on Iran.

By the way, total number of trips to Israel by Barack Obama since he took office last January? Zero. None. Zip. Zilch.

Obama has visited Saudi Arabia. But not even a quick side trip to our allied Jewish state. It’s a disgrace.

Via Hot Air.