A Jewish newspaper editor who wrote a column in which he speculated that Israel might want Mossad to murder US President Barack Obama for his failure to wage war on Iran, resigned on Monday after a global furor erupted over his comments.
Andrew Adler owns, publishes and edits the monthly Atlanta Jewish Times paper where his Jan. 13 column appeared discussing options that options that might be considered by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Option three was to “give the go-ahead for U.S.-based Mossad agents to take out a president deemed unfriendly to Israel in order for the current vice president to take his place, and forcefully dictate that the United States policy includes its helping the Jewish state obliterate its enemies,” Adler wrote.
His views were widely denounced by Jewish organizations and there was a rising chorus for him to retract, apologize and quit, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported.
The Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta said that it would suspend its relationship with the Atlanta Jewish Times until Adler removed himself from the newspaper's operations. The federation also called on Adler to sell the weekly.
"While we acknowledge his public apology and remorse, the damage done to the people of Israel, the global Jewish people, and especially the Jewish Community of Atlanta is irreparable," the Atlanta federation said in a statement.