--- title: Obama Restates Support of Israel in Synagogue Speech description: President Obama sought to reassure American Jews that he supports the state of Israel at a Northwest Washington synagogue Friday. canonical: https://time.com/3894355/barack-obama-adas-israel-synagogue/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-05-22T16:11:56.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T07:34:28.419Z article:section: Politics og:title: Obama Restates Support of Israel in Synagogue Speech og:description: He sought to reassure American Jews. og:url: https://time.com/3894355/barack-obama-adas-israel-synagogue/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1c54c3286887b3b7/6988516955a85905e7a8c27b/barack-obama-adas-israel-synagogue.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: President Barack Obama delivers remarks in celebration of Jewish American Heritage Month at Adas Israel Congregation May 22, 2015 in Washington, D.C. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Obama Restates Support of Israel in Synagogue Speech twitter:description: He sought to reassure American Jews. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1c54c3286887b3b7/6988516955a85905e7a8c27b/barack-obama-adas-israel-synagogue.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Obama Restates Support of Israel in Synagogue Speech > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan May 22, 2015 4:11 PM UTC  President Barack Obama delivers remarks in celebration of Jewish American Heritage Month at Adas Israel Congregation May 22, 2015 in Washington, D.C. President Barack Obama delivers remarks in celebration of Jewish American Heritage Month at Adas Israel Congregation May 22, 2015 in Washington, D.C. Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan May 22, 2015 4:11 PM UTC President Obama sought to reassure American Jews that he fully supports the state of Israel while reiterating the need for a two-state solution at a Northwest Washington synagogue on Friday. “Our commitment to Israel’s security and my commitment to Israel’s security is and always will be unshakable,” Obama said, adding that not doing so would be a “moral failing.” Obama spoke at the Adas Israel Synagogue on the inaugural “solidarity sabbath,” a holiday meant to consolidate support for Jews amid rising anti-Semitism that falls toward the end of Jewish Heritage Month. On Friday, lawmakers were slated to appear in congregations across the country to mark the day. In the wake of attack at the satirical magazine _Charlie Hebdo_ and a string of anti-Semitic attacks across Europe, there’s been growing attention to the persecution of Jews across the world. Obama noted that the rise of anti-semitism should not be treated as “passing fad.” “When we allow anti-Semitism to take root, our souls are destroyed,” Obama said. “It will spread.” The statements follow a wide-ranging interview published by _The Atlantic_ on Thursday, in which President Obama stressed his love for the Jewish state of Israel, telling commentator Jeffrey Goldberg that supporting the rights of Jews abroad is equivalent to supporting the freedom of African-Americans at home. “There’s a direct line between supporting the right of the Jewish people to have a homeland and to feel safe and free of discrimination and persecution, and the right of African Americans to vote and have equal protection under the law,” he said. “These things are indivisible in my mind.” On Friday, he reiterated those sentiments, reflecting on his own introduction to the Israeli community. “For a young man like me grappling with his own identity, Obama said, “the idea that you could be grounded in your history as Israel was but not be trapped by it. That idea was liberating” Obama’s statements to Goldberg and before the congregation at Adas Israel on Friday come amid nuclear negotiations Iran that have put strain on one of the U.S.’ closest relationships. But he made clear Friday that criticism is not going to change his mind. “I want Israel, in the same way that I want the United States, to embody the Judeo-Christian and, ultimately then, what I believe are human or universal values that have led to progress over a millennium,” he told Goldberg. And on Friday, before a crowd in a packed synagogue where the rabbi called him a “champion of freedom,” Obama sought to reassure the congregation that he could be both a friend and a critic of Israel. “It’s precisely because I care so deeply … that I feel a responsibility to speak out honestly about what I feel,” he said. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3894355/barack-obama-adas-israel-synagogue/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3894355/barack-obama-adas-israel-synagogue/"},"headline":"Obama Restates Support of Israel in Synagogue Speech","datePublished":"2015-05-22T16:11:56.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T07:34:28.419Z","description":"President Obama sought to reassure American Jews that he supports the state of Israel at a Northwest Washington synagogue Friday.","url":"https://time.com/3894355/barack-obama-adas-israel-synagogue/","keywords":["Foreign Policy","Barack Obama","Israel","White House"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1c54c3286887b3b7/6988516955a85905e7a8c27b/barack-obama-adas-israel-synagogue.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1c54c3286887b3b7/6988516955a85905e7a8c27b/barack-obama-adas-israel-synagogue.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"President Barack Obama delivers remarks in celebration of Jewish American Heritage Month at Adas Israel Congregation May 22, 2015 in Washington, D.C.","caption":"President Barack Obama delivers remarks in celebration of Jewish American Heritage Month at Adas Israel Congregation May 22, 2015 in Washington, D.C.","creditText":"Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/foreign-policy/","name":"Foreign Policy"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3894355/barack-obama-adas-israel-synagogue/","name":"Obama Restates Support of Israel in Synagogue Speech"}}]}] ```