Successive US governments, he said, “have recognised the value of this strategic relationship to the national interest, and it is unfortunate that a BBC journalist falls into the trap laid by Israel’s enemies and conspiracy theorists of reducing support for Israel to parlance of Jewish money and power”.
A spokesman for the Anti-Defamation League in the United States said that Ms Kay’s remark “reveals a surprising lack of understanding of the broad support of the American people for a strong US-Israel relationship, which is the underpinning of US foreign policy toward Israel.
“And, at worst, the remark suggests she accepts the mythic notion of a powerful Jewish cabal able to control how US foreign policy toward Israel is determined.”
He added: “Of course, this just may be another example of how complexity and context are sacrificed for the sake of an answer limited to 140 characters.”
A BBC spokesman said that the correspondent’s “primary point in responding was that the US regards Israel as a key ally in the Middle East and also recognises the importance and influence of this relationship on the voting”.
