The Israeli opposition leader gave the former U.S. president “respect and legitimacy he should never be given,” Morton Klein, of the ZOA, told JNS.

(September 17, 2024 / JNS) Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid discussed advancing a deal to return the 101 hostages still being held captive by Hamas in Gaza since Oct. 7 with former President Barack Obama in Washington on Monday.

“I thanked him for his public support and his efforts to secure the return of the Israeli hostages held in Gaza,” Lapid wrote on social media on Tuesday. “I told him that we all need to work together to ensure a deal that will bring the hostages home.”

The head of the Yesh Atid Party drew criticism for the meeting.

Morton Klein, national president of the Zionist Organization of America, told JNS that “the far left-wing Lapid meeting with the most anti-Israel president, Obama,” gives the former U.S. president “respect and legitimacy he should never be given.”

“During his presidency, Obama gave Iran a pathway to nukes, promoted and refused to veto anti-Israel U.N. resolutions, falsely claiming everything past the 1949 armistice line is Arab territory including Jerusalem and appointed the most anti-Israel people to important posts,” Klein said.

He added that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “should be making the decision on meeting former U.S. presidents, not extremist out-of-power Lapid.”

“Obama should leave politics,” wrote Michael Doran, a senior fellow and director of the Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East at the Hudson Institute. “The intense concentration of unelected and unaccountable power that he represents contradicts the constitution.”

“Just some light coup work from America’s shadow regime,” wrote Benjamin Weingarten, editor-at-large at RealClear Investigations.

Lizzy Savetsky, a Jewish activist and pro-Israel influencer, told JNS that it’s “absurd that President Obama would meet with a foreign leader for political discussions, let alone a former prime minister like Yair Lapid.”

“This meeting is a massive overstep,” she said. “President Obama is not a friend of the Jewish state. Israel is still dealing with President Obama’s legacy after having sold Israel out on the Iran deal and strengthening its enemy at a crucial juncture.”

“President Obama’s actions allowed Israel’s enemies to attack on Oct. 7,” she added. “At this critical time in Israel’s war, Lapid and Obama are doing nothing but playing politics in an effort to undermine Israel’s leadership.”

Lapid also visited the White House on Monday, meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan to talk about the 101 hostages remaining in Gaza and a potential ceasefire agreement to secure their release after nearly a year of captivity.

He was also scheduled to meet Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) during his time in Washington.

This article was originally published in JNS and can be viewed here.