President Barack Obama launched into a passionate defense of his policy on Israel, accusing critics of distorting the facts on his Middle East record. Again.

Obama, speaking at a Union for Reform Judaism event in Maryland, doubled-down on his record, saying that no administration has done more in support of Israel’s security.

“Don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise, it is a fact,” the president said. “America’s commitment and my commitment to Israel and Israel’s security is unshakeable — It is unshakeable.”

“As president, I have never wavered in pursuit of a just and lasting peace — two states, two people,” Obama said. “That is our shared vision.”

He clarified that lasting peace can’t be imposed from the outside, but ultimately Israelis and Palestinians need to come to agreement on divisive issues.

“The fact that peace is hard can’t deter us from trying,” he said. “Don’t let anyone else tell a different story … Those are the facts.”

The president has struggled to shake the perception among some voters that he is hostile or indifferent towards Israel. A Republican-leaning group ran a full page ad in the New York Times today, asking “Why does the Obama administration treat Israel like a punching bag?”

Two recent incidents have underscored the tensions between the administration and supporters of the Jewish state. The president was caught in an open mic gaffe disparaging Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. And more recently, Republicans have called on the administration to fire the U.S. ambassador to Belgium Howard Gutman for controversial remarks on anti-Semitism and Israel.

In his remarks Friday, President Obama also connected the story of American Jews to his own family’s complicated history in the United States.

“I know how much that story means to many of you, because I know how much that story means to me.  My father was from Kenya; my mother was from Kansas — not places with a large Jewish community,” said Obama. “But when my Jewish friends tell me about their ancestors, I feel a connection.  I know what it’s like to think, ‘Only in America is my story even possible.'”

(Source: Politico)