U.S. Rep. Barney Frank scrambled yesterday to backtrack from his criticisms of an Israeli raid on a pro-Palestinian flotilla that left nine dead – saying he never referred to those killed as “innocent.”

Frank, (D-Newton), came under fire from local Jewish groups after telling the Boston Herald Tuesday he was “as a Jew … ashamed” of some Israeli actions and saying there should be a “genuinely impartial” inquiry into the raid. Yesterday, Frank said a probe by an Israeli-commissioned group is best.

“The record of the United Nations with regard to Israel is a badly biased one and clearly no inquiry by the U.N. would have the credibility it ought to have,” Frank’s statement said.

In his Tuesday meeting with Herald reporters and editors, when asked how the United States should respond to the raid, Frank said he needed to review the incident. He then said, “Once you have a combat situation and innocent people die, I mean, you know, look at our problems in Afghanistan, and we have an obligation to try and avoid it.”

Frank’s statement yesterday said he was not referring to the slain pro-Palestinian activists as “innocent,” but was referring to “the problems the American military has encountered in Afghanistan – and before that to a great extent Iraq,” an apparent reference to accidental killings of civilians by the U.S. military.

Israeli officials have said their commandos acted in self-defense. Frank yesterday defended Israeli actions, saying, “I have since learned more about the incident and I note the Israeli report that violent force in fact (was) initiated by those whose boat was boarded – entirely appropriately in my judgment – by the Israeli Navy.”

Frank’s latest statement highlights how explosive the incident has become for American politicians, said Boston University politics professor Thomas Whalen. “He’s a consummate politician – putting his finger to the wind and calibrating his response depending on public opinion. Frank has been very courageous on a number of issues, it’s disappointing he wasn’t clearer on this one.”

President Obama has also issued politically neutral statements since Israeli Navy commandos boarded a six-ship flotilla early Monday as the pro-Palestinian activists moved to run Israel’s blockade of Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the blockade yesterday amid mounting international criticism.

(Source: Boston Herald)