And why not? Everyone knows Israel is the last country on Earth that has experience dealing with terrorism . . . no, wait?
Via CNS News:
As the Obama administration’s new international counterterrorism initiative develops, the exclusion of Israel becomes more glaring with each passing meeting — most recently on Monday, at the beginning of a conference focusing on victims of terrorism.
Addressing the two-day Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF) event in Madrid, an administration official mentioned a dozen countries in the context of victims of terrorism – but not Israel.
Launched last fall as a “signature initiative” in what the administration calls its “smart power approach to counterterrorism,” the GCTF comprises 29 countries, with the U.S. and Turkey serving as co-chairs.
Israel’s exclusion provoked comment from the outset, given the country’s long experience both as a target of and fighter against terrorism.
The State Department says future Israeli participation is not ruled out. Still, Turkey’s Islamist-leaning government – which disputes that Hamas is a terrorist group – has worked actively to isolate Israel in the international community.
Further, 11 of the 29 GCTF members are members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), some of which are hostile towards Israel. All subscribe to the OIC’s 1999 Convention on Combating Terrorism which states that “armed struggle against foreign occupation, aggression, colonialism, and hegemony, aimed at liberation and self-determination in accordance with the principles of international law shall not be considered a terrorist crime.”