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Article snippet: Author J.K. Rowling joked Thursday that President Trump may have inadvertently united the Middle East with his comments on the violent rally in Charlottesville, Va., over the weekend, after leaders from Israel and Iran condemned the violence. "Unbelievable. He actually did bring the Middle East together," the Harry Potter author tweeted with a photo of a CNN chyron that read "Israel and Iran condemn Trump's comments." Both of the countries have been known to clash over a number of different policy stances. At a wild, impromptu press conference at Trump Tower, the president defended his initial response that “many sides” were to blame for the violence at the “Unite the Right” rally in Virginia, saying he needed to "know the facts" before calling out neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan. The comments drew fire from politicians and political commentators from both sides of the aisle and abroad. On the campaign trail, Trump vowed to bring peace to the Middle East, though most often commented on tensions between Israel and Palestine. The Hill 1625 K Street, NW Suite 900 Washington DC 20006 | 202-628-8500 tel | 202-628-8503 fax The contents of this site are ©2017 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc. Link to the full article to read more