WASHINGTON (JTA) — After discussing the controversy with Jewish leaders, Pastor John Hagee “clarified” that he did not mean to call President Obama anti-Semitic, but anti-Israel.

“The prepared text of my remarks before the Zionist Organization of America called President Obama one of the most ‘anti-Israel’ presidents in U.S. history,” the Christians United for Israel founder said in a statement Friday, referring to his speech Nov. 23 to the ZOA annual dinner in New York.

“During my speech, I inadvertently called him one of the most ‘anti-Semitic’ presidents in history,” he said.

Hagee said he was issuing his clarification after “conversations with friends in the pro-Israel community,” including Robert Sugarman and Malcolm Hoenlein, respectively the chairman and executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.

The Anti-Defamation League had slammed Hagee for the jibe, calling it a “serious denigration and distortion of the term.”

“While I regret my misstatement, I stand behind my prepared remarks,” Hagee said in his statement. “I believe that those of us who love Israel must be aggressive in our criticism thereof.”