So I was talking to my husband about Rahm Emmanuel and he brought up both sides of the coin about this guy. I decided to do some research and came across this:
Quote:
Rahm Emanuel Is No Likudnik
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By M.J. Rosenberg - November 6, 2008, 1:06PM
Before the netroots starts attacking Emanuel as an AIPAC stooge, Likudnik, or whatever, let me weigh in.
It's not true. His father is an Israeli and was active in the Irgun, the terrorist group founded by Menachem Begin which famously bombed Jerusalem's King David Hotel.
I don't know what the old man's politics on Israel are today (not all Irgunists were rightwingers). I suspect that, if he was still a rightwinger, he would not have produced a bunch of liberal kids. (Rahm's brother, the Jeremy Piven one, writes often on HuffPo and is a total Hollywood liberal).
Anyway, what I know about Emanuel on Israel is that he was a key player in getting President Clinton to embrace Oslo and to hold the Rabin-Arafat signing ceremony. I remember standing on the lawn and watching George Stephanopoulos and Rahm Emanuel all teary over "the handshake."
As a Member of Congress, Emanuel was not all that hawkish either. He supports Israel (so do I) but he definitely supports the peace process too. My guess: he'll be the one encouraging Obama to go for an Israeli-Palestinian deal the first year. And, when the rightwing Jews complain, he'll tell them to stick it up their ass.
And they will.
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Source:
TPMCafe | Talking Points Memo | Rahm Emanuel Is No Likudnik
I'm not saying we should throw out our fears and concerns, but maybe we should be more optimistic and drop the "AAH A JEW!" mentality.