Rahm Emmanuel, Maybe Folks Should Cool It?

[Salika]

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:

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.

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.

[MrZ]

From Sulayman's blog:


Israel-loving Right-wingnuts are going berzerk with rage (and a tinge of racism), claiming “he left his own Jewishness” and are referring to him as a “House Jew.” His crime?

One of his proudest moments during the Clinton Administration “was an event that touched his political sensibilities and his personal ties to Israel: the 1993 Rose Garden signing ceremony after the Oslo accord between Israel and the Palestinians. Rahm directed the details of the ceremony, down to the choreography of the famous handshake between Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat.”

They’re saying that Obama will destroy Israel, and this is a “Machiavellian” attempt to “surround yourself with ‘jews’ as you destroy Israel.”

Pretty laughable, the pro-Israel crowd is starting to agitate that Obama will destroy Israel, while the pro-Obama crowd worries that he’ll wipe out Palestine. Sounds like a normal presidency.

[MrZ]

From the "Rahm is a house jew" website:

"Rahm Emmanuel will be used as President-Elect, Barak Obama's battering ram to push the Obama mandate. This will include pressuring Israel to: withdraw from East Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria to appease and 'reconcile' with the Palestinians. withdraw from the Golan Heights to appease and 'reconcile' with Syria. not to pre-emptively attack Iran's nuclear facilities despite the Iranians' stated goal of "wiping Israel off of the map." There will be throngs of Jews who will be pushing the Obama agenda despite the risk this agenda poses to Israel's security and well-being. Get ready for a rough ride."

[Salika]

MuslimZ said

From Sulayman's blog:


Israel-loving Right-wingnuts are going berzerk with rage (and a tinge of racism), claiming “he left his own Jewishness” and are referring to him as a “House Jew.” His crime?

One of his proudest moments during the Clinton Administration “was an event that touched his political sensibilities and his personal ties to Israel: the 1993 Rose Garden signing ceremony after the Oslo accord between Israel and the Palestinians. Rahm directed the details of the ceremony, down to the choreography of the famous handshake between Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat.”

They’re saying that Obama will destroy Israel, and this is a “Machiavellian” attempt to “surround yourself with ‘jews’ as you destroy Israel.”

Pretty laughable, the pro-Israel crowd is starting to agitate that Obama will destroy Israel, while the pro-Obama crowd worries that he’ll wipe out Palestine. Sounds like a normal presidency.

Oh, and I also want to add...

I was with my husband this past weekend at a friend's house and his friend/brother-in-law and I were all discussing the issue. My husband's bro-in-law asked us "who was Bush's chief of staff?" and we all looked looked blankly at each other. He said "exactly, it's not a big deal, he's just chief of staff. It's not like Obama put him in charge of military or foreign affairs." (and even if he did, why are we assuming it's bad? but in any case, he's not...)

Again, not saying that we should all just throw out our concerns. We should still be cautious but sheesh, we should calm down too and quit jumping on Obama.

[MrZ]

Salika said

Oh, and I also want to add...

I was with my husband this past weekend at a friend's house and his friend/brother-in-law and I were all discussing the issue. My husband's bro-in-law asked us "who was Bush's chief of staff?" and we all looked looked blankly at each other. He said "exactly, it's not a big deal, he's just chief of staff. It's not like Obama put him in charge of military or foreign affairs." (and even if he did, why are we assuming it's bad? but in any case, he's not...)

Again, not saying that we should all just throw out our concerns. We should still be cautious but sheesh, we should calm down too and quit jumping on Obama.

word. This has also been my issue with all the uproar over the appointment. A chief of staff is... just a glorified freakin personal assistant. Their work is almost entirely administrative and consists mainly of being "responsible for overseeing the actions of the White House staff, managing the president's schedule, and deciding who is allowed to meet with the president".

Seriously, the knee jerk reaction of people is so disappointing.

[wheelworks]

Interesting. Jazaks for the links!

[kenneth]

i find the term "house Jew" to be hilariously sad.


let's just stop making people's ethnicity into political issues, k? might be a really good idea.

i've been thinking alot today . . . and this is a side note. . .

presidents have a pretty big effect on American culture these days. just look at how different things are here after two Bush jr terms. i really wonder what cultural shifts are in store for us now that Mr. Obama has been elected. I'm thinking some major changes are on the way. . . Allaahu 'Alim. just a thought i felt like sharing. . .

[sumi]

and thank you for this as well salika (and Z). dammit.. must spread rep.

[kiterunner02]

in terms of policy, Rahm has little influence. The Chief of Staff mostly manages the President's day. I read an article that was outlining was the Chief of Staff exactly does, and it was insistent that the position holds little influence over Presidential policy.

As long as Obama surrounds himself with intelligent, fair advisors, things should be alright. If he surrounds himself with the Wolfowitz's and Condoleeza's of the world, we're in trouble.

Right now, everyone should just take a wait-n-see approach, but make sure the public pressure on Obama is to not go on a Israel-loving hiring spree.

[Sugarberry]

Salika said

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.

just for the record I never had the mentality......But i think its tipical with alot of muslims and alot of islamicans.

Jews can be good people.

but thanks for the article.

MuslimZ said

From Sulayman's blog:


Israel-loving Right-wingnuts are going berzerk with rage (and a tinge of racism), claiming “he left his own Jewishness” and are referring to him as a “House Jew.” His crime?

One of his proudest moments during the Clinton Administration “was an event that touched his political sensibilities and his personal ties to Israel: the 1993 Rose Garden signing ceremony after the Oslo accord between Israel and the Palestinians. Rahm directed the details of the ceremony, down to the choreography of the famous handshake between Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat.”

They’re saying that Obama will destroy Israel, and this is a “Machiavellian” attempt to “surround yourself with ‘jews’ as you destroy Israel.”

Pretty laughable, the pro-Israel crowd is starting to agitate that Obama will destroy Israel, while the pro-Obama crowd worries that he’ll wipe out Palestine. Sounds like a normal presidency.

great post

[MossadConspiracy]

Rahm Emanuel went from being some guy nobody ever heard of outside of CSPAN and Chicago newspapers to being the prime mover for the zionist octopus strangling the planet in the span of a few hours

[sumi]

is the pluralization1 study group slow today?

[Salika]

MossadConspiracy said

Rahm Emanuel went from being some guy nobody ever heard of outside of CSPAN and Chicago newspapers to being the prime mover for the zionist octopus strangling the planet in the span of a few hours

sumiyia said

is the pluralization1 study group slow today?

[MrZ]

I like how the Obama haters are steering clear of this thread.

[sumi]

MuslimZ said

I like how the Obama haters are steering clear of this thread.

did you hear? obama is going to give chocolate chip cookies to all the jewish kids in kindergartens across america, while the muslim kids will only get plain sugar cookies.