RSS
Home
Netanyahu on Emanuel: "Self-hating Jew"
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
In the next four years there is going to be a permanent status arrangement between Israel and the Palestinians on the basis of two states for two peoples, and it doesn't matter to us at all who is prime minister.
That's Rahm Emanuel, allegedly speaking to an unnamed Jewish leader in Washington back in the late winter. (As the person who supposedly heard this has not identified him- or herself, it's not safe to say whether this statement was actually made.) I had hoped that President Obama had tapped Emanuel for the purpose of being his pit-bull with regard to the likelihood of a right-wing government emerging in Israel that is opposed to a two-state solution. It appears that he may have done exactly that.
Naturally, the response of the Israeli government and the right wing in particular has been less than positive. Most recent is Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's labeling of Emanuel (and David Axelrod) as a "self-hating Jew."
Here, in short, is why Netanyahu is wrong to have addressed Emanuel in such a manner.
- It's condescending. Netanyahu has a fine military record as a former commando. But Emanuel himself volunteered to assist the IDF as a civilian during the First Persian Gulf War. And Emanuel's father? He helped build the state that Netanyahu currently believes that keeping the Palestinian Territories will protect.
- It raises issues that are irrelevant. It is wholly irrelevant that Rahm Emanuel is Jewish. There are plenty of Jewish people that support a two-state solution and oppose the radical-right politics of people like Netanyahu.
After 100 days in office, Netanyahu is in trouble. He's done nothing to improve the lot of Israelis, and for the majority of Israelis that support a two-state solution with the Palestinians, he's dragging his feet as he did during his first term as Prime Minister.
So what does he do? He lashes out at the Obama administration. Why not at Obama himself? Because Emanuel is an easier target and Netanyahu can hit him with blows he can't hit Obama with — like "self-hating Jew."
The problem is that it's a stupid thing to say, not to mention patently untrue. If this is Netanyahu's way of lashing out at being pressured by the Obama adminstration, then he's learned nothing in the last decade, apparently.
Related Articles:
Comments
