RSS
Home
Obama sparks controversy with anti-Israel Medal of Freedom recipient
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
On July 30, 2009, sixteen (16) individuals were announced as recipients of the 2009 Medal of Freedom. The Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian honor that can be conveyed by the United States of America. The awards will be given out on August 12, 2009, according to the White House.
One of the recipients has sparked controversy because of her past statements and associations. That person is Mary Robinson, the former president of Ireland and United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. She is being honored by the Obama Administration for being “the first female President of Ireland and former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Since 2002, she has been the President of Realizing Rights: The Ethical Globalization Initiative.”
The controversy rests around the allegation that Robinson is anti-Israel and, by extension, anti-Jewish. The support for this allegation appears to be that the European Union gave millions to the Palestinian Authority, which the Palestinians then used for terrorist activities. Ireland, during Robinson's presidency, presided over the EU for part of the time when it supported the Palestinians. Robinson was also criticized in this 2002 piece by Michael Rubin for continuing her anti-Israel activities while at the U.N.
The Obama Administration was questioned this week about the awarding of the Medal of Freedom to Mary Robinson, and the White House stands by the award. The question is will American Jews be concerned about bestowing the highest civilian honor in America on Mary Robinson enough to have a backlash against Obama in the U.S. or will American Jews say that being anti-Israel is not the same as being anti-Jewish?
Dilip Paliath has a general law practice in Towson. See www.paliath.com for more information.
Related Articles:
Comments
My sources at the courthouse tell me that Governor Martin O’Malley has appointed long-time Baltimore County Assistant State’s Attorney S. …
In my last post, I explained that Stage Six of the Sheila Dixon Trial was jury deliberations. In what I see as an unexpected result, the jury did …
