After committing the supposedly awful gaffe of saying what everyone was thinking–there were some “disconcerting” indicators in the run-up to the London Olympics–Mitt Romney has now once again told the truth, this time in Israel, only to have the press eagerly jump all over him for another supposed “gaffe.” This is what Gov. Romney (to whom I am, full disclosure, a defense adviser) said, as summed up by Politico:
“As you come here and you see the GDP per capita, for instance, in Israel which is about $21,000, and compare that with the GDP per capita just across the areas managed by the Palestinian Authority, which is more like $10,000 per capita, you notice such a dramatically stark difference in economic vitality,” the Republican presidential candidate told about 40 wealthy donors who ate breakfast at the luxurious King David Hotel.
Romney said the economic history of the world has shown that “culture makes all the difference.”
“And as I come here and I look out over this city and consider the accomplishments of the people of this nation, I recognize the power of at least culture and a few other things,” Romney said, citing an innovative business climate, the Jewish history of thriving in difficult circumstances and the “hand of providence.” He said similar disparity exists between neighboring countries, like Mexico and the United States.
This drew an outraged reaction from veteran Palestinian processor Saeb Erekat who claimed: “It is a racist statement and this man doesn’t realize that the Palestinian economy cannot reach its potential because there is an Israeli occupation.”
In point of fact, there was nothing offensive–or particularly novel–in Romney’s observation. His words could have been drawn from the UN’s Arab Human Development Reports, written by Arab intellectuals, which have reached damning conclusions about the lack of freedom, education, women’s rights, and other factors holding back the Arab world. As the latest such report notes: “The Arab region is dominated by long-standing state structures which have inhibited the empowerment of Arab individuals and communities.”
The Arab Human Development Reports were considered big news when they first started coming out a decade ago because they represented a break with an age-old tradition in the Arab world: that of blaming outsiders for all of one’s woes. For decades Arab rulers, echoed by compliant intellectuals, have chosen to blame “Zionists,” “imperialists” and other bogeymen for their countries’ shortcomings. Thankfully, the Arab Spring represents a moment of self-awareness in which Arab publics are realizing that their own leaders are the cause of their woes.
There has been a corresponding, welcome development in the Palestinian Authority, where Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has been working to increase educational and economic development in the West Bank rather than simply claiming that “Israeli occupation” (which is nonexistent in the entire Gaza Strip and much of the West Bank) makes any progress impossible. Yet when push comes to shove, it is all too easy for veteran politicos like Erekat to fall back into veteran “blame the oppressor” mode and to damn anyone who speaks the truth–namely, that if Israel could prosper with no mineral resources, while surrounded by vastly larger enemies bent on its destruction, then why can’t Palestinians prosper with the support of the entire Arab world?
Much of the answer, of course, is that Palestinian development has been hijacked by corrupt opportunists (like those who dominate the Palestinian Authority) and fanatical extremists (like those who run Hamas). Gov. Romney was guilty of no gaffe. He was just telling it like it is: If Palestinians are to prosper, their culture–characterized all too often by anti-Semitism and blame-mongering–needs to change. Saeb Erekat’s comments only underline the point.
Essentially anything a Republican says is a gaffe or inappropriate, unless what he is saying is a Democratic talking point. Its high time to hit back hard at Obama and his minions.
I have to disagree. Romney seriously erred. Per capita GDP in Israel was $31,000 in 2010, not $21,000. Per capita GDP for the Palestinian territories was estimated to be $2,900 in 2008, nowhere near $10,000. All of these figures came from Wikipedia FYI.
Politico noted the error.
how is that a "serious error"? actually, Romney understated the situation: he wasn't right enough.
Sarcasm!
Politico also says Romney also played to anti-Semtiic stereotypes about Jewish business success. But it'snot racist for them to say "Romney panders to Jew Billionaires and other Rich Jew Donors."
Do you have a citation for this remark? I can't find it on Politico. Was it a comment by a reader? It's not that I don't trust you, but….
I was channel-flipping and saw the odious Chris Matthews and friends talking about this. they were smirking as if Romney had said the stupidest thing they'd ever heard. (it was not. it was the truth.) then they started in on Mitt "pandering" to "yet another group," which is amusing, since Barack Obama has elevated pandering to art form. n nit never occurs to them that Mitt Romney might just mean what he says about having Israel's back. and of course they just ignore his decades-long friendship with Bibi Netanyahu unless they can spin it negatively. n nfrankly, Romney is right. The Jewish culture that values life, charity, and education is far different from the Palestinian Arab culture. I mean, what IS the culture of the Palestinians? martyrdom, jihad, hatred of Israel? what about positive contributions: food, music, art forms, literature, science? n nso the Pals can't catch a break because of the mean Joos who keep them down. huh. but what if the Jews had been in the same position as the Arabs? how would they have done then, with all those disadvantages? n nwell, we don't have to guess how that would turn out. we already know: n nin 1948, when the State of Israel and "Transjordan" were partitioned, there were refugees on each side: about 800,000 Jews from Arab lands and 800,000 Arabs from Jewish areas. n nthe Jewish refugees either moved to the US or elsewhere, or they went to Israel and started to build one of the most successful countries in the world. the Jews literally took a desert, the only spot in the Middle East with no oil, and grew orange trees there. n nand what did the Arabs (not yet called "Palestinians" then) do? they, along with their Islamic neighbors, attacked Israel. did they do anything for their "culture" then? have they done anything yet? give me one famous man or woman who is honored by the Palestinian people, who has statues erected to him, just give me ONE, who is not a jihadi. n nsorry this got to be such a long post…Romney is such a straight-arrow good-guy Israel supporter and the media is just SLIMING him any way they can…I get a little wee-weed up about it. n n
well, there's soccer, low-intensity farming, construction trades (the Palestinians used to build most of Israel's buildings before the various intifadah's cut them out of the labor market), some engineering know-how, they have their share of doctors etc. But the male culture of patriarchy, shame, and vendetta drags everyone along into naming every other square after a woman who paid a guy to shoot a Bar Mitzvah family or blow up a pizza parlor.
The Palestinian situation cannot be compared to the situation in Arab countries. There is a 45 year military occupation as well as over 4.7m refugees per the UN. Yes Freedom is the problem not Culture. (not to mention $5B in US aid for Israel every year).
I like Erekat: – the GDP difference is 'because of the OKK-U-PAYSHUN'. n n nWho knew Israel was 'occupying' the whole Mideast? n nNo doubt the 'occupation' also keeps the Arab world from translating books into Arabic. Apparently, bankrupt Greece translates more books into Greek per year than the whole Arab world, wealthy oil sheikdoms included, translate into Arabic. n nWhat cosmic losers and whiners they are.
If anything Romney's remarks were far too mild. If he *really* wanted to tell it like it is he would just come out and say that the Arabs living in the GAza Strip and West Bank are mired in a corrupt and evil culture that venerates killing Jews in every possible way and nurtures their children from the earliest ages to seek martyrdom in order to kill Jews. He should have just said, "Until the Palestinians give up their culture of racist hate, they will be doomed to poverty, ignorance and war. And they deserve what they get so long as they pursue these vile ways." n nBut, uh, no, he didn't say that.
Governor Romney, by taking the positions he did on Jerusalem and Iran put the terrorists on notice that the slide into the abyss, the appeasement of the caliphate will not be tolerated under a President Romney. The Terrorists have subsquently announced a boycott of Romney. How ludicrous. I guess the terrorist murderers prefer Obama. That is because Obama is not unsympathetic to terrorists per say. No big surprise. r n The first debate will be very important. Romney must come out swinging and exhibit a measure of charisma. I think he can do it. He must do it. He has to explain how he intends to create good quality jobs, not just clerical jobs.
But they won't, because everyone knows that telling the truth about Palestinians is racist. It is much more acceptable to tell lies about Jews instead.