The Democratic platform once again acknowledges Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, but the reinstitution of the language in question (and the reinstituted reference to God) was more alarming than the initial change. When Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa called for Yeas and Nays on the decision he found a roughly even split among delegates. After repeating the process two more times, a befuddled Villaraigosa was visited on stage by a party official who seemingly advised him to declare the needed two-thirds in favor of the change regardless of what the delegates actually conveyed. This he promptly did, eliciting a wave of boos.
Let the paranoia begin. For the professional alarmists who see an all-powerful Israel lobby lurking behind every bush, rock, and cloud, today’s debacle is a goldmine. What could be a greater demonstration of the Israel Lobby’s dangerous subversion of American democracy than the sham vote at the Democratic National Convention that saw pro-Israel language shoved into the party platform over the heads of party delegates?
The reality of the situation, however, is both more interesting and more frightening than intrepid Zionist-spotters would have you believe. Today, America got an unvarnished look at the Democratic Party’s internal conflict on Israel. Half of the Party represents the pro-Israel consensus in America. The other half? Not so much. For all the talk about the unrecognizably extreme new Republican Party, it’s the Democrats whose fringe has quietly made deep inroads into the center—especially when it concerns Israel—and fundamentally altered the nature of the Party.
When Villaraigosa heard the split vote he looked like a performer suddenly forced to work off-script—because that’s exactly what he was. The Democratic script is composed of declarations about America’s special relationship with Israel, the continued U.S. commitment to Israeli security, and the unbreakable bonds that unite Israelis and Americans against common foes. Democratic politicians can rattle off those proclamations in their sleep. What the Israel-Lobby paranoids ignore is that it’s all meant to satisfy the majority American opinion of support for Israel, not appease some shifty cabal of wealthy bigots.
Today’s fiasco might do tremendous damage to Jewish support for Democrats but it will certainly open a new chapter in anti-Israel paranoia. The Democrats, including Barack Obama, will take hits coming and going: from Israel supporters whose eyes have been opened to the nature of the Democratic Party and from Israel bashers who see the Zionist hand behind the convention chaos. Such is the price paid for a party divided.
Abe, you (and everyone else) missed the big point: there are still other really important parts of the Dem platform that are still missing, and apparently are never coming back: For starters, Israel is our "strongest ally." This is huge. It goes to the overall relationship, not just a policy difference (as bad as that is). There was other very important stuff left out, even after the split vote on the Jerusalem plank. How come no one is noticing the elephant in (or left out of) the room on the fundamental relationship with Israel, that is now apparently downgraded by Obama and his party?
This is kind of reminiscent of how Nancy and Harry passed ObamaCare. Lacking clear general support, they passed it anyway over strenuous objections. n nI recall during the previous session there was a measure that failed to pass by one or two votes; but Nancy declared that it passed anyway. n nYep, it is the same political party, deceptively named the Democratic Party n
Better that the truth is out there and known – although the media is doing its' best to ignore this. After decades of media luminaries complaining that no "news" happens at the conventions some actually happens and from what I can tell the networks are giving this minor coverage as "Dems replaced God and Jerusalem into the platform". No discussion of the boos, the split vote, the typical Dem election stealing or any of it's implications. they needed the time to talk about how excited everyone is to hear Clinton speak. My lib friends are either anti-israel or will remain blissfully ignorant. No – the bi-partisan concensus is dead until Dem politicians pay a price for taking Jewish support for granted.
Actually,the price being paid by the Democrats is the price of dishonesty. If the Democrats could be honest about the issue, they'd be in much better shape. n nBut honesty would mean acknowledging that the Arabs, and much of the Muslim world, intends to destroy Israel, and taking a stand on whether the U.S. allows that to happen. Instead, it prefers fantasies about how peace will occur any day now. Pretending that the impossible will happen results in nonsens such as occurred tonight at their convention.
Abe Greenwald is over examining this event. Only crazed anti-Semites will interpret it in such a manner. This is a small price to reveal the true heart and soul of a very high percentage of members of the Democratic Party. It may even be fair to describe most of its "elites" as anti-Israel. Nevertheless, any fair-minded person would have to conclude the majority of the GOP membership is far friendlier to Israel. n
Begala compared this "error" to that of Justice Roberts' misadministration (I say it's a word!) of the Oath of Office. A mere mistake. n nThis outburst of truth is invaluable.
Obama himself is a supporter of Andrew Sullivan and Beinart, his animus conflicted by a competence deficit and brute political considerations fueled by ambition. The fish rots from the tail up and head down.
Am I mistaken but did MSNBC totally ignore the whole kefuffle about the Jerusalem? I know FOX and CNN deslt with it extensively but I did not see it being reported on MSNBC. Another indication that the left is becoming deeply anti-_Israel.
Who ignored the chaos at the DNC? Oh, the Moronic Sycophants for the Narcissist Barack Company?
The moment was…educational. I know here in Central PA many of my Jewish colleagues are so wedded to the ideology of secular progressivism that it's their real religion, Judaism being second to that. When the GOP comes out strongly in favor of Jerusalem as Israel's capital while most Democrats boo, there is a cognitive dissonance there that causes most of them to want to change the subject, because they're voting Democrat no matter what. n nBut there are others who, having had their fill of their own closed-mindedness on the subject, have had their ears and eyes pried open to the conservative message by the virulent anti-Semitism coming out of our universities the past decade or more–and this will cause many more to sit up straight and take notice. n nThe rote recitation of Republicans-as-Nazi-sympathizers, transmitted from generation to generation of Jewish families, is finally butting up against reality. Nobody hates "neocons" more than, say, Chris Mathews. But he and the rest of the secprogs are sure working overtime to create more neocons, aren't they?
Who would have thought that Israel is such issue for the democrats? Democrats declare their love of the country, Mr. Obama tells us and Israel that "I've got your back." And yet, here we see what the grass roots democrats actually believe and care about. And these voters could not care less about Israel and are not ashamed to say so. n nWe should thank Mr. Obama for having the courage to show the country that democrats, led by himself, have no special bond to Israel. They are quick to dismiss the Jewish state. That Israel is a part of their political game and that they will manipulate her at will—witness Ms. Schultz, head of the DNC, who is quick to lie about her discussions with the Israeli ambassador. The true colors of democrats are there for us to see and they are ugly and mean-spirited, but clear. n nWhat's the lesson? Israel must seek to defend herself, and support herself, independently of the U.S. Israel cannot count on this country any longer. When, as Mrs. Clinton used to say, that "3:00 a.m. call" comes about a foreign policy crisis, if it's (God forbid) Israel, this president will go back to sleep. At least we now know for certain. Pleasant dreams, Mr. President.
According to a Gallup poll taken last spring, only 53% of self-described Democrats were supportive of Israel, as compared with something like 80% of self-described Republicans. n nWhat you saw on the DNC convention floor accurately mirrored the split within the Dem rank-and-file. n nWhat no news network–not even Fox News–dared to do was send reporters onto the DNC floor to ask some of those who voted no why they did.
Ironically, many in the Jewish community are forgetting the OTHER piece that was added back into the Platform- reference to (and, frankly, reverence of) G-d. We like to see everything through the eyes of Israel/Jews against the world, and thus any boos must have been aimed at Jerusalem as capital. n nInstead, a far more significant debate within the country and party is the role of G-d and Religion in politics- "G-d centric" politics leads to limiting abortion and gay marriage, vouchers for religious schools, and the assumption that social services should be provided by Churches (and if you don't join a Church, you lose out), rather than the government. So many, many people who seek to limit the reach of religion into politics didn't value "G-d" in the platform – and they just as easily booed the reinsertion of G-d (which was the 1st Amendment offered, btw- the one considered MORE important). nWe need to maintain some perspective on this.
Remember that there were two issues in the ammendment, plus the question of the process itself. We have no idea how many people were objecting to Jerusalem, how many were objecting to God, and how many were objecting to the sham of a majority vote.
<a href="http://forward.advertserve.com/servlet/click/zone?zid=3&cid=199& nPeople who are skeptical about President Obama's positions on Israel should consider the following: n nObama has taken many positive actions for Israel including: rejecting the Goldstone report that criticized Israeli actions in the war in Gaza; asking Congress to approve a $205 million package to help Israel build a new anti-missile defense system; successfully advocating for Israel’s admission into the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development; giving a speech in the heart of the Arab world, in which he told his listeners that they need to recognize the legitimacy of a Jewish state; stating to the UN General Assembly clearly and unequivocally that “Israel is a sovereign state and the historic homeland of the Jewish people” and “It should be clear to all that efforts to chip away at Israel’s legitimacy will only be met by the unshakeable opposition of the US.” n nIsraeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have stated many times that the U.S. has been extremely cooperative in meeting Israel’s security needs. n nAnother example of Obama’s strong support for Israel is his very positive response to a frantic, middle-of-the-night call from Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu that helped free six Israelis who were trapped in the Israeli embassy in Cairo that was under attack by militant Egyptians. After they were freed, Netanyahu said: "I would like to express my gratitude to the President of the United States, Barack Obama. I asked for his help. This was a decisive and fateful moment. He said, “I will do everything I can.” And so he did. He used every considerable means and influence of the United States to help us. We owe him a special measure of gratitude. This attests to the strong alliance between Israel and the United States." n nOn September 22, 2011, Prime Minister Netanyahu heaped additional praise on President Obama for his talk at the United Nations, in which Obama expressed opposition to U.N. recognition of a Palestinian state, and indicated that he would veto a resolution supporting that recognition in the U.N. Security Council. Netanyahu indicated that Obama deserved a “badge of honor” for that talk. n nPeople who think President Obama has a negative attitude toward Jews or that he is more sensitive to Muslims than Jews should consider the following: his initial chief of staff Rahm Emanuel is Jewish and the son of Israelis; his present chief of staff Jack Lew is an Orthodox Jew; one of his key advisors David Axlerod, is Jewish, and he is also a key strategist for Obama’s reelection campaign; Obama nominated a Jew, Elana Kagan, as a Supreme Court Justice (even though that left the 9-member Court with three Jews and no Protestant members; he is the first president to have Passover Seders in the White House; and Obama and his cabinet members have frequently stressed their solidarity with Jews and with Israel. n
I think it is important to stress that Israel needs a resolution of her conflict with the Palestinians in order to be able to avert renewed conflict, effectively address her economic, social, and environmental problems, avoid increased isolation and criticism, and remain both a Jewish and a democratic state. Of course this will not be easy to obtain, but I believe it should be a priority, with conditions to provide security for Israel a prime consideration. Failure to obtain such a resolution will have very negative consequences for Israel, the Palestinians, the US, and, indeed, the entire world. Hence, steps to improve prospects for peace should be advanced, and nothing should be done to reduce these prospects.
But contrary to the fantasies of your friends in Peace Now, peace with the Palestinians cannot be achieved by unilateral concessions on Israel’s part, or by pressure on Israel with no compromises demanded of the Arabs. Peace is not going to come until the Arabs
(including the Palestinians) realize that they lost a war that they had no business starting, that Israel has a legitimate role in the Middle East, and that the Arabs (including the Palestinians)can gain more from real peace with Israel than they can by war, cold war, a truce, or a cold peace.
This will not come about by your Peace Now buddies pretending that every trumped up Palestinian grievance is pure indisputable truth, or that the Arabs should never bear any consequences for waging war against Jews or murdering Jewish civilians.
There is a reason that people call Shalom Achsav (Peace Now) Shalom Ach Shav (Peace Entirely False).
Keeping the two isssues connected, God and Jerusalem, was deliberate, to give cover to the Dems about how they really feel about Israel. Now there is debate about Who or what was actually being booed. imagine if there had been a clear coice vote in favor of reinserting God and then a roomful of booing for Jerusalem? The Party would have left no doubt on where it stands concerning Israel and all Jews who vote Democrat would have known the real score. and just ro underscore the concerns of a previous writer, so much significant language concerning our relationship with Israel is still missing from the Democratic platform. One can only hope it is all irrelevant after Nov 6 .
From Ms. Glick's column: n"As the list notes, Obama has given billions of dollars in military assistance to Israel. He has gotten stiff sanctions passed against Iran by the UN Security Council. He has agreed to sell F-35 Joint Strike Fighters to Israel. During his presidency, they say, the US has expanded its intelligence and military coordination with Israel. Obama has opposed some anti-Israel resolutions at the UN. n n nObama's critics respond to Obama's list with a series of points. They note that in approving increases in US military assistance to Israel, including for the Iron Dome rocket defense system, Obama is simply carrying out a pledge made by his predecessor George W. Bush. They note that the UN Security Council sanctions have had no impact on Iran's nuclear weapons program." [She goes into greater detail and cites numerous other examples.] n