Ah yes, my people, my nation, my burden, my glory, my J Street. The Jews of J Street have named themselves after an imaginary street in Washington, DC, a suitable name for the kind of imaginary but dangerous human engineering projects they have in mind both for America and for the Middle East. The J Street Jews would rather die at Ahmadinejad’s hands–as long as a Democrat is voted into the White House–than live under a Republican administration.
Hence, their alleged strong-arm tactics against The Conference of Presidents whom they allegedly forced to dis-invite Governor Palin as a speaker. Among their threats: Interminable lawsuits challenging the Conference’s not-for-profit status if they end up with a speaker from only one party. Of course, that would not have been the case if Hillary had not pulled out or if Obama had chosen to send along another Democrat.
Please note that I have written “allegedly” twice because the J Streeters and Obama’s people in general are…trial lawyers. It has been reported that their chief fundraiser is Victor Kovner, the well-known First Amendment lawyer. Free speech for Stalinists, leftists, and Democrats–indignant cries of Foul when any other point of view is voiced. Unless of course, that point of view is Islamist or Fascist or even Nazi in orientation. That’s when the ACLU and the First Amendment fundamentalists really roll up their sleeves.
The J Streeters are heady with this shameful victory. They hope to replace AIPAC as Obama’s Jewish-Lobby-of-Choice. From their point of view, Obama, not McCain, is the only man who will be able to save both America and Israel and therefore, McCain and Palin must be stopped at any cost–even if it means the chilling of public, free speech. Where have I heard this before, this dangerous little ditty about the “End Justifying the Means,” unless of course the “end” involves defending the West from Jihad and the “means” involves denying Islamists both speech, special privileges, and unfettered access to bomb us all to Hell.
Clearly, the Democrats, including the liberal Jewish Democrats, are unable and unwilling to work with Republicans, who are, after all, also Americans. They would rather stand with a genocidal and nuclear Ahmadinjad than with Republicans. Even when there are no risks involved. No “sit ins,” no “act ups,” no “act outs,” no hoped-for shedding of blood. C’mon, the event is not the storming of Evin Prison in Tehran–it is a peaceful rally outside the UN. Well, maybe that’s why the Jewish left/liberals are not interested.
Some have urged people not attend a rally which has already engaged in a McCarthy-like chilling of free and “partisan” speech. I am dodging this particular bullet. We live in a democracy. You can make up your own mind.
However, I do urge you to attend a rally which has been called for Thursday, September 25th, at 5:30 pm, outside the Grand Hyatt Hotel. A number of high-profile anti-Zionist Christian groups (The American Friends Service Committee, Mennonite Central Committee, Quaker UN Office, Religions for Peace, and the World Council of Churches-UN Liaison Office) have invited Ahmadinejad to speak. According to Women United/Code Red, (www.925rally.org), in addition to themselves, the Jewish Action Alliance, Amcha, Stand With Us, Center for Security Policy, the Catholic League, the Traditional Values Coalition, the Alliance of Iranian Women and over 20 other organizations of all faiths and political affiliations will hold an interfaith rally to “counter this betrayal, to protest Ahmadinejad’s presence,” etc. Women United have invited Governor Sarah Palin to speak. They have also invited many other people.
Go. Stand in solidarity against this monster whose state has sponsored more terrorism than any other and whose mind missiles are aimed at the heart of Tel Aviv and New York. Well, maybe you won’t have to, maybe the U.S. government will, at the last moment, decide not to allow him to enter.
And by the way, the World Council of Churches (above) includes, but is not limited to the following churches: the African Methodist Episcopal Church; The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church; American Baptist Churches in the USA; Christian Methodist Episcopal Church; The Coptic Orthodox Church in North America; The Episcopal Church;
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America–and many more denominations which represent the Armenians, Hungarians, Koreans, Syrians, Moravians, Russian Orthodox, Poles, Serbian Orthodox, Ukrainian Orthodox, and the United Methodist Church.
The Christians, who are being persecuted by fanatic Muslim leaders and mobs are seeking an interfaith dialogue with Ahmadinejad. It passeth all understanding…
NEWSFLASH: A reader has posted a comment. Really, I am not amused. She insists that the J-Streeters cannot possibly be the new McCarthyites. The hell they can’t.
She claims, sweetly, that of course Palin could not speak because no Democrat would be speaking. Ah, but she forgets that Senator Hillary Clinton, who has been campaigning for Obama, had been invited to this rally and she BACKED OUT when she learned that Governor Palin had also been invited. Obama did not decide to come himself nor did Biden agree to come. Obama did not decide to send any other high-ranking Democrat.
Anyway, this reader (whom I believe is an Obama volunteer operative whose “mission” it is to spread Obama’s point of view on perceived conservative blogsites), owes me several “positive” comments–and this time, from the heart, not just pro forma. C’mon, I know you can do it.
I think that both Obama and McCain should be invited to speak against the murderous statements and policies of Ahmadinejad. Both should be invited simultaneously and told that the other is being invited as well.
Would Hillary and Palin have been delighted to speak together at a Save Darfur rally? Maybe they would have accepted with pleasure.
Speaking against someone who makes genocidal statements and builds nuclear weapons shouldn’t be controversial. Both parties should understand this.
What a puerile attack on the quasi-righteous Jewish lobby.
It was J-Street, the Dems, Hillary and Obama who started this thing. They sought to censor and prevent a major party Vice-Presidential candidate from speaking out against genocidal incitement, genocidal threats and genocide. It was all orchestrated by Obama. Obama chose not to have anyone speak. Obama preemptively chose to nuke the rally.
The strategy and its implementation was Obama, Biden and the Dems with J-Street as their beard. This is J-Streets raison d’etre. They were formed in order to have a group of Jews who would challenge and undermine Jewish interests in the name of Jews. Jews who would rail against the so-called Jewish lobby, Jews who would undermine support for Israel and especially support for Israel as a Jewish state. It was to have a group of Jews who would sit comfortably, not talk too loudly and nod their heads in agreement when told to by the various Protestant churches and Democratic left groups. It was to have a Jewish group that would remain their allies as they promote their agendas for various boycotts and the divestment of Israeli assets. It was to have a Jewish group that would overtly reject the support of people actually wishing to support the Jews and the State of Israel. It was to have a Jewish group to openly make war on the evangelicals.
There are a lot of people who should be held accountable here . J-Street, Hillary Clinton and the Council of Presidents who have empowered J-Street most certainly need to be held accountable . But it is Obama who was the architect and it was Obama who came wearing a beard. In apportioning responsibility this fact should not be obscured.
Dear All:
I heard Mr. Ben-Ami speak at a Brooklyn synagogue last night and the idea that he or J Street is
“McCarthyite” is preposterous.
He repeatedly welcomed alternative points of view from the audience.
The issue with Sarah Palin speaking at the anti-Ahmedinijad rally was partinsanship; not censorship, as an analagous representative from the Obama campaign was not invited.
To argue otherwise is to create a tempest in a teapot.
Marion L., you are not informed. Joseph Biden was invited and refused to come. Something must have been more important to him. I wonder what that was. Don’t be a reactionary. Think.
People like Mr. Ben Ami, Hillary Clinton and the J Street have managed to make this protest rally against Iranian genocidal regime into a non-event. Without any strong voices of major U.S. politicians in support of the rally all you are left with is a small group of protesters representing a tiny ethic minority without any political clout. Mr. Ben Ami is an idiot who still fails to realize that what he seeks is the support of the wrong people – the Left has chosen a new ‘minority’ to protect – the Muslims of this world, and they are quite willing to wait until Israel is annihilated and thus, the Jewish question solved and Muslims of this world appeased.
For any thinking Jew to favor this scenario is insane and only goes to show that far too many Jews lack the survival gene.
Sarah Pailin’s voice was too important to dismiss and shame on Hilary Clinton for failing to show her support where it really mattered. Shame on Obama and Biden for not wanting to participate in this event.
I for certain will vote for the Republican ticket.
“He repeatedly welcomed alternative points of view from the audience. ”
Ah, there is the key.. “from the audience”. He might NOT welcome alternative points of view in public, should that help Republicans.
The sad thing about this “Jews for Democrats” is that Republicans are far more likely to be pro-Israel. Within American Christianity is a strain that treats the words of the Torah with great authority… to the point of accepting the reality of the special covenant between God and Jews.
To the point that, during my Army recruiting days, one of the recruits said that he would be happy to go anywhere to fight, except to fight against Israel, for that very reason… “Those are God’s People.”
I doubt said recruit voted “Democrat”.
I post this news just in from Jewish telegraphic agency. I do not comment it. It’s up to Phylis and folks here to elaborate and discuss it.
TO GEORGE: Thank you for your link!
Clinton, Palin rip Iran
Published: 09/22/2008
U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin both harshly criticized Iran.
Clinton (D-N.Y.), who was scheduled to speak at Monday’s anti-Iran rally in New York before pulling out when Palin was invited, told an Israel Bonds dinner in New York on Sept. 18 that “U.S. policy must be clear and unequivocal. We cannot, we should not, we must not permit Iran to build or acquire nuclear weapons. And in dealing with this threat, as I have said repeatedly, we cannot take any option off the table.”
She added that as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad “travels to New York to meet at the United Nations, and once again to use the General Assembly as a launching pad for his attacks on Israel and the United States, we must raise our voices together in opposition to the message he carries and the threat Iran poses.”
Palin, the governor of Alaska, said Ahmadinejad “must be stopped” in the speech she would have given at the rally — it was printed Monday in the New York Sun. Palin, the running mate for Republican presidential nominee John McCain, was disinvited from the rally on Sept. 18 after organizers decided not to have any elected officials present.
“Senator McCain has made a solemn commitment that I strongly endorse: Never again will we risk another Holocaust,” she wrote. “And this is not a wish, a request or a plea to Israel’s enemies. This is a promise that the United States and Israel will honor against any enemy who cares to test us. It is John McCain’s promise and it is my promise.”
Palin also praised Clinton’s tough stance on Iran.
Today, being Jewish and voting Democrat is like walking into the gas chamber and expecting water to come out of the “shower head.” Remember to take nice deep breaths. It’s good for you.
I think Bill C’s behind this.
Hill declines to attend claiming to have been “blind-sided” by Palin’s invitation. Was she? Who knows, but it makes a somewhat legitimate explanation, and given the media environment, one that won’t likely receive much attention.
So, Bill convinces Hill to pull out, knowing that it puts Obama on the spot: how does he proceed? Do I support the country by sending a replacement, or, god forbid, attending myself (before a gigantic audience—the rally being in NYC the blue factor would have made this an adoring crowd—for his message). Or do I play this for electoral advantage?
Say what you will about Bill, but he IS a good judge of character. He knows Obama is all about an Obama victory. He knows Obama will hide behind Hill—it was her decision. He knows Obama won’t send a replacement because there’s more political advantage gained by ensuring Palin doesn’t get a chance to sway those blue, blue New Yorkers. He knows Obama isn’t even up to the task of making the decision to STAND UP FOR HIS COUNTRY.
Bill also knows that someone will ask why Palin was disinvited, for, surely, it was a crazy decision: due to Palin’s rising mind-share and the media’s desired to catch her up on some gaffe, her speech was sure to get much air and would surely be a mega-hit on You-Tube. A mega-hit regardless of whether she knocked it out of the park or really put her foot in it. Bill knows someone in the dead-wood media would find out about the pressure from the groups noted in the article and it would all be traced back to Obama.
Obama’s chances go down. If he loses, he won’t have an easy go of beating Hill in 2012.
It really is genius, if Machiavellian to the max.
Slick Willy, gone but not gone.
Dear Mr. Simon:
Thank you for informing me that Biden was invited. Given that he declined to attend, there was no reason to give Palin “pride of place” in attendance as it would have created an impression of partisan favoratism.
Dear Mr. Sefton:
Your analogy of Sep 22, 2008 – 11:40 am is in extremely poor taste and an affront to the memory of those who perished during the Holocaust. I’m appalled to see this type of venom on a blog created by a Jewish feminist. Talk about McCarthyite slander tactics! J.J. Sefton, you could give lessons to the late Senator Joseph McCarthy.
Marion: I am the child of a survivor. Perhaps it was harsh and I apologize for that. I certainly do not intend to desecrate the memory of the martyrs (the real ones; not the other variety). I shot from the hip and regret it.
But that said, my underlying sentiment of Jews knee-jerk reflexively voting for a party that at this stage will openly parley with the likes of the world’s worst Jew-haters, and force Israel to commit national suicide– well, that’s what I’m talking about.
“The J Street Jews would rather die at Ahmadinejad’s hands–as long as a Democrat is voted into the White House–than live under a Republican administration.”
Reminiscent of Stanley Baldwin, before WWII. Even famously magnanimous Churchill could not find good words for Baldwin after the war.
Dear Mr. Sefton:
Thank you for responding. You are entitled to your perspective on the Democratic Party but I’m still surprised that a child of survivors would use the kind of language that you initially used.
It seems to me that the sponsoring organizations for this rally needed to be better prepared in terms of what kind of rally they were sponsoring – i.e. – issue specific and communal – or partisan or both. Then the awkwardness of “disinviting” a speaker could have been avoided. And the critics may have been correct that with Palin as the only partisan nominee speaking that tax exempt status could be in jeopardy for the sponsoring groups that have
501(c)(3) status and are therefore not permitted to engage in partisan politics. (This issue came up when I was a member of the now defunct New Jewish Agenda and some members wanted to endorse political candidates. We could take positions on issues and express individual opinions about candidates but we could not formally endorse them as New Jewish Agenda had 501(c)(3) status.)
FINALLY….thank you for your insightful comments and the honesty!
To J.J. Sefton -
You need never ever apologize for expressing your concerns and completely valid point of view. It is Marion L.who should apologize to you for attempting to qualify her prejudices where Jewish concern over survival is the imperative.
As for Marion L. notion of organizers of the demonstration being “better prepared” – I would ask – is this the first such rally by Jews? Hardly.
Its the sway of the Liberal/Left on Jewish Organizations who should stand up for Jewish interests that is at issue!
Why is that just because a member of one political party or another wants to speak out against a tyrant make it a “Partisan event.” There should have been public officials of all stripes at that rally protesting Iran. To disinvite all politicians was just the wrong move. Politicians for both parties should have been invited to attend and to speak publicly.
This was clearly a case of the Conference of Presidents being intimidated by the strong-arm tactics and intimidation of the Democrat Party. So what was the result. We showed Ahmadinejad that the Jews can’t even get any public officials to support their flimsy protest. Shameful!!
Marion L:
“Given that he declined to attend, there was no reason to give Palin “pride of place” in attendance as it would have created an impression of partisan favoratism.”
We’re all aware this is the opinion of some, Marion. Chesler obviously disagrees with it.
“Partisanship” was not a concern when Clinton was thought to be attending, without Palin.
And I’m familiar with the synagogue you are talking about. Live close to it and I’ve been there. The rabbi’s a good person – someone I respect – but let’s not bullshit: he’s very politically outspoken, through his weblog entries and invited speakers to the temple, who recently have included anti-Zionist historian Tom Segev. He also favors dialogue with Hamas and Hezbollah, and is on J-Street’s board.
“He repeatedly welcomed alternative points of view from the audience.”
The majority of said synagogue’s congregation is to the left of the political spectrum, as well, so I doubt “alternative points of view from the audience” were a big issue.
Now, when Palin was disinvited, said rabbi touted it as a victory for J-Street. It’s right there, on his blog.
And J-Street’s statement, right on its website, claiming Paulin doesn’t align with the views of American Jews, was as political as anything else.
So, with all due respect, I don’t buy this argument about 501 status, or that J-Street welcomes all POV, etc., especially given Rosner’s recent article about their fudged “polls”, which claims that American jews favor their POV on international issues.
I think Chesler’s language is over the top. But not allowing Palin was as political as anything else, and hiding it behind other reasons seems a bit disingenuous.
Dear Dr. Chesler and others:
I am flattered by Dr. Chesler’s assumption that I am “an Obama operative”. I am certainly a supporter, but not an “operative”; if “operative” means someone who is formally associated with and paid by Obama’s campaign. Thank you for this thought, Dr. Chesler, as it is a stimulus for the kind of reflection and life planning that is appropriate at this time of year; with Rosh Hashana fast approaching.
(Intrestingly, as some of my views are to the left of Obama’s, it is an open question as to whether and at what level I would be considered employable by the campaign.)
I do enjoy responding to blogs of left, right, and center; as it gives me an opportunity to hone my writing skills and to learn about diverse perspectives. Thank you for this opportunity as well. I am sincerely grateful for it, and I hope that you will count this as one of the positive responses you would like to see.
Phyllis, Love your last sentence!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I wish there were so many more like you out there. Scary that there is not.
Lets also note here that Obama campaign cash bundlers Medea Benjamin and Jodie Evans met with Achmadinijad.
“It’s rare for a head of state to take time during an official U.N. visit to meet with the peace community, especially in a situation where the host government—represented by the Bush administration—is so hostile,” said Evans, co-founder of CODEPINK. “The fact that the meeting took place and was so positive is, in itself, a major step forward.”
Isn’t that special? Obama hate-America money who**s lining up with Achmedinijad vs their own country. How Obama supporters sleep at night is beyond me.