Rahm Emanuel's Father Problem
Rahm Emanuel is his own man, with an identity distinct from his father's. He is not responsible for the actions or opinions of Benjamin Emanuel, a Chicago pediatrician who worked in the 1940s with Irgun, the militant Zionist group that committed acts against Palestinian and British targets that have been widely categorized as terrorism. (In 1938, according to the scholar Avi Shlaim, members of the group attempted to ambush an Arab bus, an attack that failed when a grenade did not detonate. In 1946, members of the group bombed the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, killing 91 people.)
But that does not mean that Rahm Emanuel, or Barack Obama for that matter, can easily ignore the fact that Benjamin Emanuel recently said a nasty thing about Arabs in the Israeli press. This is from the Jerusalem Post's account of an interview Benjamin gave after news of his son's appointment to the Obama administration was announced:
In an interview with Ma'ariv, Emanuel's father, Dr. Benjamin Emanuel, said he was convinced that his son's appointment would be good for Israel. "Obviously he will influence the president to be pro-Israel," he was quoted as saying. "Why wouldn't he be? What is he, an Arab? He's not going to clean the floors of the White House."
In a letter sent Tuesday to Rahm Emanuel, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee asked the congressman to "disavow and repudiate these remarks publicly." Over the weekend, I asked Rep. Emanuel's congressional office if they had any response to Benjamin Emanuel's comments. An aide sent me this statement:
When it comes to Israel's security and America's partnership with Israel, President-elect Obama doesn't need Rahm Emanuel. President-elect Obama's commitment to Israel is steadfast and unwavering.
It is unlikely to be the last word on this subject.
UPDATE: Statement from Rep. Rahm Emanuel's office (released Thursday afternoon): “Today, Rep. Emanuel called Mary Rose Oakar, President of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, apologized on behalf of his family and offered to meet with representatives of the Arab-American community at an appropriate time in the future."
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1
Wait, so both Emanuel and Obama are their own persons, but they better be expected to repudiate a statement by Rahm's father, or else...something.
Why? So we can all pretend things are hunky-dory in Israel?
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Help me out here. -
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No, he is not responsible for the opinions of his father. This isn't the first time, though, that the sins of the father have been visited on the son. I would just as soon this is the last word on the subject.
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And since you don't think he's responsible, Michael, why are you bringing this up to us? It's designed to tear down Rahm Emanuel, and for no other reason, and you're apparently happy to oblige. This won't surprise many of your commenters, as you know, but it does surprise me. -
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At least we know that Rahm's personal charm is genetic!
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Speaking of "sins of the father," are Jenna and Barbara disqualified from ever holding an executive-level government position?
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paliinatowel: that is not a nice thing to say.
Rahm, however, is very handsome and I think Scherer is jealous. -
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Cliff, The comments are spreading online, with significant viral energy. Rahm's father gives the clear impression that he is claiming to speak with inside knowledge about Rahm's intentions in the foreign press. There is a real danger that many people, especially in the Middle East, will think that Benjamin is speaking for Rahm. Such confusions could be damaging in the long run, not just for Rahm's reputation but for the Obama administration. It is also a confusion that is easy to quash.
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The comments are spreading online, with significant viral energy
.Says the author of the piece at TIME Magazines website. Too perfect.
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The problem isn't that Emanuel's father made some stupid remark, the problem is that some people somehow think this has anything to do with the way Obama (or anyone) would govern.
The politics of guilt by (distant) association have got to stop. The way to make it stop is to stop giving it currency.
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Schnorer's word soup would make more sense to me if Emanuel's parentage had previously caused any difficulties for the Clinton administration. I don't believe it did. If it didn't then, why would it now? And if the precise effect of Emanuel's father upon US-Arab relations is zero, what's the point of the article?
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The politics of guilt by (distant) association have got to stop. The way to make it stop is to stop giving it currency.
BINGO. I don't think Scherer gets that though?
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Michael: I can buy that. Thanks for the clarification.
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It still seems strange, though, to worry about giving the impression of pro-Israel bias, when all our Presidential candidates are required to swear allegiance to Israel.
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Not a rag on you, that's a rag on our political process in general. -
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Furthermore, is the McCain campaign not over yet? Repudiate your reverend! Repudiate that guy you served on that board with! Repudiate that highly respected member of Congress because he said mean things! Repudiate Rahm's dad because what he believes will somehow become a comprehensive part of Israeli/Palestinian strategy!
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REPUDIATE DANGIT!!!!!! -
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I understand where you're coming from, Kathy et al., but isn't it good for us to know the background behind what will probably become a conservative talking point (even though this very blog entry may feed the beast)? That way we can refute it more easily. I really think that's probably all MS meant to do: give us the context.
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Call me naive, but... -
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Mike Scherer,
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First off the comment has been covered by Politico since last week. Second of all there are no inside "intentions" in Rahm Emmanuel's father's statement. There IS a nasty smear against Arabs as people only fit to clean the floors of the WhiteHouse. But both Barack Obama AND John McCain expressed over and over and over again during the campaign that they would be steadfast in their support of Israel. As a matter of fact John McCain and the RNC spent a great deal of time effort and money trying to convince Jewish voters that Obama would NOT be pro Israel. So how in the hell is Benjamin Emmanuel's father saying that in fact Rahm would influence Obama to be pro Israel which he has already pledged to be in the first place, some kind of controversy?
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To think I was actually trying to defend your ability as a journalist yesterday. Good grief man grow the phuck up and find a story that isn't fed to you by Drudge! -
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1. "The Borgen Project has some good info on the cost of addressing global poverty.
$30 billion: Annual shortfall to end world hunger.
$540 billion: Annual U.S. Defense Budget." -
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MS the only reason that these statements sound like the father is speaking with inside knowledge is because you and likely the rest of the MSM choose to see it that way. Anyone else with a parent, or sibling, or any other family member understands family dynamics and this sounds like exactly what it is a father speaking out based on who he thinks he raised his son to be -- pro Israel. Was there any doubt going in that Rahm Emanuel is pro-Israel? Please when Obama said it was time to put an end to immature politics he wasn't just talking about the GOP he also meant the MSM who insist in focusing on trivialities instead of issues that really matter to our society. so how long will it be to the next forum at the Nuseum so the MSM can apologize for its dreadful coverage of the campaign?
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MS
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Rahm's father gives the clear impression that he is claiming to speak with inside knowledge about Rahm's intentions in the foreign press.
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What a ridiculous sentence -- how can an impression by definition be a clear indication of intention of a claim?
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I don't like to pick on you MS, but you make it so easy (okay maybe I do like it). -
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Every President and senior White House personnel have had to cope with loud mouthed fathers, mothers (recall Barbara Bush on Katrina refugees in Texas), sons and daughters and assorted scounderls who try to create business opportunities - Billy Carter and Libya. We heard about Prof Khaladi, Prof Ayers is going on ABC tomorrow,and on and on. Your subsequent post defending your original piece is really sad. By the way the Jerusalem Post is very much against a settlement to the Israel-Palestine issue. You can confirm this by talking to Conrad Black, a one time owner of the JPost, currently a guest of our prison system. Or ask JPod.
We have the 2012 Presidential campaign underway egged onn by Blitzer, lauer and Larry King. Will you guys ever stop dishing our dollops of trivia.
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"The comments are spreading online, with significant viral energy"
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I checked some sites-Drudge, The Corner, Atrios, Sullivan, and TPM-and found nothing. I see sg saw it at Poltico a week ago.
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MS, what was the motivation for this post? How did this subject come across your radar? -
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What was nasty or a smear? He didn't suggest that Arabs are only fit to mop the floor of the white house.
What he did was confirm that his son is - newsflash! - pro-Israel ("What is he an Arab?") and that he would be in a position of influence on the president ("He's not going to be mopping floors at the White House.”)
Jeez.
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And yes, he made these comments last week, and they were reported on last week, why are you just getting to them, MS?
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By the way Scherer
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Since we are talking about repudiations and denoucements....
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Why didn't you call for John McCain to repudiate and denounce Joe the Plumber, a guy McCain said he was taking to Washington and said was his hero, for saying that if Obama got elected it would mean death to Israel not once but several times on FoxNews?
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Ill be over hear holding my breath waiting for a reply -
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I'm putting the odds at 70 gazillion to one that we'll ever see a "John McCain's Joe the Plumber" problem from MS.
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Off topic
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I found this a little amusing. The comments section is funny too
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http://www.amconmag.com/larison/2008/11/12/cracking-the-code/ -
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And Lastly I'm with Sg and Cliff this story is truly absurd..
- michaelscherer @alangrayson TIME told your story (http://bit.ly/cdG9qb), tho not how you would have told it, here: http://bit.ly/YSRHh - 3 hours ago
- michaelscherer RT @PElliottAP: Obama makes surprise visit to White House briefing room. Tune in. - 6 hours ago
- michaelscherer RT @ryssiebee: 92 magazine covers, 10 years, 2 minutes. http://bit.ly/5d7oCo - 9 hours ago
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