Israeli/American Obama's Chief of Staff

[TruthSeeker]

FYI, Israeli/American Chosen as Obama's Key White House Advisor

Rham Emanuel has been chosen for the very important White House position as Chief of Staff. In this position Emanuel will be a key manager of the information flow that comes to Obama’s desk. The information below comes from Emanuel’s biography on Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rahm_Emanuel). There are further details of his background and views there.



Rahm Israel Emanuel (born November 29, 1959) is an American politician who was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from 2003 to 2009, representing Illinois's 5th congressional district.

Emanuel was born in Chicago, Illinois. His father, Benjamin M. Emanuel, a Jerusalem-born pediatrician, was a member of the Irgun. His mother, Martha Smulevitz, was the daughter of a Chicago union organizer. She worked in the civil rights movement and owned, briefly, a local rock-and-roll club. She is now a psychiatric social worker.

Emanuel's first name, Rahm – high or lofty in Hebrew – is the namesake of one Rahamim (surname unknown), which means mercy in Hebrew, killed in the 1940s fighting for the outlawed Zionist group Lehi. The surname Emanuel, adopted by the family in honor of his father's brother Emanuel Auerbach, killed in Jerusalem during a skirmish with Arabs, means God is with us. Sources conflict as to whether the family changed its name from Auerbach in 1933 or 1938.

Ira Forman, executive director of the National Jewish Democratic Council, said that the choice indicates that Obama will not listen to the wrong people regarding the U.S.-Israel relationship. Some commentators opined that Emanuel would be good for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process because if Israeli leaders make excuses for not dismantling settlements, Emanuel will be tough and pressure the Israelis to comply.

Some Palestinians and Arabs expressed dismay at Obama’s appointment of Emanuel. Ali Abunimah of the Electronic Intifada said that Obama’s appointment of Emanuel sent the signal he would not be taking “more balanced, more objective, more realistic advice that could change the course from the disastrous Palestine-Israel policies of the Bush and Clinton administrations.” Emanuel said that Obama did not need his influence to "orientate his policy toward Israel".

Emanuel's 81-year old father was quoted as saying, "Obviously, he will influence the President to be pro-Israel. Why shouldn't he do it? What is he, an Arab? He's not going to clean the floor of the White House." Although political analysts said that as a veteran Democratic congressman, Emanuel should not be held responsible for everything his father says, Emanuel apologized to the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee which had asked for such an apology, stating "From the fullness of my heart, I personally apologize on behalf of my family and me. These are not the values upon which I was raised or those of my family." An Emanuel spokesman said Emanuel offered to meet with Arab-American community representatives in the future."

 

[Jihad]

Hence why Obamas inaugeration tomorrow will not mean too much for me, and i'll most likely be watching the important pieces afterwards on the news but not follow it live.
Another jew in an American topspot in the government means no change at all in the current Middle-East policy of the U.S.
Yes it sounds very prejudiced and too early for me to talk about it, but apart from other world issues, the Middle-East conflict will not be solved especially when yet another Jew takes office.
With all due respect, but it's just going to be the same U.S. helping its child Israel to maintain it's superiority among the Arabs in the region, which is vital for American oil interests.
I haven't heard anything ground breaking from either Obama or Hillary Clinton regarding the Israeli - Palestinian situation.
So Obama has alot of work ahead to fulfill all the high expectations and promises around the world, and hopefully, he won't give in to the powerful jewish lobby controlling a large part of the American policies around the world.

 

[TruthSeeker]

Jihad, I agree with your expectations that the selection of Emanuel telegraphs that the Obama administration will likely be as supportive of Israel as have previous US Presidents. But please think through your analysis that it has anything to do with oil. You are an intelligent person. Can you think of a logical reason why supporting Israel is in the self-interest of the US? I bet you can't, because there isn't a logical reason for our support. Our support of Israel is counterproductive to our access to oil resouces in the Muslim world. If we would abandon Israel we would be in a better position to make deals for oil and natural gas development and access. At the very least we can always buy Arab oil at world prices without spending billions and billions of $ supporting Israel and fighting with Muslims over it. No, the US support of Israel is the result of the masterful public relations success of Jewish Americans and Israelis in convincing the American public that support of Israel is the most "moral" position. Americans are convinced that if we didn't support Israel the way we do, the Israelis would be wiped out by the Arab neighbors and this second Jewish holocaust would be our sin and our fault. You may believe there is some power political reason, but, if you search for a Machiavellian logic for what we get out of our support for Israel, you will see that we get nothing. Our support is a misguided Christian morality.

 

[Jihad]

Yes you are correct TruthSeeker, I got carried away.
I meant to say that Israel is there to basically maintain "peace and stability" (yeah right) across the Middle Eastern region, in other words, toning the Arab nations down.
As far as oil is concerned, I still have my doubts, regardless of what people might say, the relation between America and Israel in terms of securing oil interests are perhaps not true, and I should've refrained from saying that, however, the American oil-for-food programme in Iraq isn't quite as generous as one might think, and how does Israel get its crude oil?
Not to dereail this thread with my oil comment, I do completely agree with the way you described Americas dedicated support for Israel.
Only, I think, shouldn't the stance from the U.S. be changed a little so that the Arab nations and especially the Palestinians do not get the feeling they'll be sacked once again.
If one really wants a change in the whole process in the Middle East, then it has to stop favoring Israel continuosly especially with the unequal balance of power.
The American thinktanks should seriously reconsider their strategies and their plans if they honestly and truly want the Middle East crisis to be solved, because sometimes I get the feeling that certain elements inside the U.S. CAN bring a change, but are simply not willing to due to their "dedication" for Israel or other factors that have a big impact whether it be economical or political for the U.S.

 

[TruthSeeker]

Jihad, of course the stance of the US should be changed to one of sincerely considering the grievances of the Palestinians and other Arabs vis a vis Israel. That's part of what I am telling you. Present US support for Israel is NOT rational. It is not sensible and based on careful reasoning. You cannot make a realpolitik case for our Israeli support. Our support of Israel is EMOTIONAL, brought on by feelings of guilt, promoted by the Jewish influences in our communications media, both the entertainment side and the news side. You would be amazed at all of the books, movies, theater plays, newspaper articles, etc. that are presented to the American audience every week that have a message about Jewish suffering and how wonderful is Israel and its brave people. Further, Jewish influence in our Universities and think tanks is also very disproportionate to the Jewish population share as well. Many of our "think tanks" receive important funding from Jewish donors. There is probably not a foreign policy oriented think tank in America that does not have some Jewish members on its Board of Directors and some important Jewish donor contributing to its endowment and operating budget. So, you are right about what SHOULD happen IF the American foreign policy decisions were rational.

My hope for a change in all if this lies in the following:
1) maybe the American public will get tired of all the tremendous trouble Israel causes us,
2) maybe a non-violent charismatic leader will emerge among the Palestinians and/or the Arab Israelis and give Americans an attractive alternative moral cause (Palestinian civil rights) to support, or
3) maybe the rich Arabs will start giving some funding to think tanks and Universities in the US to encourage scholarly representation of the Palestinian side.