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Nov

10

[update] Rahm puts the screws to his dad


This is priceless, especially if you know Israelis:

The Arab and pro-Arab media have made much of the fact that [Barack Obama's chief of staff pick, Congressman from Illinois, Rahm] Emanuel’s father is Israeli, and Benjamin Emanuel didn’t improve matters in an interview with Ma’ariv.

“Obviously,” the senior Emanuel told the Israeli daily, “he’ll influence the president to be pro-Israel. Why wouldn’t he? What is he, an Arab? He’s not going to be mopping floors at the White House.”

By the time JTA reached the elder Emanuel, a physician, it was clear his son had asked him to keep away from reporters. Picking up the phone, he said, “This is Benjamin Emanuel, the plumber,” and asked a reporter to call back in a week, after he’d spoken in person to Rahm – “if I’m still alive then.”

I’m still laughing out loud every time I read his father’s last line.  So so real. Love it.

For readers who’ve ever struggled to understand how I can say both, I love Israel and Israel is and can be wrong, read that article.  The way in which it describes Emanuel’s affection for being Jewish and for Israel, and how it translates into his political work is identical to that of many Jews who consider themselves Democrats or at least left of center.

Hattip Holly in Cincinnati.

UPDATE: Rahm Emanuel has issued an apology to Ohio’s own Mary Rose Oakar because of the statement of his father:

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee sent a letter to Emanuel calling on him to distance himself from remarks made by the elder Emanuel in an interview with an Israeli newspaper following his son’s appointment last week.

…

“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,” a statement from his office said.

The committee, in a statement on its website, said Emanuel told Oakar it was unacceptable to make such remarks against any ethnic or religious group.

“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,” the group quoted him as saying.

Oakar welcomed the apology, saying: “We cannot allow Arabs and Muslims to be portrayed in these unacceptable terms.”

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 3:43 pm November 10th, 2008 in Barack Obama, Democrats, Israel, Jewish, Judaism, Politics, PostWH2008, Religion, Social Issues 

Comments

4 Responses to “[update] Rahm puts the screws to his dad”

  1. 1 Rahm on November 10th, 2008 4:19 pm

    You would probably like Rahm Emanuel Facts: they’re just as awesome as Chuck Norris Facts — except 100% true! http://www.rahmfacts.com

  2. 2 james aka ADAP2K on November 11th, 2008 3:29 am

    No comment on the “Arab mopping floors” JMZ?

  3. 3 Jill Miller Zimon on November 11th, 2008 7:51 am

    James- his dad’s words and the title of this post speak for itself. But if you have something to add, that I’m not going to censor, by all means, go for it.

  4. 4 Chuck Butcher on November 11th, 2008 7:41 pm

    both, I love Israel and Israel is and can be wrong,

    I don’t actually understand that. I’d like to see Israel do well and have peace with its neighbors, but I have zero emotional attachment to it. It is no more than a fairly mismanaged piece of dirt to me, not to say its neighbors aren’t more mismanaged dirt than it is. We haven’t done a real hot job of managing our dirt, but my entire history is here. Some of my family has been here from the earliest colonial time and as far as I can tell almost all of it pre-Civil War. I appreciate their participation in American history, but I really don’t care about the European part.

    My ethnic make up is basically European and culturally mostly English, but I don’t love England. I have a deep and abiding respect for the English contribution to our law and government, but I’m ecstatic that we kicked them out, and I thank them for that opportunity to do so at the point of a gun. What is particularly good about this country grows out of that fact.

    I’m not arguing against love of Israel, I just flatly don’t understand it from a non-Israeli. Those are simply my why I don’t, not an argument against.

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