"He supports Israel (so do I) but he definitely supports the peace process too."

One of my hopes for change as we move forward is that we can change our way of thinking about foreign policy. In other words, I want to get rid of the "but" that we so often use in sentences like the one above. I'm encouraged by the recent formation of J Street, for example, that people's public pronouncements about Israel can begin to embrace the very real, very fundamental notion that being pro-ANYTHING should inherently mean wanting to see that ANYTHING exist in conditions which allow it to thrive and grow and face challenges other than day-to-day survival and existence. I don't understand how it has been allowed to stand for so long that supporting Israel means anything less than supporting A (rather than THE) peace process, even if that inherently entails wanting to see more from one side or the other, i.e. more peace AND more process.

I am not naive about how passionately people grapple on either side of the divides that exist in our politics. I am optimistic that there are people on the other side of that divide who can view this election in a new and open way. One of the things I remember most clearly about the aftermath of 2000, was the number of Dubya-related conversations that I participated in which ended with "but I hope I'm wrong". I hope folks on the right who have been so relentless in smearing and demeaning Barack Obama will, at the very least, adopt that same attitude. The contest has been decided. The future remains open and unclear, ready to be shaped by those who would do good or harm. Let's hope that we can all come to a more enlightened understanding about what role our beliefs and our actions play in shaping that future.

The country needs someone in Chief of Staff position who is (1) smart (2)a relentless and effective multi-tasker (3) knows the ropes to get things done on the Hill (4) loyal to the president.

An added benefit is that asshole Bonehead (R-Mo) doesn't like Emanuel, that is a plus in my book. McCain, Bonehead and the Republicans will start their 'country-last' attacks on Obama and his agenda on Jan. 21, 2009.

Didn't he serve in Tsahal?

Was his father a terrorist? Did he have anything to do with the bombing of the King David Hotel?

No, he wasn't. He was a physician and an office guy.

Wasn't it Ben Franklin that supposedly said "keep quiet and be accused of not knowing much; flap your jaw and relieve all doubt that you are stupid" - or something to that effect. Some of the "sour grapes" GOoPers posting here prove Franklin correct.

Oh, woe is me! Obama is a failure as president. We still have economic problems, are still in a mess in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the White House is still occupied territory.

So Bar Kafka and Zionista are one of the same! Who knew?

Hope youre right about Rahm. I live in Chicago and surprisingly I never paid attention to the guy.

Then again, how often did people talk about Andy Card when he was around for Bush? How often does Josh Bolten get brought up?

Probably this is cuz bush doesn't do anything anyways...hahaha...but at the same time, I am hopeful that this intense focus and overanalyzation on Rahm is just because it's Obama's first decision/appointment as president. Best case scenario would be that he fades to the background on 1/21/09 and starts kicking ass and taking names behind the scenes.

I'll be happy with that.

The Oslo Accords resulted in the slaughter of a hundreds of Jewish civilians, so it is easy to understand why Rosy remembers them so fondly.

"He supports Israel (so do I)"

Right. In the same way that Ahmadinejad supports Israel. The fact that after all this time you feel it necessary to claim (albeit falsely) you support Israel says it all.

"My guess: he'll be the one encouraging Obama to go for an Israeli-Palestinian deal the first year. And, when the rightwing Jews complain, he'll tell them to stick it up their ass.

And they will."

In your dreams, sweetheart. Pro-Israel Jews do not take orders from pro-Hamas Jews.

You are right about one thing. The Obama administration does intend to sodomize the Jewish people. If it succeeds, you will certainly be one happy jihadist.

Immediately following Obama's victory, Hamas launched missiles towards Jewish civilians in Israel. You will be disappointed to learn that no Jews were killed, but your terrorist allies obviously got the message of the election. Hamas will enjoy the next eight years, as will you. People who do not yearn for the murder of Jews will experience less joy.

Insofar as converting to liberalism is concerned, the requisite progressive brown shirts clash with my baby blue eyes.

Converting to liberalism? I meant to fundamentalist Christianity. With 78% of Jews voting for Obama and the rest voting for McCain because they are low-tax Republicans, you are all alone out there.
What does YOUR Jewish community consist of? How many hundreds are you who buy into this racist BS.
Your Jews have abandoned you. They were dancing in the streets about Obama. What to do, "Bob Lane," start talking about Hitler!
Enjoy the next eight years.
I feel you, bro!

The thing that concerns be a little is the idea that there is this idea that Obama and his staff has to moderate or centrist. I agree that in governing he must be able to heal the divide and encourage participation from both sides, allowing for some bipartisan successes. However, Obama is a Democrat and we elected him as such, and while I don't expect a far left agenda, the term liberal should not continue to demonized.

Come on guys. The architect of the Oslo Accords? Is anyone aware of the reasons Oslo broke down? The final status of the so-called Palestinian State was a bunch of little islands, so-called autonomous zones. Thats supposed to be a state huh? Really?

As for his dad not being rightwing or whatever, he surpasses rightwing and turns the corner on being a complete racist.

From today's Jerusalem Post:

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."

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1225910047157&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/Printer

Not to mention Rahm served in the IDF during the 1st Gulf War and supported invading Iraq this time around.

Don't expect any occupations to end on this guys watch.

The problem is not that Rahm Emanuel is a committed Zionist with antecedents that include the Stern Gang and LEHI - but that he will be a key member of the new administration. That is a huge shock for those of us around the world who support President elect Obama. It is also a long overdue explanation of that extraordinary meeting with AIPAC at which the totally unexpected and uncalled for promise was given not to allow East Jerusalem to be the capital of a future Palestinian state. Everything has an answer if you wait long enough and now we know that the US will continue to uphold Israel's hegemony in the Middle East and that there will be no peace. How one's hopes have been dashed so quickly - in just a mere 24 hours!

"We can expect a daily tirade of fault-finding, scurrilous attacks on everything and anything the Democrats say or do."

True enough, which is why I'm glad that Obama chose a street fighter and not a conciliator as chief-of-staff. The Republicans would like nothing more than Obama to act like Jimmy Carter redux, leading with his noble chin. Obama is not Nixon, dripping resentment and paranoia, he's got an excellent nose for what it takes to win, and now that he's not campaigning, he's got to win his agenda. He'll make his deals from a position of strength.
Basically I'm glad he chose Emmanuel for the same reason I was glad he turned down public financing. It tells me Obama is in it to win it.

MJ wrote:
-------------------------------------------------
My guess: he'll be the one encouraging Obama to go for an Israeli-Palestinian deal the first year. And, when the rightwing Jews complain, he'll tell them to stick it up their ass.
----------------------------------------------

As usual, MJ has it wrong. They are going to have to stick it to the Palestinians, because they are the intransigent party. MJ keeps repeating the mantra of the "progressives" that says "everyone knows the outline of the agreement" and that the Palestinians have supposedly agreed to it and it is only a matter of forcing the Israelis to accept it and Obama is the one who is finally going to do it.
WRONG. Yossi Alpher, one of the "progressives" who was behind the scenes at Oslo wrote on 4 October in the Jerusalem Post that "there is no agreement on ANYTHING". The Palestinians are making non-negotiable demands that the most Leftist-government in Israel will not be able to accept.
Whether Obama is President for 4 or 8 years, there will still not be a Palestinian state when he leaves office BECAUSE THE PALESTINIANS AND THE REST OF THE ARAB WORLD DON'T WANT ONE.

Congs. Rahm Emanuel will be a good person for Obama - he'll keep both Obama and Congress in check with their egos.

As for the evolving staff selection, my final bet is on Tres Sec Summers:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1108/15391.html

"Economic insiders consider Summers and Geithner the most serious contenders. “I’ll fall out of my chair if it’s not one of the two,” said a former senior Treasury official."

And that weasel and cheating husband, Antonio Villaraigosa (Mayor, City of Los Angeles), wiggled his way into Obama's economic meeting, after the quid-pro-quo for the Hispanic vote.

As chairman of the House Democratic caucus during the Bush administration Rahm was in a position guaranteed to make him unpopular with most Republicans as well as a good segment of the Democratic party. If he wasn't a tough guy he would have been slacking on the job. That does not mean he is going to take the same style into the White House. He is going to have to adapt to Obama's needs and agenda, and he probably will.
On the other hand he brings with him some of the key ingredients needed in a WH COS: loyalty to the Chief, a lot of experience working with Congress, and a personal relationship of trust going way back, and mostly he will not suffer fools who want Obama's ear.

Note to Josh:

"I swore to never be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides, Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim, silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented."

Elie Wiesel, in spirit, on Prop 8.

Rahm Emanuel is no Reason for Hope or Celebration
by Rabbi Michael Lerner

Election night tens of millions of us wept for joy. We sang the songs that we had sung as young men and women when we were fighting segregation in the south and then in the North, some of us being beaten, others jailed, some even killed. For the first time in three decades we could sing "Imagine" and "The Times They are a'Changing" without feeling that we were holding onto utopian fantasies that had been
buried by the cynical realists who have shaped public discourse.

How exciting to believe again in the possibility of America as the potential embodiment of our ideals for social justice, peace, and ecological sanity. We could hardly believe our own eyes-we were living through the rebirth of a nation and its attempt to heal its racist past.

So no wonder why many of us were shocked and deeply disappointed when we learned on Thursday that Congressman Rahm Emanuel was to be the Chief of Staff in the Obama White House.

Emanuel, for those who don't recall, was the Congressman who traveled the country in 2006 finding "suitable" candidates in "swing districts" to run against Republican incumbents, and in many instances he succeeded. But his theory of how to succeed was destructive: he sought the most conservative possible candidates in each district, insisting that local Democratic Party organizations reject more liberal candidates who, he feared, might not win.

There were many among the House Democrats who deplored this tactic. The main issue on the mind of the electorate was the war in Iraq, and public opinion had moved so far in opposition to that war that the Democratic leadership in the House was pushed to proclaim that it would cut off funding for the war if Democrats won control of Congress. Well, the outcome was that Democrats did win control, but since the candidates that Emanuel picked were more conservative and militarist than the mainstream of the Party, they were not reliable allies when it came to voting against war funding. Instead of cutting fund for the war, Nancy Pelosi's House increased the funding, explaining that they had to appear "responsible" in order to solidify their control of Congress in 2008..

Clever? Not for the people, Americans and Iraqis, killed or wounded in the meantime.

This was no mistake on Emanuel's part. Rahm Emanuel has a long history of militarist ideology behind him. His father was a member of the ultra-right-wing terrorist organization Etzel that killed British civilians as part of their anti-British struggle in Palestine in the 1940s. Emanuel, himself a citizen of Israel as well as the United States, [and who actually joined the Israeli Defence Force] has been one of several Congressional leaders enforcing the "Israel Lobby" concensus on the Democrats, in the process shutting out the peace voices that believe Israel's security would be better served by the U.S. putting pressure on Israel to end the Occupation, move the Wall to inside the pre-67 boundaries, and remove the settlers from the West Bank or tell them to live there as Palestinian citizens.

It's not just the pro-peace and reconciliation forces that are unlikely to be given a serious hearing in a White House in which Rahm Emanuel controls who gets to talk to the President. Emanuel will almost certainly be protecting Obama from all of us spiritual progressives and those of us who describe ourselves as the Religious Left-so that our commitment to single-payer universal health care, carbon taxes for environmental protection, a Homeland Security strategy based on generosity and implemented through a Global Marshall Plan, will be unlikely to get a serious hearing in the White House.

When these issues were avoided by Obama during the campaign, most of us spiritual progressives told ourselves, "He's just being political, but once elected he'll reveal himself committed to the values that he whispered into our ears privately over the course of the past many years." The Rahm Emanuel selection is an early warning that the peace and justice agenda dropped by Obama after he won the Democratic nomination may be permanently on hold, and the progressives themselves may have to settle for "access" and flowery words at an inauguration address rather than the substance of change. For many of us, just the fact of having a brilliant young black man in the White House will be such a healing experience that we won't care about this newly emerging reality: unless Obama creates some other path to access and to public input into his policies by those of us who helped build his electoral success, or unless we organize to do so outside the framework of his campaign organization, we may be in for lots of disappointments.

Rabbi Michael Lerner is editor of Tikkun Magazine www.tikkun.org, chair of the Network of Spiritual Progressives www.spiritualprogressives.org, author of 11 books (most recently the 2006 national best-seller The Left Hand of God) and as a member of Rabbis for Obama recently debated Bill Kristol about how Jews should vote in the election. RabbiLerner@tikkun.org

"Dennis Ross is a great public servant."

Here's...
some...
context.

FROM MONDOWEISS-

My friend Rupa Shah sent me this piece from Wayne Madsen's website (for subscribers only): Madsen says that Obama may face a security issue with Emanuel since "informed U.S. intelligence sources [say] that prospective Barack Obama White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel has an active FBI counter-intelligence file maintained on him... Questions about Emanuel's links to the Israeli intelligence service, the Mossad, were allegedly so great that President Bill Clinton was forced to dismiss Emanuel from the White House staff in 1998."

SOURCE- http://www.philipweiss.org/mondoweiss/2008/11/my-friend-rupa-shah-sent-me-this-piece-from-wayne-madsens-website-for-subscribers-only.html

HAARETZ COMMENTER-

Title: Good Irgun stock?

Name: Bronxite10

City: NY State: NY


Rahn Emanuel may be a fine choice. Hopefully, he is more astute than William Daroff, the director of the Washington office of the United Jewish Communities who said Emanuel came from "fine Irgun stock". No one in the Jewish mainstream is ready to rehabilite the Irgun.

You have to excuse Daroff. In order to survive, the ill-paid denizens of Jewish institutional America have to placate the machers who fund them. I wonder who Daroff was trying to stroke with that particular off the wall comment.

SOURCE- http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/objects/pages/ResponseDetails.jhtml?resNo=4088553&itemno=1035128&cont=2