From the JTA report on the Zionist Organization of America's lunch on Capitol Hill last week. Best moments belong to Shelley Berkley. Emphasis mine:
Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-NV) joked that she always brings [ZOA President] Mort Klein her
ZOA membership check each time our Mission is in Washington but that
today she had left her checkbook in her car. She said that “being
Jewish is a lifelong occupation. It’s what we do as Jews, more than any
place else, we are experiencing the liberties our ancestors only dreamt
of for generation after generation. There is a price to pay for this
and the price is being engaged in our government process and no one
does this better than ZOA.” Speaking of the rocket falling on Israeli
towns like Sderot, she said that she “knows every neighborhood of
Sderot … Israel has exercised extraordinary restraint and did not use
disproportionate force. On the contrary, it didn’t use enough, soon
enough. Many of my colleagues were concerned at this – I ask them,
‘Would you have been happier if a thousand more Jews had died?’ …
UNRWA is nothing but the face and arm of Hamas. We are giving funds to
rebuild Gaza for UNRWA to administer – I couldn’t think of anything
more ridiculous than this. I was delighted when my colleagues Mark Kirk
and Steve Rothman introduced it – but first I called Mort to make sure
it was strong enough before I signed on … There is no way on G—’s green
earth that we can allow Iran to get nuclear weapons. I remember Ariel
Sharon telling a group of us at Blair House that a nuclear Iran is as
much a threat to the U.S., to the West and the Arab nations and that
the world should not be expecting Israel to take care of its dirty
work. And I couldn’t agree more.”
ZOA membership check each time our Mission is in Washington but that
today she had left her checkbook in her car. She said that “being
Jewish is a lifelong occupation. It’s what we do as Jews, more than any
place else, we are experiencing the liberties our ancestors only dreamt
of for generation after generation. There is a price to pay for this
and the price is being engaged in our government process and no one
does this better than ZOA.” Speaking of the rocket falling on Israeli
towns like Sderot, she said that she “knows every neighborhood of
Sderot … Israel has exercised extraordinary restraint and did not use
disproportionate force. On the contrary, it didn’t use enough, soon
enough. Many of my colleagues were concerned at this – I ask them,
‘Would you have been happier if a thousand more Jews had died?’ …
UNRWA is nothing but the face and arm of Hamas. We are giving funds to
rebuild Gaza for UNRWA to administer – I couldn’t think of anything
more ridiculous than this. I was delighted when my colleagues Mark Kirk
and Steve Rothman introduced it – but first I called Mort to make sure
it was strong enough before I signed on … There is no way on G—’s green
earth that we can allow Iran to get nuclear weapons. I remember Ariel
Sharon telling a group of us at Blair House that a nuclear Iran is as
much a threat to the U.S., to the West and the Arab nations and that
the world should not be expecting Israel to take care of its dirty
work. And I couldn’t agree more.”
Remember, she's a Democrat. Thanks to rbguy at dailykos.
