After Annie posted about the House Foreign Relations subcommittee on the Middle East yesterday, I asked her about the new Kennedy generation in the Congress, Joseph Kennedy III. He ran in Massachusetts last year and I happened to see the thirtyish redhead at a social gathering (of left-liberals, of course); and thought, He’s a nicelooking unassuming young man– fresh breeze! Some friends of mine gave money to his campaign.
Annie sent me the following note: “Minute 35:47 in the first video.” And gave me this transcript of Kennedy’s remarks:
Madame chair [then he thanks everyone including witnesses]
The potential of a consensus government in Palestine and the effect that that would have on Israel and the broader peace process is of particular importance to my district back home in Massachusetts as well as to this to country’s foreign policy in a critical region at a critical time.
Last year I had the privilege of visiting our great friend Israel. I was deeply humbled by the incredible courage and dignity of Israelis who live, work, and raise families in the face of a daily existential threat. I saw first hand in communities like Sderot where kindergartens are reinforced by reinforced concrete and gas filtration systems. I saw it across the country where bus stops doubled with bombshells and enhanced security is a way of life protecting innocent civilians from the threat of terror. Despite the complexities of an entrenched and painful conflict I hold out hope as so many others do. But for that to happen Israel needs a credible partner at the negotiations table. I look forward to hearing your thoughts today about how we can move that process forward.
……..
A hearing on Palestinian reconciliation and the young Kennedy talks all about the frightened Israelis. And damns Hamas even as we are talking with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. “Other congresspeople were much worse,” Annie wrote.
So the great progressive tradition is alive in the Northeast. I see that Kennedy said the following when he got the cherished appointment in January:
The 4th Congressional District Democrat said there’s no region that plays a greater a role in the nation’s safety than the Middle East.
He also said a strong US-Israel relationship must remain the cornerstone of those efforts and will be a top priority for his work on the committee.
JFK tried to hold israel accountable…
zaparda recorded what happen to him
any questions
I told you annie …it is not getting any better for the ME ..from the US…
it is just getting worse
re: “What went wrong in the Catholic Church?” & “Fear & loathing in Egypt” – today’s LA Times” –
summing up,
both catholicism & islam?
over matters of sex & power?
in serious trouble?
& deservedly so?
for having embraced absolutism & infallibility?
yet refusing to accept responsibility for the consequences thereof?
do what the catholic church (islam) demands or no ticket to heaven?
this can be abandoned?
but how?
“Last year I had the privilege of visiting our great friend Israel. I was deeply humbled by the incredible courage and dignity of Israelis who live, work, and raise families in the face of a daily existential threat. I saw first hand in communities like Sderot where kindergartens are reinforced by reinforced concrete and gas filtration systems.”
This made me think about Albania under Enver Hoxha.
I guess Soviet politicians said things like that when they visited the country where every family had to build a bunker to protect themselves.
A Soviet Kennedy would say:
Last year I had the privilege of visiting our great friend Albania. I was deeply humbled by the incredible courage and dignity of Albanians who live, work, and raise families in the face of a daily existential threat. I saw first hand in communities like Tirana where kindergartens are reinforced by reinforced concrete and gas filtration systems. I saw it across the country where bus stops doubled with bombshells and enhanced security is a way of life protecting innocent civilians from the threat of terror. Despite the complexities of an entrenched and painful conflict I hold out hope as so many others do. But for that to happen Albania needs a credible partner at the negotiations table. I look forward to hearing your thoughts today about how we can move that process forward.
Kennedy’s remarks sound like they were scripted by AIPAC — and they probably were. We see the usual canned propaganda and tired rote phrases.
He may also have in mind the fates of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy and John F. Kennedy Jr. Just before his death, John F. Kennedy Jr. was attempting to take apart the official story on the Yitzhak Rabin assassination for George Magazine — and he was promising to do the same for the official story on the JFK assassination — forbidden territory.
Joseph Kennedy III can Google these controversies as easily as the rest of us, and no doubt has, since they involve his immediate family members.