An opinion piece in the Jerusalem Post called Debra DeLee, the CEO (strange title) of Americans for Peace Now and former chair of the Democratic National Committee, a "smug, self-satisfied proponent" of the "disastrously failed" two-state solution. Martin Sherman goes on to say that an editorial DeLee wrote ("Why Obama Means What He Says") is "a breathtaking display of misplaced arrogance and misleading dogma." DeLee’s crime is apparently supporting the two-state solution and Obama.
Good for DeLee for getting this Netanyahoo mucho agitato.
In her opinion piece De Democrat DeLee went to great lengths to extol the U.S. President’s personal charms and leadership ability, which made her essay sound more like the lofty campaign promises of Obama himself than a clear elucidation of the American policy. DeLee writes:
OBAMA IS LEADING. [emphasis in the original] He is doing so boldly and transparently, with the kind of credibility and charisma – both domestically and internationally – that many of his predecessors lacked. I believe that if regional and international leaders rise to the challenge and the promise of Obama, [emphasis mine] they may find in him the one who will finally broker lasting peace between Jews and Arabs.
Ms. DeLee may be laying it on a little too thick. I admit I am not a great fan of Americans for Peace Now, but I have to praise them for leading the way among the self-described pro-Israel, pro-peace organizations in firmly backing the Mitchell demand for a complete freeze on settlement construction.
Speaking of Jewish Democrats, recent articles about two important and mysterious White House players are of note. The courageous and outspoken Roger Cohen writing in The New York Times Magazine about Iran has a long discussion about Dennis "Big Sticks and Carrots" Ross’s "bizarre odyssey" from State to the National Security Council. "Ross’s old and new obsessions — Israel and Iran — have merged in a perilous countdown," Cohen writes.The article makes it clear why "Big Sticks" is too close to Obama for comfort.
And new Ha’aretz Washington correspondent, Natasha Mozgovaya, has a lengthy, mostly positive portrait of Rahm Emanuel. Although his appointment as Obama’s chief-of-staff occasioned rancorous protests in the progressive blogosphere, Emanuel has become a hero to some of those who criticized him now that Netanyahu reportedly called him a "self-hating Jew" behind U.S. Middle East policy.
A former Clinton White House official who worked with Emanuel for five years told me that Rahm is not the right-wing pro-Israel supporter that some have portrayed. Mozgovaya reports that the much-criticized volunteer stint with the IDF that Rahm did during the Gulf War was with an outfit called Sar-El. I also spent a summer in this same program around that time. Rahm spent his time cleaning rusty brakes; I cleaned and painted rusty bridges which were used by tanks to cross wadis. What can I say–people do change.
By the way, Natasha Mozgovaya is a young multilingual Russian-born Israeli journalist and television personality who aspired to be an actress. She looks like Scarlett Johansson. I predict a glorious career for her in American television news.
