Kind of a step down from speaking to Congress. The neoconservative thinktank, American Enterprise Institute, announces:
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will receive the 2015 Irving Kristol Award on November 9, 2015, in Washington, DC. The annual award, AEI’s highest honor, is given to individuals who have made exceptional practical and intellectual contributions to improve government policy, social welfare, or political understanding. The winner is selected by AEI’s Council of Academic Advisers. The award ceremony and dinner will be held at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC.
Currently in his fourth term, Prime Minister Netanyahu will share his insight into the Middle East;
“I am honored to have been chosen to receive the Irving Kristol Award,” said Netanyahu. “I was fortunate to have known Irving, who was a towering intellectual, a stalwart friend of Israel, and a great champion of the US-Israel alliance. I look forward to receiving this award and discussing ways in which the unique friendship between Israel and the United States can continue to grow deeper and stronger as we confront the enormous challenges we face together.”
But you kiboshed that friendship, Mr Prime Minister.
The speech will take place the same day that Netanyahu is due to see President Obama. Showing up the president, again?
The AEI Council of Academic Advisers that selected the speaker is an “outside” body. It includes Bard historian Walter Russell Mead, longtime opponent of the Israel lobby theory. I wonder if he signed off on this?
Also, remember that Irving Kristol wrote that he left the Democratic Party in 1973 for the following reason:
Senator McGovern is very sincere when he says that he will try to cut the military budget by 30%. And this is to drive a knife in the heart of Israel… Jews don’t like big military budgets. But it is now an interest of the Jews to have a large and powerful military establishment in the United States… American Jews who care about the survival of the state of Israel have to say, no, we don’t want to cut the military budget, it is important to keep that military budget big, so that we can defend Israel.
Phil, i wonder of this trip is an attempt to ditch Sara.
If you tool over to 972mag there’s an article up by Lisa Goodman detailing the current “trials,” in every sense of the word, of Mrs Sara Netanyahu. Just a taste of the insanity:
“Naftali [an employee] has accused [Mrs.] Netanyahu of inappropriate and abusive behavior like calling him at 3 a.m. to berate him for purchasing milk packaged in plastic bags rather than in carton. All three witnesses — Eliahu, Naftali and Haim — spoke of being forced to work up to 16 hours per day on a regular basis, of Sara Netanyahu addressing them in an abusive manner that included ethnic slurs, and of having to respond to inappropriate demands. They also describe an atmosphere of paralyzing fear that permeates the prime minister’s residence and bureau. Everyone, including the prime minister, is deeply afraid of Sara Netanyahu.”
Not only that but she’s a mean drunk.
I feel for the staff but the thought that this wretched women is making Bibi’s home life hell is exquisite schadenfreude.
For his contributions to improve government policy, social welfare, or political understanding, the American Enterprise Institute is honoring the still at large war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu? Who will the AEI honor next, the also still at large war criminal George W Bush, for having eliminated Iraq’s nonexistent WMD and {not} bringing democracy to that nation? And just think, he accomplished all this at the bargain price of 5000+ American lives, not to mention the half-million Iraqi lives wasted.
Bwahahahahaha. Hahahaha. Hahaha. Haha. Ha.
“Council of Academic Advisors,” such as Professor Richard Zeckhauser of Harvard (known for signing off on that PhD thesis that argued Mexican immigrants are genetically inferior to American-born population), Professor Sam Peltzman of UChicago (known for arguing that Nader-era regulation of auto safety would reduce traffic fatality rates)…
Professor Alan Auerbach of Berkeley (privatize social security, institute massive capital gains tax cuts and other goodies for the rich)
Professor Marty Feldstein of Harvard (Auerbach’s PhD advisor; seminal opponent of capital gains taxes, routine publisher of terrible papers arguing that reducing them increases economic growth)
Professor Glenn Hubbard of Columbia (architect of Bush 1’s tax cuts)
Professor Erik Hanushek of Stanford (leader of the standardized testing/”accountability” school with respect to teacher contracts)
Can’t you feel the accumulated wisdom that would lead this august group of academic worthies to award the Irving Kristol Prize to the Great Intellectual Bibi?
Not hard to see who provides the ooopmh behind all these POTUS candidates saying we need more funding for the US military, a stronger US military, which at present is merely on a budget the size of the 15 biggest military spending countries in the world. Food stamps for the US public, more money to arm Israel, more tons of big money to big banks, food stamps for the US public. Disgusting.
For the past 13 years spending on US military has increased 114%: That’s 8% higher than at the height of the Cold War under Reagan. http://www.businessinsider.com/military-spending-budget-defense-cuts-2011-10?op=1
As of 2013, 20% of US families were on food stamps. http://cnsnews.com/news/article/ali-meyer/record-20-households-food-stamps-2013