In the past few weeks, former chief of staff under the Obama administration, Rahm Emanuel, made several notable statements calling for a fundamental reassessment of the US-Israel relationship.
Emanuel argued that the US taxpayers should stop “subsidizing” Israel’s military, asserting that Israel is now a “very wealthy nation” and should purchase US weapons exactly as Japan, South Korea, and the UK do.
He asserted, “The days of taxpayers subsidizing Israel militarily are over. No more financial aid.” Then Emanuel went even further in his critique. He claimed that the recent joint US-Israeli conflict with Iran represents a “violation of a rule Israel’s had for 78 years.”
With that reference, he alluded to Israel’s historical goal of avoiding drawing the US into direct regional wars. He did not stop there, but continued with his own version of the “Blood Libel”: “the United States should never spill any blood for the state of Israel’s security.”
That was a big political shift for someone who, in his youth, volunteered in Israel and has constantly claimed to be a friend of Israel. Emanuel has extensively used his short stint in Israel as proof of his solid pro-Israel credentials.
One should never mistake tourism for political commitments, as both Bernie Sanders and Noam Chomsky have volunteered on a kibbutz. Unlike those two, Emanuel has always presented himself as a friend of Israel. It was a good performance with the plot starting to unravel when Emanuel finally assumed a political role with significant influence.
His little short of two-year stint in the White House put him in the middle of President Barack Obama’s push to coerce Israel into the negotiations with the Palestinian Authority. It was also in the early days of the new policy towards Iran, taking shape.
Emanuel’s duplicity, cunning, and aggressiveness towards Israel during his job at the White House are well known. It is masterfully documented by the former Israeli ambassador to Washington, Michael Oren, in his memoir “Ally”.
Emanuel played the role of the “enforcer,” making sure the Israelis, Netanyahu in particular, toe the party line and conformed to the “New Middle East”. Emanuel was a classic “Court Jew” of the best European tradition.
The administration used his Jewishness as a fig leaf to cover its anti-Israel policies. Emanuel, on the other hand, wanted to show his impartiality, his distance from Israel, by showing how hostile to Israel he can be.
He knew Obama from Chicago. In any case, the argument is purely hypothetical as Emanuel is immensely proud of the job he did and the events surrounding his serving as the chief of staff.
Obama bypasses Israel on first trip to Middle East
Anti-Zionism is in fashion nowadays, but one must not forget how it reemerged on a big political stage. President Obama’s first overseas trip was to the Middle East, bypassing Israel. There, in Cairo, he addressed the Muslim World and “apologized” for “setting up” Israel in its midst.
He blamed the Holocaust and asked the “natives” to be forgiving and understanding of the Jewish refugees from Europe and their sufferings. He was the first president to formally declare Jews to be a foreign, one may now say colonizing, element in the Middle East. It was the most anti-Zionist statement any American president has uttered since Israel’s establishment. No Zionist could willfully serve under such a President.
Yet Emanuel served as his chief of staff. To be fair, Emanuel left the White House by the time of the agreement with Iran. Yet the first steps by the Obama administration to legitimize and empower the Iranian regime were taken with Emanuel’s full knowledge.
Until recently, Emanuel has maintained a pro-Israel facade. His political ambitions made the continuation of the charade no longer attainable. Emanuel is considering running for the highest office of the land. It appears judgment is no longer Rahm’s friend.
In the current political climate, a Jew with even phony or former Zionist leanings has about the same chance of being nominated by the Democratic Party as Putin receiving the Nobel Peace Prize. Emanuel must be at least remotely aware of his chances.
Yet for the minuscule chance of success, he decided to abandon and cast aside whatever semblance of fraternity with the Jewish People there remained in his public political persona. Emanuel has travelled a long and treacherous road of self-hate. He has finally arrived, but for the audience he hopes will embrace him, he is a useless, trembling Jew.
The author lives and works in Silicon Valley, California. He is a founding member of San Francisco Voice for Israel.