Jewish Organizations Concerned Over Former Diplomat's Involvement in Current Anti-Israel Efforts - RAFAEL MEDOFF/JNS.ORG CHARISMA NEWS

Jewish groups are concerned over the amount of influence Ambassador Martin Indyk has had over the Obama Administration and Secretary of State John Kerry's approach to the Palestinian issue with Israel. (Reuters photo)

Jewish Organizations Concerned Over Former Diplomat's Involvement in Current Anti-Israel Efforts

1/2/2017 RAFAEL MEDOFF/JNS.ORG  CHARISMA NEWS

Several Jewish organizations and leaders are expressing alarm over former U.S. diplomat Martin Indyk's role in the Obama administration's recent Israel policy moves.

Indyk served as U.S. ambassador to Israel, and then assistant secretary of state, between 1995 and 2001, followed by a stint as President Barack Obama's envoy for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations in 2013-2014. 

Reliable Washington sources report that the maps and proposals Indyk and his aides formulated in recent years are still central to the Obama administration's strategy for the Palestinian issue. Indyk also is said to have remained in contact with key U.S. policymakers even though he left the Obama administration and now serves as executive vice president of the Brookings Institution.

In media interviews and on Twitter in recent days, Indyk has emerged as one of the most vociferous defenders of the Obama administration's Dec. 23 vote against Israeli settlements at the United Nations. He is also one of the most vocal opponents of President-elect Donald Trump's nomination of attorney David Friedman as U.S. ambassador to Israel.

Indyk's credibility is now being called into question, however, as several Jewish organizations are urging him to clarify whether or not he made a series of unusually harsh remarks about Israel and Jews in a tape-recorded private conversation when he was executive director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a prominent think tank.

In that conversation, in 1989, Indyk reportedly said Israelis are "paranoid," "arrogant" and think that "the rules of society do not apply [to them]" because "they are the goy's rules." Connecting Israeli attitudes to what he characterized as Jewish attitudes in general, Indyk reportedly said that "Jews would do whatever they can to avoid paying taxes," and that Jews believe it is justified to "find a way to ignore the law or get around it." He added, "In my own family, my grandfather used to stay up nights to figure out how to avoid paying taxes." 

The reported remarks "echo three of the most infamous centuries-old tropes of anti-Semites," Prof. Eunice G. Pollack, a historian of anti-Semitism and co-editor of the Encyclopedia of American Jewish History, told JNS.org. 

"You have an updated version of the classic 'Jewish swindler,' combined with the 'disloyal Jew' who evades his patriotic duty to pay taxes, and the millennia-old 'arrogant Jew' who, in a more religious era, was accused of deriving his arrogance from his partner, Satan," said Pollack.

Jewish groups want answers

Indyk has not responded to multiple inquiries from JNS.org about the statements. The quotations were first raised by the organization Amcha—the Coalition for Jewish Concerns, headed by Rabbi Avi Weiss, when Indyk was nominated as ambassador to Israel in 1995. But they were not picked up by the news media at the time and were not raised by senators at his confirmation hearing.

Farley Weiss, president of the National Council of Young Israel, told JNS.org, "I hope he didn't say such things, and if he did, I hope he will disavow them. Either way, he needs to address the controversy." 

Sarah Stern, president of the Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET), a pro-Israel think tank in Washington, said in a statement to JNS.org that her organization is "calling on Ambassador Indyk to immediately clarify whether or not he made these horrific statements." Stern said it would be "very ironic" for Indyk to oppose the David Friedman nomination over past statements that Friedman made, "if Indyk made the repulsive remarks he is alleged to have made prior to his own nomination."

In a tweet quoted in The New York Times and elsewhere, Indyk sarcastically asserted that Friedman would be "a great ambassador for the deep settler state. But David Friedman needs to be U.S. envoy to all Israelis. Is he up for that?" In an interview with CNN anchor Chris Cuomo, Indyk said Friedman's call for moving the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to western Jerusalem is "incendiary" because it "would imply that the United States was recognizing Israeli sovereignty over all of Jerusalem, including the Arab part ... which has the third-holiest mosque in Islam."

Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, told JNS.org that Indyk "forgot to mention that what he calls 'the Arab part' of Jerusalem includes a large Jewish community, the Western Wall, the Temple Mount and the Mount of Olives, which contains the oldest Jewish cemetery in the world. That mosque is the third-holiest site to Islam, but Har Habayit (the Temple Mount) is Judaism's holiest site." Cooper said "the current status quo, in which the U.S. does not recognize any part of Jerusalem as sovereign Israeli territory, is patently unfair."

The Wiesenthal Center, World Jewish Congress, National Council of Young Israel and other Jewish groups have endorsed the Friedman nomination. J Street, Americans for Peace Now and Ameinu oppose it.

EMET's Stern, for her part, said that Indyk's "judgment and objectivity" were "severely undermined" two years ago, when it was revealed that he had accepted a $14.8-million contribution from the government of Qatar for the Brookings Institution. Qatar is the largest financer of the terrorist organization Hamas.

Adam Kredo, a senior foreign policy writer for the Washington Free Beacon, told JNS.org that Indyk "is known among reporters for anonymously criticizing Israel in the press, for planting stories meant to pressure the Jewish state into making concessions, [and for] leading the Obama administration's efforts over the years to discredit Israel and blame it for the failure in peace talks." 

Indyk's Twitter war

Indyk took to Twitter this week to accuse Kredo of spreading "fake news" when Kredo reported that Vice President Joe Biden was involved in lobbying on behalf of the U.N. resolution against settlements. Israeli government officials subsequently publicly charged that Biden personally lobbied the government of Ukraine to back the resolution. Biden has denied the accusation.

At the same time, Indyk has been engaged in a Twitter mini-war this week with both an Israeli embassy official and a former colleague. It began with Indyk tweeting that the U.N. resolution was not an attack on Israel but was aimed only at "settlers, who undermine peace negotiations [and] are hurting Israel." Reuven Azar, deputy chief of mission at the Embassy of Israel in Washington, replied, "Please don't lie to your followers. This pro-BDS resolution is unprecedented."

Indyk shot back, "Diplomats are sent abroad to lie for their country. But that doesn't include accusing people of lying. Leave that to your political bosses." Azar responded, "We'll keep fighting for our country and you'll keep lecturing us," to which Indyk sarcastically replied, "Happy Hanukkah to you too."

Robert Satloff, who serves in Indyk's former post as executive director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, weighed in on Azar's side, tweeting, "I disagree w/my friend @martin_indyk. We've tried and failed using chainsaw on settlement issue; it needs a scalpel." 

This article was originally published at JNS.org. Used with permission.

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US Lawmakers Plan to Challenge President Obama on Israel Limits - RAFAEL MEDOFF/JNS.ORG CHARISMA NEWS

A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers is working to revoke President Obama's $38 billion cap on defense aid to Israel. (Reuters photo)

US Lawmakers Plan to Challenge President Obama on Israel Limits

12/1/2016 RAFAEL MEDOFF/JNS.ORG  CHARISMA NEWS

Democratic and Republican lawmakers are vowing to challenge a limit on U.S. defense aid for Israel that President Barack Obama included in the recently signed Memorandum of Understanding between the two nations.

The agreement—reached in September—guarantees Israel $38 billion in aid over 10 years, but it also states that if Congress increases the aid, Israel is obliged to return the extra funds. U.S. Reps. Paul Gosar (R-Texas), Randy Weber (R-Ariz.), and Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) said Tuesday at Agudath Israel of America's annual legislative luncheon in New York City that the restriction is "unconstitutional" because it would interfere with the ability of Congress to fulfill its mandate as a co-equal branch of the federal government. Engel vowed to "fight every step of the way" to bring about the revocation of the aid limit.

U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), speaking at the same event, said that the aid restriction "conflicts with the Constitution in spirit if not in letter" because Congress "has a right to respond to emergency situations, and we will not give up that right." As an example, Jeffries said that if Israel is attacked, it might require extra aid to defend itself. Congress, he said, should be able to take action in such circumstances.

More Jewish Democrats oppose Ellison

Another topic addressed by several of the speakers at the luncheon was the bid by Minnesota's U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison for the chairmanship of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). A number of Jewish leaders have expressed concern that Ellison would turn the Democratic Party away from Israel. Speaking with jns.org at the Agudath Israel event, two more Jewish Democratic officeholders stated their opposition to Ellison's candidacy.

The Minnesota lawmaker has come under fire for his past association with Nation of Islam movement leader Louis Farrakhan, publicly claiming in 1995 that Farrakhan "is not an anti-Semite." Additionally, Ellison has urged increased U.S. pressure on Israel and has voted against funding Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system.

New York's Rep. Engel, the ranking Democratic member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told jns.org that he opposes Ellison's candidacy because "we need a full-time chairman for the DNC, not a member of Congress who would only be able to devote part of his time to the job." Asked whether his opposition to Ellison is also based on Ellison's record concerning Israel, Engel replied, "My positions on Israel are well-known; my focus is on having a full-time chair for the party."

New York State Assemblyman David Weprin (D-Queens) said that he too opposes Ellison's bid "because of the importance of having someone who can devote himself full-time to rebuilding the Democratic Party." Weprin said he is "aware of the statements about Israel that have been attributed to Ellison, and if they are accurate, that would be a cause for concern." 

Weprin added that he is "troubled by the positions that [2016 presidential candidate] Sen. Bernie Sanders took on Israel, and I know that Sanders nominated Congressman Ellison to the Democratic convention resolutions committee in order to try to get those positions in the platform."

The statements by Engel and Weprin against Ellison's possible party chairmanship echo the sentiments of New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn), who toldjns.org earlier this month that "if Israel has to depend on support from the Ellisons of the world, it would be in serious trouble."

FBI Official: Palestinian Terror Tactics Adopted in U.S. Attacks

William Sweeney Jr., assistant director of the FBI's New York Division, said at the luncheon that the Palestinian terrorist tactic of "grabbing whatever you can to carry out an attack, whether a bulldozer or a kitchen knife" is being adopted by terrorists within the U.S.

Citing the attack at the Ohio State University campus this week by a Somali Muslim, Sweeney said that attacks by "homegrown violent extremists" are "simpler, aimed at more diverse targets, and carried out by younger attackers."

Sweeney said that the threat of terrorism on American soil "has become more serious in the past year, with some of the attacks being carried out by teenagers, who often are not in contact with terrorists overseas, unlike during previous periods." 

This article was originally published at jns.org. Used with permission.

3 Reasons Why you should read Life in the Spirit. 1) Get to know the Holy Spirit. 2) Learn to enter God's presence 3) Hear God's voice clearly! Go deeper!

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A Lesson for the Jews From 'The Waltons' - RAFAEL MEDOFF/JNS.ORG CHARISMA NEWS

A Lesson for the Jews From 'The Waltons'

4/4/2016 RAFAEL MEDOFF/JNS.ORG  charisma news

(From l to r) Ralph Waite, Richard Thomas and Michael Learned starred in the CBS television drama, "The Waltons." (Wikimedia Commons )

The passing of a television writer is not the sort of event that usually raises questions about the future of American society.

But the recent death of Earl Hamner Jr., creator of the 1970s series "The Waltons," coming as it does in the midst of an exceptionally tumultuous political season, invites fresh consideration of the state of the country—and its implications for American Jewry.

The Waltons, which debuted on CBS in 1972, was an hour-long drama that followed the lives of a family in rural West Virginia during the Great Depression. Based on Hamner's own childhood, The Waltons highlighted values such as hard work, religious faith, modesty, and the importance of family togetherness.

Throughout its nine years, The Waltons was one of the most popular shows on television. It's not unreasonable to conclude that the values which it promoted values were held in high esteem by most Americans in the 1970s.

When The Waltons was cancelled in 1981, Hamner began writing a new series for CBS, called Falcon Crest. One might say that it was the moral opposite of The Waltons. Set in contemporary times, Falcon Crest featured corrupt family members battling each other for control of a winery in northern California's Napa Valley. Greed, cruelty, deceit, backstabbing, and marital infidelity were among its major themes. Like The Waltons, Falcon Crest lasted for nine years.

Of course, television shows rise and fall for all sorts of reasons, but with the benefit of hindsight, one can see Hamner's two shows as indications of a certain transition in American culture. The wholesome Waltons family appealed to a generation that revered old-time values. The fact that The Waltons was supplanted by Falcon Crest(and similar shows, such as Dallas and Dynasty) were symbols of the erosion of traditional values and an increasing coarseness in American society. 

That coarseness has been on fully display in the current political season. Donald Trump has pioneered a new political style that is awash in vicious insults, wild threats, and crude vulgarities—yet he continues to maintain a significant base of support. And some would argue that the problem is more than just a matter of his distasteful style.

Recently, Trump's harsh manner, together with his suggestions that he would take extreme steps such as placing restrictions on the press, have prompted some critics to warn that a Trump presidency would move America in the direction of authoritarian rule.

Such fears may not give enough credit to the various legal and other safeguards that are in place to prevent any substantial changes to America's democratic system. Still, it would be foolhardy not to acknowledge that some of those safeguards could prove fragile if they are seriously tested.

The question of "Can It Happen Here?"—could Americans embrace totalitarianism—has long been the subject of heated discussion, in the Jewish community and beyond. A classic novel in this genre was the 1935 best-seller, It Can't Happen Here, by Sinclair Lewis.

Written just two years after Adolf Hitler's rise to power, he book chronicles how a corrupt but charismatic politician, Buzz Windrip, rises to the presidency by appealing to nationalist sentiment and making pie-in-the-sky promises (such as giving every American a $5,000 government grant each year).

Aspects of Windrip's platform are somewhat similar to what one hears today from both Trump and Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders. Once in power, Windrip crushes all dissenters and imposes totalitarian rule.

All of which brings us back to The Waltons, which was set in the same time period as Sinclair Lewis' novel. In one particularly memorable episode, the family's eldest son, John-Boy, hears on the radio about book-burnings in Nazi Germany. He exclaims, "Burning books is like burning people! Why would people do such craziness?"

A local clergyman then attempts to organize a public burning of Hitler's book, Mein Kampf, and other German-language books. But John-Boy forestalls the burning at the last moment when he points out that one of the books thrown into the pile to be ignited is a German edition of the Bible.

Leaving aside the question of whether burning Mein Kampf is the moral equivalent of the Nazis burning great works of art, literature, and science, the writers of that Waltons episode did raise a valid point about what can happen when a mob mentality takes over.

And Jews—probably more than anyone else—understand that the abandonment of civility, combined with social and economic anxiety and appeals to extreme nationalism, can be a lethal mix indeed.

Dr. Rafael Medoff is founding director of The David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies, and author of 16 books about Jewish history, Zionism, and the Holocaust.

For the original article, visit JNS.org.

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