Republican Jewish Coalition issues deceitful press release
[Pictured is Swift Boat Veterans for Truth backer, Ambassador to Belgium and RJC Chairman Sam Fox]
According to the Huffington Post, Suzanne Kurtz, communications director for the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC), is making up news–and not the funny kind that Jon Stewart and the Onion are so good at putting together. And it’s also not funny who is paying for it.
A press release was issued Monday calling on Barack Obama “to drop Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) from his upcoming trip to Israel.”
Mr. Hagel is not, however, joining Mr. Obama to Israel; Afghanistan and Iraq, yes; Israel, not-so-much. It seems that the folks at the RJC are trying to manipulate the news to make it appear that Senator Hagel is a close adviser on Israel to Senator Obama. The press release lists a resume of ‘anti-Israel highlights’ from Hagel’s recent career.
- In August 2006, Hagel was one of only 12 senators who refused to write the EU asking them to declare Hezbollah a terrorist organization.
- In December 2005, Hagel was one of only 27 who refused to sign a letter to President Bush to pressure the Palestinian Authority to ban terrorist groups from participating in Palestinian legislative elections.
- In June 2004, Hagel refused to sign a letter urging President Bush to highlight Iran’s nuclear program at the G-8 summit.
- In November 2001, Hagel was one of only 11 senators who refused to sign a letter urging President Bush not to meet with the late Yassir Arafat until his forces ended the violence against Israel.
- In October 2000, Hagel was one of only four senators who refused to sign a Senate letter in support of Israel.
after the jump is a transcript of the phone call from Monday afternoon between The Huffington Post and the RJC, sad and entertaining–like fake news ought to be.
HP: Why are you listing Hagel as a companion on Obama’s Israel trip if the Telegraph and other news outlets say he won’t be there?
RJC: “I think what is really interesting is that Chuck Hagel seems to be the latest in the long line of advisers and associates that Sen. Obama surrounds himself with that really have anti-Israel statements and biases,” said Kurtz.
Um… The question had nothing to do with Hagel’s record.
“I think it is absolutely about Chuck Hagel’s record and the votes.”
Ok, let’s try a different tact. Yes or no, did the RJC believe Obama was going to Israel with Chuck Hagel?
“I can tell you that it is very interesting that Sen. Obama continues to seek the counsel and companionship of those that have…”
That’s not what I’m asking.
“We are going around in a circle you understand.”
Yes, I do. Is it easy or difficult to have to repeat the same exact answer, no matter what?
“Is it tough to keep asking the same question again and again?”
Do you think it is the least bit misleading that your website says Obama is going to Israel with Hagel, even though he’s not.
“I don’t think it is misleading. I think if he is or isn’t is a question to be directed to the Obama campaign.”
Of course, the Obama campaign never said that Hagel was joining the trip to Israel, so when contacted they confirmed he was not, in fact, going. Success for the RJC? The RJC’s chairman is Sam Fox, a substantial funder of the “Swift Boat ads” from the ‘04 election, and was appointed Ambassador to Belgium by GWB during a senate recess. Regarding Fox’s contribution, his $50k donation came AFTER major media outlets had reported the ads run by Swift Boat Veterans for Truth were, well, not truthful. Once again, Mr. Fox has chimed in with his financial clout to sway the media away from the truth towards an already reported untruth. By the time the RJC issued this press release, it had already been reported that Hagel was only joining Obama to Iraq.
Now he’s at it again. I wonder how many of the emails that claim Obama is Muslim and a terrorist sympathizer were paid for by Mr. Fox and which country he wants to be ambassador to next!
don’t forget, the rjc is bankrolled by sheldon adelson, profiled recently in the new yorker in an article that, if you’re a jew of conscience, should make you wretch all over your sneakers.
—Mobius · July 15th, 2008 at 6:49 am
I wonder if the (incorrect) belief that Obama is tied to Hagel will actually help Obama in certain swing states. Nebraska (Hagel’s home state, where he won 83% of the vote in 2002) splits its electoral votes by congressional district, and the 2nd District (Omaha) is up for grabs even if the rest of the state isn’t.
—BZ · July 15th, 2008 at 9:07 am
“don’t forget, the rjc is bankrolled by sheldon adelson, profiled recently in the new yorker in an article that, if you’re a jew of conscience, should make you wretch all over your sneakers.”
here’s a link to a jewschool article from a couple weeks back:
http://jewschool.com/2008/06/2.....n-adelson/
Thanks, Mobius.
—Justin Goldstein · July 15th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
Retch.
—jew guevara · July 15th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
Oh happy days are here again. It’s wretch-o-ramma time! So Adelson bankrolls the RJC. He also bankrolls a buttload of hospitals and other humanitarian causes, as well as free travel to Israel for certain people who comment on Jewschool. This “Jew of conscience” chooses to judge people by the sum total of their actions.
—ck · July 16th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
great, ck, then you support Hamas, too? They also bankroll a buttload of hospitals and other humanitarian causes. So let’s get real, sum of all actions is a great way to judge, so do it accordingly. But scale of merit is a good way to judge also, and on that, Adelson (and Hamas) clearly fails.
—Justin Goldstein · July 17th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
“great, ck, then you support Hamas, too? They also bankroll a buttload of hospitals and other humanitarian causes. So let’s get real, sum of all actions is a great way to judge, so do it accordingly. But scale of merit is a good way to judge also, and on that, Adelson (and Hamas) clearly fails.”
Absolute buffoonery to equate adelson and hamas. And as CK rightly points out, Adelson has personally paid for vast sums of jewschool readers to have their first Israel travel experience. The man, while we may not agree with his politics has done more miraculous things for world jewry than most know or can comprehend. Mobius, Justin Goldstein, you should learn about Adelson and follow his examples of Tzedakah. We all should.
—jon p · July 18th, 2008 at 11:30 am
I’d like to add just one brief point about Senator Hagel that hasn’t been mentioned, but is quite relevant to this debate.
Hagel is NOT anti-Israel.
Indeed, as many of us attuned to this issue know, he is one of the smartest Senators, of any party, on nearly all issues of the Middle East. He was the first Senate Republican to come out against the Iraq war and for diplomacy with Iran - both positions now widely supported by American Jews and the overall American public. The fact that he is willing to buck his party on such major issues is a sign of courage, not “anti-Israel” prejudice.
On Israel, he is the right kind of pro-Israel, the kind that believes U.S. diplomatic engagement and a two-state solution are in Israel’s best interests. He was an original cosponsor of the 2007 Feinstein-Lugar resolution (S.Res.321) that said just that. If Hagel werent retiring this year, I wouldnt be surprised to see him get one of J Street’s first endorsements.
In order to prove their case against Hagel, the RJC cites as proof a list of supposedly “pro-Israel” letters that Hagel refused to sign (of course the irony here is that it was the NJDC which initially compiled this list to attack the Republicans).
I can tell you that within each of these (largely AIPAC-written) letters there are a good number of often hostile, anti-peace process, Arab-bashing phrases stuck in. And fortunately for us, Hagel is above most of that crap. (Note, the list does not contain a single piece of actual legislation.)
In addition, this whole ordeal neglects to mention that Senator Hagel is, and has been for some time, the second-highest ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and high-ranking members of that committee (including Chair Joe Biden and Ranking Member Dick Lugar) are known for not signing non-binding letters like the ones the RJC/NJDC lists.
Point is, we shouldn’t just lambast the RJC for lying about Hagel’s presence on Obama’s trip, we should call them out - both the RJC and the NJDC - for their myopic view of what it actually means to be pro-Israel.
But I guess thats just too much nuance for a press release.
—backbeat · July 19th, 2008 at 1:28 am
jon p-
I’m not equating Adelson to Hamas, that would be insane! I’m simply saying that good actions do not outweigh bad actions. Jewish tradition is clear that judging someone by scale of merit means that their good deeds do not outweigh their bad ones, that there are separate measurements for each. Therefore, no matter how many good things someone does, as long as they continue to do bad things, the good things have their merit, and the bad things have their merit. Also, claiming Birthright is a positive thing, well, that’s very tenuous–I know many (non-Jews and Jews alike, myself included) that find it rather offensive. Every human being has attributes that are worthy-Hitler was a huge advocate of animal rights, women’s equality and progressive medicine, we can always find nice things in someone. Adelson’s charity work is not to be scoffed at, but his support of rather unethical ventures is also to not be ignored.
—Justin Goldstein · July 22nd, 2008 at 12:30 pm
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