Israel Matzav

Dersh blames 'rogue Democrats' for Jerusalem debacle

Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz is blaming 'rogue Democrats' for the 'technical omission' of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel from the Democratic party platform, and is calling on President Obama to do more.

After failing to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital city in their initial 2012 platform, which prompted a sharp rebuke from Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, the Democrats reinstated language on the issue from their 2008 and 2004 versions, however Dershowitz told The Algemeiner that his party did not go far enough. Isolating Hamas until it renounces terrorism, solving the Palestinian refugee crisis through a Palestinian state alone, and affirming that a two-state solution could not realistically force Israel back to its borders of 1949 should be publicly endorsed by President Obama within the coming weeks, after statements on these issues were also left out of the Democratic platform this year.

“I am not satisfied…..and I communicated this to the White House, I would like to see the president make statements over the course of the coming weeks which re-affirm what was said in the 2008 platform, not only with regards to Jerusalem, but in regard to the borders, the refugees and with regard to Hamas,” Dershowitz said. “I am hoping that the president will make such statements, because I know those are his beliefs because I have spoken to him and to those in the White House.”

Hey Alan - if those are his beliefs (which I frankly doubt), they have a 'sell by' date: November 6, 2012. Obama is from the Groucho Marx school: "Those are my principles. If you don't like them, I have others." Don't hold your breath waiting for him to reaffirm those things. He won't. More likely, he'll give you a long, lawyerly explanation of why he doesn't have to. (By the way, Alan, do you ever recall seeing Obama at Harvard?).

But Dershowitz has another delusion:

Speaking of “rogue elements” within the Democratic party, which he said range from Arab-Americans to anti-Israeli American Jews, Dershowitz said it was their goal to end the alliance between the United States and Israel, and that the 2008 language regarding Jerusalem, Hamas, Palestinian refugees, and Israel’s borders were all left out of the initial 2012 platform due to their efforts.

“I think these rogue elements had a hand in changing the 2012 platform from the 2008 one. Whatever the arguments and justifications are, there is no doubt in my mind that there are these rogue elements within the Democratic party, and they are trying to exercise influence,” he told The Algemeiner. “If they had their way, (they) would end the kind of positive relationship between Israel and the United States.”

Dershowitz said that delegates “tend to reflect the extremes of the party”, which he says are a minority on the left, however he does not believe there was the two-thirds vote necessary to amend the Democrat’s platform language on Israel, which passed when convention chair and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa passed the measure after three separate votes.

“I do not believe that two thirds of the delegates voted to change the platform. I think that there was a statement made by the chairman, but I don’t think he was right about that,” Dershowtz said to The Algemeiner. “From the voices that I heard, it sounded like it was split down the middle, with maybe a slight majority in favor of changing the platform.”

Hey Alan, if this is true, how did these delegates get there? How did Nihad Awad get there? How did Ned Lamont beat Joe Lieberman in the Democratic Senate primary in Connecticut six years ago? How did Keith Ellison end up in Congress? How did Bill Pascrell beat Steve Rothman in NJ-9 a couple of months ago? No, Alan, this isn't a rogue element. This is the Democratic party. Let's at least face that reality. The majority of Democrats may not agree with everything they say, but this 'rogue element' is now the majority in every institution the Democrats have. What could go wrong?

Labels: Alan Dershowitz, Barack Hussein Obama, Campaign 2012, National Democratic Party

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 2:51 AM