Israel Matzav

Hagel in video: 'He's Jewish'

If you still needed confirmation that Chuck Hagel is an anti-Semite, here it is. It's a speech from 2008. Hagel is talking about Iran's nuclear weapons... and Israel's.

The comments, made by Hagel at a 2008 appearance and first reported by the Weekly Standard Sunday, feature Hagel arguing for engagement with Iran (as he has in the past) and discussing the threat of Israel using a nuclear weapon.

“Someone was asking me the other day about a nuclear exchange in the world, where that would come from. I said well I’ll give you a scenario that’s very real,” Hagel says in the video. “If Israel gets backed up enough into a corner and Israel uses a tactical theater nuclear weapon, you want to talk about seeing some things unravel in the world.”

“The United States shouldn’t even be thinking about options of bombing Iran or anybody else,” he continues. “I mean we got our hands full right now. And we’re in such a hell of a mess.”

At his confirmation hearing, however, Hagel insisted he is ”fully committed to the president’s goal of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. And as I have been on record on that issue — as I’ve said in the past many times, all options must be on the table to achieve that goal.”

 And - oh yeah - he mentions Aaron David Miller and says 'he's Jewish' as if that's gives a hechsher (stamp of approval) to anti-Israel measures, that makes them okay. Or is he questioning Miller's loyalty to the United States?

Let's go to the videotape.



Bill Kristol adds (Hat Tip: Noah P).

"He's Jewish." Isn't there something creepy and disquieting about that interjection?

Why does Hagel call attention to the religion of the American diplomat whose book he's praising? I suppose the answer is this: If you're Chuck Hagel, and you see yourself as fighting the "Jewish lobby," you think you gain credibility by identifying an author whom you like as Jewish. Hagel cites Miller's Judaism as a kind of talisman to preemptively ward off criticism. But wouldn't it be good to have a secretary of defense whose first thought isn't the religious affiliation of Americans who participate in foreign policy debates?  

When I heard him say 'he's Jewish' my first thought was that Hagel was saying 'some of my best friends are Jewish' and therefore 'you can't call me an anti-Semite.'

Well, he is one. He's a classic anti-Semite in the mold of 40-50 years ago. And even the 'Liberalism is Judaism' crowd - which is paranoid about anti-Semitism - ought to see that. Do the Democrats care anymore?

Labels: anti-Semitism, Chuck Hagel

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:58 AM