Israel Matzav

Can Obama make Netanyahu call off the Jews?

Seth Mandel has some great commentary on Thursday's story that the White House is trying to get Prime Minister Netanyahu to 'call off' American Jews. The upshot is that (incredibly enough) American Jews think and speak their own minds and are no more taken in by Obama's 'deal' with Iran than are Israelis.

The president and secretary of state would like American Jews’ foreign handlers and sponsors to please stop riling up the Jews, because those Jews then practice their voodoo on members of Congress. Now, while this is obviously a very stupid thing for the president and secretary of state to believe–conspiracy theorists love the Walt-Mearsheimer dark tales of Jewish influence, but rarely do serious or intelligent people fall for it–it is even dumber to, you know, say out loud.

But that’s not to say it’s a slip of the tongue; these statements are usually calculated warnings: nice special relationship you got here, etc. The phrase “Jewish activism in Congress” is especially clumsy, because it’s so obvious and appalling and insulting. I suppose we should be thankful the official managed not to use the word “elders.”

In one sense, it’s ironic: American Jews vote overwhelmingly for Democrats, and this is the thanks they get. But in another sense, it’s typical of the enforced groupthink of the American left: “overwhelmingly” is not enough. Everyone needs to get in line, lest any unapproved thought escape someone’s lips and influence others, unleashing the dreaded “Jewish activism.” When people are permitted to speak freely, who knows what the Congress will do? Better to not find out, according to the Obama administration.

It’s also extremely creepy behavior, because it aims to chill legitimate political speech by warning Jews–specifically–that if they disagree with the Obama administration they will be seen to be acting on orders from a foreign government. And it then transfers that suspicion of dual loyalty to the members of Congress whose constituents include the Jews of which the administration disapproves.

The sentiment as expressed to the press and attributed to Obama and Kerry appears to be a fusion of the two: Obama’s distaste for dissent and Kerry’s inability to communicate. The problem the White House is having is this: the president’s deal with Iran was not a good deal, and that fact is becoming more and more obvious to everyone, even those not under the spell of Jewish voodoo. So left to their own devices, many in Congress and in the public are going to draw the correct conclusion–the president is getting played–and the president does not like that prospect.

Read the whole thing.

Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Binyamin Netanyahu, Iran sanctions regime, Iranian nuclear threat, John Kerry

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:18 AM