Obama fails to name envoy on Anti semitism

[Ebusitanus]

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satelli...cle%2FShowFull

The Obama administration has failed to name an envoy for monitoring and combating anti-Semitism around the world as mandated by US law since the previous ambassador was relieved of his duties at the start of the president's term more than six months ago, officials said Thursday.

The failure to name a new envoy for the post raises questions about the importance the new administration attaches to the fight against anti-Semitism, said Rafael Medoff, director of the Washington DC-based David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies.

"Foot-dragging on the selection sends a message that anti-Semitism is not of great importance to the United States," Medoff wrote in a monograph to be published by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs titled "The Politics of the American Response to Global Anti-Semitism."

According to Medoff, "At a time when anti-Semitism remains a staple of government propaganda in the Middle East, when violent anti-Semitic incidents are reported almost daily throughout Europe, and when even the streets of Washington are not untouched by anti-Semitism's violent potential, that is the wrong message to send."

The State Department's Office of the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, which was established by a Congressional initiative in 2004, advocates American policy on anti-Semitism both in the US and internationally.

The proposal to establish such an office was initially opposed by the Bush administration, which took 18 months to appoint an envoy to head the office, Medoff said.



The envoy, Dr. Gregg Rickman, was removed from his post when the Obama administration took office in January in keeping with standard policy when a president of a different party takes power.

"On the one hand, it is understandable that at a time of multiple domestic and foreign crises, the Obama administration does not see this position as a top-tier concern," Medoff wrote. "Yet it is nevertheless surprising how far down anti-Semitism appears to have slid on the new administration's list of priorities, particularly when it was the Democrats themselves who fought so hard to create the position over the vehement opposition of the Bush administration."

A White House spokesman referred queries on the issue Thursday to the State Department. A State Department official said Thursday that upon the inauguration of a new president, ambassadors from the previous administration tender their resignations.

The official said that as with all Ambassadorial and other senior positions, there is an appointment process, which is ongoing, that includes the president nominating a candidate followed by Senate confirmation.

[Heinz Guderian]

Cant the Chief-Of-Staff and son of an Israeli terrorist/freedom fighter Rahm Emmanuel just do the job?

[Keravnos]

Cant the Chief-Of-Staff and son of an Israeli terrorist/freedom fighter Rahm Emmanuel just do the job?

Israel will be destroyed in one way or another eventually, only the disunity and weakness of the muslims states prevents it (like Kojs case)

I guess this is exactly why something has to be done. This position is inherent to this and so it should be filled ASAP. I guess there is a procedure so this is being followed, as we speak.

There is one thing to note, however. This new antisemitism is in an upsurge all around the world, but especially in Islamic countries. I have never understood why does a whole region that spans million of square miles and has more than a billion people feel threatened by a small country which has 7.4 million people.

I think this is David VS Goliath all over again. Even if Israel is David, the Islamic world doesn't need to be the Goliath. Those who will try to be, will share Goliath's fate.

[mongrel]

Pick Susie Greene. Job done....Next

[My Favorite Martian]

Pick Susie Greene. Job done....Next

Someone with abilities in various sociolects could be straight right for the job.

[Heinz Guderian]

i dont know who that is. Is this some Family Guy reference you kids say to each other?

[mongrel]

i dont know who that is. Is this some Family Guy reference you kids say to each other?

I strongly recommend that you watch Curb Your Enthusiasm. should answer your question.

[Hippolord]

Erm...

Since when did america care about Anti-Semitism...???

What? Did you think we went into WW2 To save the Jews? You think we support Israel cause it's largely Jewish?

You are sadly mistaken then...

Failure to name said envoy, is only the realization of the truth.

[Oldgamer]

Erm...

Since when did america care about Anti-Semitism...???

What? Did you think we went into WW2 To save the Jews? You think we support Israel cause it's largely Jewish?

You are sadly mistaken then...

Failure to name said envoy, is only the realization of the truth.

We went into WW2 to destroy Germany and Japan. We didn't know about the Jews, for the most part. Israel is the result of discovering the Holocaust.

The failure of Obama to name an envoy on Anti-Semitism is the failure of the Left in America, which includes most Jews, to recognize the historical importance of Israel. The heart of American anti-Semitism is on the left.

It's also a failure of one narcissistic individual, who happens to occupy the White House.

[Каие]

America has an envoy for anti-Semitism? required by US law? Do they have an envoy for anti-Black, anti-Hispanic, anti-Irish, anti-Arab, anti-French dealings as well? or is it only anti-Semitism?

We went into WW2 to destroy Germany and Japan.

Don't mislead the forum. You were dragged into that war kicking and screaming.

The failure of Obama to name an envoy on Anti-Semitism is the failure of the Left in America, which includes most Jews, to recognize the historical importance of Israel. The heart of American anti-Semitism is on the left.

Yet it used to be the Right, and in most places still is. Try going down Alabama way and see if your fellow uber-Church-Righties there give a damn about Jews. Oh but I am not surprised that you have once again but the fault entirely on the Left. It's so dishonest.

[danzig]

America has an envoy for anti-Semitism? required by US law? Do they have an envoy for anti-Black, anti-Hispanic, anti-Irish, anti-Arab, anti-French dealings as well? or is it only anti-Semitism?

Probably does, State Department has tons of "special envoy" slots.
Envoy for Eurasian Energy
Envoy for Middle East Peace
Envoy for Northern Ireland
Envoy for Sudan
Envoy for Climate Change
and yes there is an Envoy of Muslim affairs a position Obama appointed July 1sth

There is an envoy for everything it seems, hell if we ed enough bet we can have a Special Envoy to TWC appointed.

[Giuliano Taverna]

We went into WW2 to destroy Germany and Japan. We didn't know about the Jews, for the most part. Israel is the result of discovering the Holocaust.

The failure of Obama to name an envoy on Anti-Semitism is the failure of the Left in America, which includes most Jews, to recognize the historical importance of Israel. The heart of American anti-Semitism is on the left.

It's also a failure of one narcissistic individual, who happens to occupy the White House.

Ok I'm sorry but I have to stop you at that.

The policies of the British empire to allow Jewish settlement in Palestine before world war 2, created the state of Israel, which gained independence from the British Empire, and did not have anything to do with the United states until the 1950's.

That having been said, your comments about anti-Semitism existing on the left are true, however it also exists in certain fringe tribes on the right. On the left we know who the anti-Semites are, the anti globalists, the black nationalists, the socialists that make the racist connection between Jews, banking, and evil, and the few remaining dixycrats who will never vote republican no matter how un-racist democrats claim to be. It must be noted that a few notable clan members voted for Obama.

On the right, I can sum it up as follows, you have your neo cons, (mostly Jewish, catholic, and mainstream protestants) and your paleo cons, (the rural southern vote.) Now, that can be broken up further, into the anarcho capitalists that support Ron Paul, and the Mises institute, and the anti war populists that support pat Buchannan and an isolationist moderately progressive, culturally and economically protectionist America. The paleo cons are anti-Semitic, in both cases. Pat Buchannan, and Ron Paul both have a history of Jew bashing, albeit disguised by code words, and allusions that play to a very specific audience.

Its very telling that the anti war movement has collapsed around the anti Semitic left, and right, lunatic fringe activist Cindy Sheehan will enjoy the company of racist Lew Rockwell with fervor. The worst part of the old right, and the craziest part of the new left are very much in line on the subject of Jews.

Their views are also shared by the anti globalists, who are very popular in Europe. and of course the UN made up primarily of self hating western countries, and western hating non western countries will always attack Israel, and the US simply because we are the modern embodiment of western power in the world today.

Anti-Semitism, goes hand and hand with anti Americanism.

[Stavroforos]

This just proves that Obama is not only a racist against whites, but also against Jews.

I mean, it's so obvious.

[Player989random]

U.S. doesn't care about Anti-Semitism. The last time it did was during the denazification of Germany.

[Hiero of Syracuse]

But what does this mean for the USA again, though I can see how people can feel like a second priority since Obama has yet to choose an envoy. But how does this make him racist?

[danzig]

But what does this mean for the USA again, though I can see how people can feel like a second priority since Obama has yet to choose an envoy. But how does this make him racist?

Same way it made Bush a racist even though two of the highest cabinet members were black and AG was hispanic (2nd one)....aka it doesnt make either but it wont stop people who have political viewpoints on the right or left attacking their counterparts. I will say from a pr move however it is amateurish of Obama to leave things that dont really matter like this open to an avenue of attack by those who want it to matter. He should know better on how it will be perceived by opponents especially when he is trying to champion midddle ground/neutral stance between Israel and rest of middle east.

I fear Obama's foreign policy will do nothing to make muslims happy and hence will continue to dislike us but will alienate Israel. I dont consider that a step forward.

[TheTrainee]

This is just stupid* over-analyzing. It doesn't show that Obama doesn't care about antisemitism. Appointing such an envoy isn't going to fix antisemitism in the Middle East. That's treating a symptom and not the cause. Let's assume that there's a fair (as Muslim nations see it) peace agreement between Israel and Palestine, and this whole Iranian proliferation situation works out (yay for optimism!), wouldn't that be treating a cause? The envoy would probably campaign that the most important issue for combating antisemitism is resolving this whole Israel - Palestine thing. Fix the big issue, which is what Obama is trying to do (notably, nobody has yet to succeeded at this, so yay pessimism!). One symbolic envoy is symbolic. Fixing the big problem is effective.


*and no, I am not saying Jews are stupid... nor is any particular police department or police officer. It's a stupid word, but a good one.

[Icefrisco]

An ambassador for anti-Semitism isn't so important now. In the modern era, the only Americans who were anti-Semitic as a whole were Blacks. However, even now they've become more tolerant. In 2006, Steve Cohen, a Jew, was elected from a heavily Black district in Memphis despite problems with anti-Semitism. Also, theres been a lot of improvement with Jewish-Black relations in NYCsince the riots of the early 90's. There are parts of America where being Jewish isn't popular but Jews simply shy away from these places. American anti-Semitism just isn't a problem for most Jews. Obama should definitely appoint an envoy on anti-Semitism but if he waits awhile to do so, its far from the end of the world.

[Georgy Zhukov]

Who gives a ? Anti-Semetism is long dead in my opinion. I've never experienced it or have seen any signs other then occasional vandalism. And the people who do that are just compensating for their own issues. I think we have bigger and better problems to worry about then a delayed appointment to an anti-semetism envoy.

An ambassador for anti-Semitism isn't so important now. In the modern era, the only Americans who were anti-Semitic as a whole were Blacks. However, even now they've become more tolerant. In 2006, Steve Cohen, a Jew, was elected from a heavily Black district in Memphis despite problems with anti-Semitism. Also, theres been a lot of improvement with Jewish-Black relations in NYCsince the riots of the early 90's. There are parts of America where being Jewish isn't popular but Jews simply shy away from these places. American anti-Semitism just isn't a problem for most Jews. Obama should definitely appoint an envoy on anti-Semitism but if he waits awhile to do so, its far from the end of the world.

Took the words out of my mouth

[★Bandiera Rossa☭]

The majority of the left wing have historically and still are more tolerant of other cultures and religions.. The right on the other hand often seem to have problems with other groups.. remember the KKK is a largely Christian Conservative group.. and many White Supremacist groups are on the right end of the spectrum.