RNC Chairman Injects Partisanship Into U.S.-Israel Relationship

David Streeter — May 27, 2010 – 10:40 am | Israel | Stop the Smears Comments (0) Add a comment

On Sunday, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele appeared at an Israel rally in New York City and used the occasion to fear-monger and perpetuate myths about President Barack Obama and the Democratic Party’s support for Israel. Steele’s purposeful effort to ignore the facts regarding the U.S.-Israel relationship and his egregious partisan posturing are beyond the pale and unbecoming of a political party head.

 

Most disturbingly, his remarks and attacks – divorced as they are from reality – inject partisanship into the U.S.-Israel relationship. You may recall that just recently, Israel’s Ambassador to the United States Michael B. Oren expressed deep concern over the increasing use of support for Israel as a partisan issue in American domestic politics.

 

Below is a minute-by-minute breakdown of Steele’s most outrageous statements (based off of the videos from YouTube):

 

 

6:40

Steele accused the United States of having “abdicated” its traditional role as Israel’s closest ally.

 

This claim has been routinely contested by Israeli leaders through their public statements. For a first-hand account, see Israel’s Ambassador to the United States Michael B. Oren’s recent statements, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak’s statements from his recent visit, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s interview with Good Morning America, and Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel’s remarks following his meeting with Obama.

 

7:05

The Obama Administration has “left Israel to fend for herself.”

 

As JTA’s Ron Kampeas noted, three days before Steele’s appearance, the Democratic-led congress approved supplemental funding, requested by Obama, for Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system.

 

8:00-8:29

 “We are governed by a modern-day Neville Chamberlain.”

 

House Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia Chairman Gary Ackerman (D-NY) recently wrote a scathing critique of those who use “appeasement” comparisons to advance their political agendas. Ackerman wrote that the “charge is offensive and absurd” and that it distorts the true historical definition of appeasement.

 

Click here to watch MSNBC’s Chris Matthews call out a right-winger for not knowing the true meaning of appeasement.

 

8:30

“Obama is more likely to offer Iran a Greece-style bailout than… put a stake in the heart of her nuclear ambitions.”

 

Somebody shouted “liar” from the audience…

 

 

 

 

  

:01-:30

Steele engaged in egregious fear-mongering vis-à-vis the Iranian nuclear threat.

 

The Iranian threat is a very serious situation. Steele’s decision to condense the single greatest existential threat facing Israel into a sound byte is not being pro-Israel; it’s being demagogic. As the RNC’s head, Steele’s remarks reek of an attempt to scare American Jews into voting Republican. It fits in perfectly with the RNC’s leaked fundraising scheme from March.

 

The Obama Administration is taking the Iranian threat very seriously and has made preventing a nuclear-armed Iran a top priority of its foreign policy agenda. Israeli leaders (here, here, and here—just as recent examples) have roundly praised this effort and it has become crystal clear that the world is firmly united against a nuclear-armed Iran. Just last week the Obama Administration announced that it had reached a major diplomatic achievement in the United Nations Security Council by garnering unanimous support for strong sanctions against Iran.    

 

Steele’s statements appear to be a politically-motivated cheap shot at Obama rather than a credible critique of a highly-nuanced foreign policy.

 

1:25-1:45

Steele charged that “common courtesy” was not given Netanyahu when he visited the United States in March.

 

Ever since his visit, Netanyahu and Oren have consistently refuted this baseless charge.

 

The Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC), however, appears to have dubbed the official Israeli account of the visit “BS.”

 

1:56

Steele charged that the Obama Administration has an “appeasement first mentality.”

 

            See 8:00-8:29 of video #1 above.

 

2:35

Steele claimed that the Republican Party “offers solidarity with Israel,” not the Democrats.

 

This is just more of the same Republican political posturing over the U.S.-Israel relationship. As we observed when the Republican Jewish Coalition dismissed our Israeli Embassy-approved fact sheet as “BS,” Steele’s remarks appear to be in conflict with Oren’s call for bipartisanship when it comes to the U.S.-Israel relationship.

 

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