Ben Rhodes admits Holocaust reference in Obama’s Cairo speech a ‘mistake’

Former deputy White House Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes called a controversial Holocaust reference in a 2009 speech by then-President Barack Obama in Cairo “a mistake,” during Jewish Insider’s “Limited Liability Podcast.”

The admission came in response to a question on the definition of Zionism. “I think what it’s always been,” Rhodes said. “The Jewish people deserve a homeland in their historic homeland. And I mean, that’s the simplest version.”

Obama’s speech, made to an audience of students at Cairo University, came less than five months after his inauguration, during a aimed at resetting U.S.–Middle East relations. “I’ve come here to Cairo to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world,” Obama said towards the start of his remarks. Later, while calling for peace between Israelis and Palestinians, Obama sought to explain the Israeli claim to its state.

“America’s strong bonds with Israel are well-known. This bond is unbreakable. It is based upon cultural and historical ties, and the recognition that the aspiration for a Jewish homeland is rooted in a tragic history that cannot be denied,” Obama said. “Around the world, the Jewish people were persecuted for centuries, and antisemitism in Europe culminated in an unprecedented Holocaust,” Obama said at the time.

The reference to the Holocaust drew criticism from politicians and historians, who noted that the movement for Jewish statehood pre-dated the Holocaust.

On this week’s podcast, Rhodes, who wrote the 2009 speech, acknowledged the criticism, calling the reference “a mistake I made.”

“That was a totally fair and accurate criticism, to discount the fact that this is the historic homeland of the Jewish people,” he admitted. “Israel didn’t just commence with the Holocaust itself.”

Rhodes, who also spoke on the episode about his background as a secular Jew, explained that the aim was not to speak to the origins of Israel. “Our intention in doing that, by the way, was to call out Holocaust denial in in the Muslim world and to speak to the fact that if you had the Holocaust, in your recent memory, it’s totally legitimate to be particularly concerned about security.”

Rep. Stacey Plaskett joins the ‘Limited Liability Podcast’

In this week’s episode of Jewish Insider’s “Limited Liability Podcast,” hosts Richard Goldberg and Jarrod Bernstein are joined by Rep. Stacey Plaskett for a frank discussion on Black-Jewish relations in America and representing a U.S. territory in Congress.

The following has been lightly edited for clarity.

Jarrod Bernstein  

Delegate Stacey Plaskett is the non-voting member of Congress from the United States Virgin Islands, a dear friend of mine, and we’re really thankful to have her on the podcast to talk about lots going on today. Why don’t we start off with, Delegate Plaskett, what is it like to be a non voting member of Congress?

Rep. Stacey Plaskett  

Well, I think that’s an interesting way of putting it, I would say it’s a limited voting. And the limited vote depends on who’s in power, how much of that limit is there. So all members of territories, or as I would say, all members of the American colonies have a right of voting in committees. And so we vote fully in committees. And when the democrats have control of the House, we vote on the floor on amendments. And when we are on the Committee of the Whole. We do not vote on final passage. When Republicans are in control, then there is no voting on the floor, and we are relegated to the votes and committees and just doing the other business of members of Congress. That is, you know, passing, sponsoring legislation, co sponsoring, debating, etc, etc. So one of the things that I have just noted, it’s interesting, I was talking to a group earlier today, is that in this position, I feel like I am, it’s the same as my life. Because I sit on the floor quite often and find myself being an observer rather than an actor. And I think it gives me a greater sense of members and strategy and thoughts about members than other members of Congress have. I can sit there and I know which member of New Jersey is going to vote first and which ones are waiting to see who another particular member votes ahead of them. Which members of the front line are waiting for the last minute because ‘I don’t want to take the vote,’ are waiting to be whipped by the majority leader or the whip team to ask them to vote a certain way. You know, it gives you a much greater observation. But it also means that you’ve got to work harder because you don’t have those votes to negotiate with,  with other colleagues and with the leadership. And so you’ve got to really be creative and a hustler. To get your skill done.

Jarrod Bernstein  

You’ve achieved quite a bit of notoriety for a delegate from a territory. You know, you don’t often hear a ton of news out of the territorial delegations, but you’re one of the house impeachment managers, you’re on Ways and Means. You alluded to it a minute ago when you said you’re a hustler. How is it to do advocacy as somebody who is using all the instruments of soft power? It seems like you’ve mastered this, but I’d be interested to hear more about how that actually works and how you make those deals.

Rep. Stacey Plaskett  

Soft power. Huh, soft power. I don’t know. I just have always felt that, you know, I was raised in a house where my mother explained to me that you’ve got to be better than everybody else. You’ve got to have more hustle than everybody. I’m putting you in the same places where people have much more resources than you and you’ve got to figure out a way to come out on top. I don’t want you to come home in the middle, or average or at the bottom, you’ve got to be on top. And so that’s always just kind of given me a drive. I came here knowing that I was going to make this position very different than the position had been previously.  I wanted to be outside of the box of what was expected, I asked not to be put on the same committees that the other territorial members had been placed on, because I wanted to forge a very different path. And interestingly, I think what I’m doing is so much about what we, as Caribbean people do in America. From the first Caribbean people who came to this country and offered support in its formation, we have always kind of had a chip on our shoulder and felt that we have more to prove. From our boy, Alexander Hamilton, right on through to today, we have to step outside of the box. People are looking at us a little askew. And so we’ve got to prove ourselves. And, you know, that’s the only way I feel that my constituents, who are often completely underserved, forgotten, and behind the eight ball, are going to get ahead.

Rich Goldberg  

When you look at other territories that have taken the step to have referendums to say, you know, ‘do you want to be a state not just a territory?’ Puerto Rico obviously comes top of mind, we had the referendum last Fall with with the ‘yes’ succeeding narrowly. The last referendum, I can think about the Virgin Islands is probably over 20 years ago, maybe there is one more recent. Is that something that’s come up? Has anybody thought about doing that? Where do you sort of stand on that idea of statehood for the Virgin Islands,

Rep. Stacey Plaskett  

So we just recently had a referendum that we would adopt the Congressional Organic Act as our Constitution, so that we can amend that. That passed overwhelmingly. And for the last two and a half years, I’ve been petitioning our local government, our local legislature and our governor, asking them if they would allocate a really small amount of money to educate Virgin Islanders on what the different status options are, and the pros and cons of each one. You know, what does it really mean, financially and economically, to be independent? What does it mean to be a state in terms of the politics of that? Or to be a Commonwealth? Or you know, any of the other possibilities that are there. Not so that people are just getting that off of the internet or off of somebody on a talk show, but really having a true understanding about each one of those and what that means. And then for us to have a referendum on it in the next two years. Two years from now, we will be 175 years from our emancipation from chattel slavery. And I believe that’s a prime time for us to, as a people, say, internally, this is what I want us to be. I can have my own ideas about where we should be, but that is not necessarily the will of the people. And I think that’s what should drive the decision making. And then, my final thought to that was that whatever that outcome is of that referendum, that should be the position that whomever represents us in Washington at that time, as well as the governor and the local government should be pushing for.

Jarrod Bernstein  

And to ask you a question a little bit closer to home, for me, at least. You know, I’m one of those obnoxious people who thinks the world ends at the Hudson River. So you did spend quite a bit of time growing up in New York City, in the five boroughs, and between there and St. Croix, we’ve talked a lot on the show about the relationship between the far-left and antisemitism and how some, you know, have tried to take the imprimatur of the Black Lives Matter movement and stretch it beyond its breaking point into something that is not particularly related to the Israel-Palestinian  .

Rep. Stacey Plaskett  

Do you talk about the far-right’s antisemitism?

Jarrod Bernstein  

I talk about the far-right’s antisemitism all the time.  But what is your take on the state of Black-Jewish relations generally, as as somebody who spent a lot of time in New York and as an observer and a thoughtful person about this, is it getting better? Is it getting worse? What can we be doing to build that relationship? As people like, Rich and I, have a big bully pulpit in the Jewish community. Knock on wood. What should we be talking about?

Rep. Stacey Plaskett  

That’s an interesting question. You know, I grew up Between Bushwick and Williamsburg, you know, so you’re getting different groups of the Jewish community, some which actually don’t even get along with each other, right. And then moving home to the Virgin Islands, which is a very interesting place, because we have one of the oldest, continually running synagogues in the Western Hemisphere, started by a Sephardic Jewish community. And then we also has a have a very sizable, Palestinian-Jordanian community as well, in the Virgin Islands. And they both coexist very well together. And so what is the position that I have taken on that as an African person of African descent, as someone who lives in America and African-American and Afro-Caribbean person? You know, I do think there are different groups of Jewish and Black communities think very differently about this, right? I think back on the protests this past summer, and there were Jewish people who were out there repping the fact that they were Jewish and supporting that Black lives do matter. And so when you say the term Black Lives Matter, are you talking about an organization or a theory? And for me, it’s a theory that, yes, our lives matter. And that’s what we’re trying to get across that until Black Lives Matter, then all lives don’t matter. And there were Jewish people, you know, Amish people who supported that. But there’s also, I think, a dichotomy and a belief that I brush up against, and that worries me, that my Jewish brothers and sisters think that if I support the existence of Palestine, that means that I don’t support them as Jewish people. And so that’s worrisome to me, like how do you navigate that? How do I believe that there should be a two state solution? That what is happening on both ends are problematic. That there should be a ceasefire, that we need to have peace and not feel like I am saying that one side is better or the other side is not? I’m supportive of the Jewish state, but I did not believe that Netanyahu is necessarily the best leader of the Jewish state at this time. I believe in a Palestinian state, but I condemn Hamas. So does one cancel out the other? I’m not sure. And that’s for me, to ask my brothers and sisters who are Jewish and that are of Palestinian descent, to educate me, and to help me figure that out, in the same way that I asked my white friends — I’m happy when they want to be educated, and want to be thoughtful about their position on Black people in America.

Rich Goldberg  

Yeah, I think, and I’ve contemplated this in the last few days and we’ve had lots of conversations. My synagogue was very active, like you talked about, in, you know, we’re in the middle of COVID lockdowns and, you know, we saw what happened with George Floyd and the protest movement started and people were very moved to go out to the streets and join and show their support. And, you know, they’re connected now to a lot of feeds, a lot of influencers, a lot of movements, networks, social organizations, that they got involved with from last summer, and they just, I think assumed, ‘okay, you know, we’re in solidarity here.’ And now with rockets raining down on Israel, we’re seeing real venom from some of these social media feeds within social organizations of comparing people who support Israel, to white supremacists and Nazis and the language — I think Jarrod was referring to — the language of anti-racism theory being hijacked for a different agenda. I think that’s what worries a lot of people is to see that kind of language which then moves from what you’re talking about, which is, ‘I don’t agree with this selected government. I support the right of a Jewish state to exist obviously in safety and security. I don’t like Netanyahu,’ to There’s a fundamental hostility in some of these messaging of the idea of a Jewish state that defends itself.

Rep. Stacey Plaskett  

I think you’ll find…I hear what you’re saying. I think also for a lot of Black people were concerned, because we also see Palestinians as Brown people in some respects. And so that, in some ways, makes us feel that we have an obligation to use our platform to maybe speak for a group that does not have the same platform as we do. And while I have a discussion on the floor, like, ‘Well, you know, not every Jewish person is white.’ The general consensus or cultural message that has been put to African-Americans is that Palestinians more likely represent the type of oppression that Black Americans have had, or Native Americans have had. It’s similar, as opposed to what, you know, a Jewish state created by the predominantly Ashkenazi European Jews.

Rich Goldberg  

It’s so stunning to me, because I reflect…and by the way, thank you for this conversation. This is such an important conversation that we haven’t had…I remember as a kid at the Passover Seder and the comparisons of the Civil Rights movement to the Passover story, and that being one of the major connection points for Black Jewish relations. And we remember, you know, that the Jewish leaders who were out there in the streets, you know, side by side with Civil Rights leaders at the time, and, and that sort of imagery, that song, you know, the Black Moses, right like that, there’s a lot of these sorts of things we talk about, where, where we bring that that comparison together. And yet, it’s evolved over the last few decades, it really has, into more of what you’re saying, where, I think that the early Jewish state had that sort of feeling of camaraderie, and somehow we’ve evolved into this narrative which has shifted. Even though, to your point, Israel rescued Ethiopian Jews and integrated Ethiopian Jews into Israel, the Misrathi Jews, you know, from all around North Africa and the Middle East. I don’t know how we I don’t know how we fight back that narrative, I don’t know.

Jarrod Bernstein  

And I would just observe, you know, the person who in this world taught me the most about the meaning of Passover was not a rabbi or a Hebrew school teacher, it was Barack Obama, when he pulled out a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation at the conclusion of the Seder, and sat in his home and made us read from the Emancipation Proclamation to really understand the American nature of the holiday. But, you know, I think the first step is having conversations like this, right, that are slightly uncomfortable, but very real. And, and confronting the issues. And this is how I’ve gotten to know the delegate and sort of my day job. It’s not to be shy, not to shy away from uncomfortable conversation.

Rep. Stacey Plaskett  

Yeah. I wonder, you know, for a lot of my colleagues when we’re having the discussion, you know, they bring up and help me with the pronunciation, the Nakba. Right? They talk about the displacement of the Palestinians, as a major inflection point in their shift in attitude, and I don’t know what you guys think of that. Can we come? Can we recognize a point when that has changed which could maybe be instructive to us about how to reevaluate that relationship?

Rich Goldberg  

Yeah, the Nakba is a troubling term, for me at least, because the reference historically is to the creation of the State of Israel. And so if somebody says, you know, ‘we were triggered by the Nakba,’ or you know, ‘we have to, we have to respond to the Nakba.’ To me, and again, maybe it’s becoming sort of general terminology that’s just being used without knowing the etymology, to me that represents ‘we have a problem that the Jewish state was created in 1948.’ And and in its root there, you know, to us again, as Jews, that can be sounding like antisemitism as well. ‘You don’t even believe that Jews have a right to exist as a Jewish state.’ Fundamentally, that’s a problem. But I guess the question is, where can we go as a community to have these sort of dialogues, you know, whether it’s closed door, you know, if it’s with the Black Caucus, if it’s with individual members. It sounds like either it’s Israel’s problem as a government, and obviously, I’m not here to advise the Israeli government. But as an American-Jewish community, I feel like we need to be doing more to bring some modern education to members and information of ‘Here is the diversity that exists in Israeli society. And by the way, here’s the lack of diversity that exists in the Palestinian territories.’ No LGBTQ rights, flourishing LGBTQ rights in Israel. No women’s rights in the Palestinian territories flourish and women’s rights in Israel. I think there’s a great progressive message here. It’s just it’s just getting lost somehow.

Rep. Stacey Plaskett  

Yeah, you’re assuming that all Black people are progressive?

Rich Goldberg  

No, I’m not saying that. Trust me as a Republican. I welcome as many conservatives to the party, trust me.

Rep. Stacey Plaskett  

I’m sure that members, particularly Black Caucus members are happy to have those conversations. I think what some of them may feel is that they’re not conversations, they’re being told what they are supposed to think or are supposed to do. And, you know, numbers and resources are being utilized as bludgeons to make them think they have to take a certain position.

Jarrod Bernstein  

I think, Rich, we should, use our bully pulpit to help advise the Jewish community as they engage with progressive members black and white, and any color.

Rep. Stacey Plaskett  

Some of us moderate members too.

Jarrod Bernstein  

Can I ask a House politics question, because we have a member of Congress on and I just I, I got to ask you, did McCarthy just sign a blood oath with President Trump from what he asked of Liz Cheney? And are the Cheneys going to have their revenge? Like, how is this gonna play out? It’s shocking to me that this all played out the way it is, but what’s your take on it?

Rich Goldberg  

By the way, Chicagoans, when you say blood oath, we can only think of ‘The Untouchables.’

Rep. Stacey Plaskett  

You know, I don’t. I don’t have an opinion on the Liz Cheney portion, as much. I mean, I understand her removal, because she isn’t following the message of leadership. And it’s very clear what the message is right now, of the House Republicans. I’m not saying all Republicans, but the House Republicans and her inability to agree with them about what happened on January 6 is a reason for her not to be in leadership. What I find more shocking is today, as we are about to vote on this commission, is that, McCarthy is now putting another member out to dry, because he had John Katko, who was the ranking member, the Republican on Homeland Security, negotiate for several months now, what this commission is supposed to look like. And he was able to get the concessions that McCarthy wanted only now for McCarthy to turn around and say, I’m not going to support it. Of course, he can’t support it, because the leader of his party, which is still Donald Trump, has said he doesn’t want to support it. And so, you know, I allow them to let them continue to have that battle. We’ve got our own issues on our side of the aisle. We’ve got, the far-left, going after moderate, thoughtful members, making people take the plank on issues that in some instances is going to cost them their seat. So those are the things that I’m concerned about on my own side of the aisle, and you know, keeping my head on a swivel to make sure that some of the wackadoodles on that side, on the other side. Like Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Boebert and some of the others recognize that they can’t step to everybody they think they can talk crap to. I’ll keep it…we have to stay clean.

Rich Goldberg  

Not in Yiddish, you’re allowed to swear.

Jarrod Bernstein  

Yeah, you’re allowed to curse in Yiddish.

Rich Goldberg  

We’ve had Congressmen do that before. I actually have a follow up because you’ve said a couple of times, you’re a moderate, we know you were formerly a member of the Republican Party, a Republican appointee in the previous administration. You know, when you look at that state of polarization right now on both sides, is there a middle that exists, that you’re a part of the you’re talking to other members, you’re doing bipartisan things that just we’re just not watching because it’s not good television? Or is it very much stressed even on that level?

Rep. Stacey Plaskett  

It’s stressed, but there’s some going on. But it’s not interesting. You know, it doesn’t make the news. I am in leadership with the New Democratic Coalition, which are the pragmatic, you know, moderate Democrats. And we just had a press conference on legislation, you know, a series of legislation that we’ve been working on with Republicans that we’re hoping the President will put in his jobs plan, you know, and it’s infrastructure bill, but I’m sure CNN, Fox News and MSNBC are not going to put that on the air. But even within that, Richard is extremely. There’s a heightened tension here in Congress every day on the floor, you can feel the tension. In previous years I would have stepped in an elevator with any member of congress and said, ‘Good afternoon, what’s going on? How’s your family?’ There are some, some members I won’t even get in the elevator with. At this point, I just don’t want to share any space with them.

Jarrod Bernstein  

Can you tell us about your experience on January 6? Tell us where you were and how that all went down for you?

Rep. Stacey Plaskett  

Yeah, I mean, I do not have the same trauma some of my other colleagues have. I was in my office. Was about to go to the floor. Had actually just put on my suit jacket and was walking out of the office when I was stopped at the front by one of my staffers and told, ‘They just told us to lock the door and you can’t leave the office.’ And so it’s interesting, because I look at the levels of trauma that are actually real trauma that I see in some of the members. And the ones who were up on that balcony, who for 45 minutes could not leave, were only Democrats and members of the press were up in the balcony area. They say they have their own support group counseling for some of them that they’re going through. You know, I kind of watched from television, went down into the holding area where all the members were at a later point, and eventually went back to my office. That evening, seeing what the Capitol looked like — the windows knocked out, feces on the walls in the Capitol. It was horrendous. It was a shock. Really a shock.

William Daroff joins the ‘Limited Liability Podcast’

Joining from Tel Aviv after over a week of hostilities between Israel and Hamas, Conference of Presidents CEO William Daroff joined Jewish Insider’s “Limited Liability Podcast” hosts Richard Goldberg and Jarrod Bernstein to talk about the atmosphere in Israel’s economic capital.

The following has been lightly edited for clarity.

Rich Goldberg  

William Daroff, CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations is in Israel. Joining us now to talk more about what’s going on William, welcome to the podcast.

William Daroff  

Thank you very much. Rich, it is a pleasure to be here. I’m a longtime listener, first time guest.

Rich Goldberg  

William, first of all, obviously a lot going on, you’re in Israel. Can you tell us the mood on the ground this week as the rocket attacks have dragged on?

William Daroff  

Yeah, it’s been remarkable being here in Tel Aviv we flew in on Sunday. It was difficult to get here. Had three different flights canceled, but then came in on the old, reliable El Al and arrived. It’s sort of a mix. Israel is amazingly resilient. Israelis have been through conflicts and crises on a monthly, daily, weekly basis, and they figure it out. When I cleared the quarantine — there’s a quarantine here upon arrival — and when I cleared the quarantine after my serology test came back showing that I had the vaccine, I went for a run along the beach here in Tel Aviv. And it was just like any other beach day in Tel Aviv, there were women wearing bathing suits you can barely see; men wearing bathing suits, you can barely see; playing that crazy game they play on the beach with those Boomerang type things that hit people; dogs running. It was just like a normal day on the beach. Notwithstanding the fact that 24 hours before you can see images of towels on the beach as people ran from the Tel Aviv beach to get into bomb shelters in the midst of it. So on the one hand, it’s business as usual. On the other hand, I know that many are on edge, particularly in the south in Ashkelon, Ashdod and then the communities that are on the sleeve surrounding Gaza, where there have been rocket attacks on a daily basis. Here in Tel Aviv, thank God, there has not been a rocket attack since Saturday. So it’s been five days or so since the last rocket attack. But I’ll tell you it’s affected me in a way that I have never been before. We have about four minutes from the time we hear a siren till we get to the bomb shelter in the basement of the building that we’re staying in. And so taking a shower is perilous. Every minute that you’re in there, every second that you’re in there, you know, wet, soap filled, is a minute or a second, that’s keeping you from getting down the steps. And it’s very scary. And it’s very nerve wracking. And it really connects me, I think, to a part of the Israeli mentality that I had just never been a part of before, which is just the sort of immediate realization and recognition that at any moment, rockets might be coming down on you, your life may be in danger, and you have to find a place to secure yourself. And it is unbelievable the way that Israelis are resilient around it, but also unbelievable that the international community looks on at this and is basically ignoring the fact that Hamas is indiscriminately firing upon civilians, or certainly to the extent they’re not ignoring it. They’re not giving up the right size concern that they should, nor the concern that they would have to happen to just about any other country in the world.

Jarrod Bernstein  

So William, speaking to that, and speaking that maybe a little bit closer to home, we’ve seen more conversation this go around within the United States, about how people feel about this conflict. Particularly there are elements of the Democratic Party. Maybe you could talk about some of the reasons why we’re seeing this conversation like we’ve never seen it before and what should the pro-Israel community be doing about it?

William Daroff  

So absolutely, there is a lot of noise out there. I think that a lot of it is amplified by social media. The social media atmosphere in 2014, the last time there was a big Gaza event, was not as robust as it is now. And so we see on social media, a great deal of attacks on Israel, total distortions of the facts by celebrities and other influencers and certainly by the news media, who are pushing one narrative out there without really in large respect taking account of Israel’s narrative. I think as a pro-Israel community, we should be grateful for the support of President Biden, who has been steadfast in recognizing and stating over and over again that Israel has a right to defend herself, that these indiscriminate attacks by a terrorist organization should not be countenanced. And to date has given pushback on the United Nations Security Council, I think four times now on statements and resolutions that would be condemning Israel, and continues to give support at a time when there are very, very few world leaders who are doing so and so I give a big thumbs up to President Biden and Secretary of State Blinken for standing with Israel despite the pressures from the international community, the human rights community, as you implied, or inferred, Jarrod, from a parts of the progressive community in the left wing of the Democratic Party.

Rich Goldberg  

So we have headlines from this past week US House speeches on Gaza, exposing growing rifts in the Democratic Party on Israel. We obviously saw the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, maybe even more concerningly, make an announcement originally that he was going to try to hold up an arms sale from the administration in Israel, he’s since reversed that position under some backlash. Are you worried, from an organized Jewish community perspective, that this is not just fringe anymore, that it is getting some legs in mainstream offices on Capitol Hill?

William Daroff  

I am certainly worried, I get paid to worry, on a daily basis about American support for a strong U.S.-Israel relationship. And for sure, a number of the statements that have come out from friends of Israel, who are a little bit more edgy than they would otherwise be, are concerning. But I’m reminded of the fact that just a couple months ago, three quarters of Congress came out opposed to any sort of conditioned aid for Israel, including, well more than half of the Democratic members of Congress. Two summers ago, almost 400 of the 435 members of the House voted to condemn the BDS movement. So I think the fundamentals of support for the U.S.-Israel relationship are there on a bipartisan basis. I think for sure — call it the fringes, I would call it the edges — there are loud folks and there is concern. I go back to Steny Hoyer, the House Majority Leader’s comments at AIPAC’s policy conference a few years ago, where he said ‘There aren’t four freshmen, there’s 64 freshmen,’ talking about the squad and their influence and their impact. I think that it’s certainly concerning, but I don’t think it’s the lead. I think it is a paragraph or two down. I do believe that when there is a hot war, a hot conflict like the one we have now, with the images that we’re seeing on television, from Gaza, that that certainly exasperates those tensions and causes — I think a technical term is tsuris — as it relates to these issues. But the bottom line is that the leader of the Democratic Party is Joe Biden, and, to date, Joe Biden has been precisely where, where the pro-Israel community the United States would want him to be. And from all I can tell where the government of Israel would want the United States to be.

Rich Goldberg  

With the caveat perhaps being that at the same time, his negotiators are in Vienna negotiating massive sanctions relief for the Islamic Republic of Iran to subsidize the terrorism we see conducted against Israel. You could respond to that, you don’t have to. But I would just point that out.

William Daroff  

You’re switching ledger’s on me, Rich.

Rich Goldberg  

It’s all one ledger in the Middle East.

William Daroff  

I’ll let Jarrod get me out of this. But I would, I would say it’s definitely a consideration that as the administration is standing firm for Israel and has Israel’s back, that that will definitively be a talking point that the administration will use to assuage fears by the pro-Israel community and by Israel, should there be some sort of deal about the extent to which the United States will continue to have Israel’s back, should the a new Iran deal go bad. I think that that is a definite consideration and something that’s in the mix, to the extent that that has the Biden administration standing stronger and firmer, I think that’s a good thing. That as it relates to an Iran deal, you know, we cross that bridge, when we come to it, we have expressed concerns about going right back into the JCPOA 1.0. But I think until there’s more there, you know, at this point, it remains it’s a separate ledger.

Jarrod Bernstein  

So William, I am gonna change topics on you a little bit here. But Rich, I’m sure we’ll find a way to come back to the JCPOA momentarily.

William Daroff  

I’m always happy to talk about veganism. Jarrod, you want to talk about that plant base,

Rich Goldberg  

The rockets raining down in Israel get paid by somebody from somewhere else, that’s all I’m saying.

William Daroff  

And you know, Rich I don’t want to dismiss that. It is a fact that but for Iran, Hamas would not have the wherewithal to do what they do. And that absolutely should be front and center. I absolutely add that to the parade of horribles of Iran, period.

Jarrod Bernstein  

We’ve been told for a long time, the balance of a presidency, in fact, that the Trump administration had this grand bargain and was was able to do, to give them credit, what nobody else had been able to do for a long time and achieving peace between Israel and many of the Gulf, many of the Arab states around it, and and start commercial ties, and really begin to usher in what we all thought was gonna be a era of prosperity. I guess my question is, what’s the end game here for Israel? They’re fighting this war with Hamas. You can already see cracks in the Abraham Accords starting to show up. Are they worth the paper they’re written on? And is this continuing conflict with the Palestinians and the inability to have any closure there going to compromise long term peace that we all thought was on the way.

William Daroff  

Excellent questions all. My sense is from talking to folks in the region, and talking to folks in the Gulf and talking to folks here in Israel, who engage with the Gulfis on a daily basis, that what we’re hearing from the Gulf is much more muted than what we would have heard two years ago. That the few statements that have come out…

Jarrod Bernstein  

I agree with that. But the question is, can conflict like this coexist with the accords and what they were supposed to produce?

William Daroff  

Yeah, I mean, I think one of the bottom lines of the accords was that not everything in the Middle East must run through Ramallah, that giving Abu Mazen the power and authority to dictate those issues was not something that was productive towards peace, not something was productive towards any sort of regional harmony. I think that is maintained today. I think, perhaps, the extent to which the UAE, the Saudis, Bahrain and others have influence over Israeli action. Maybe that’s not a bad thing. To some extent. They give a hescher, they make kosher, Israel’s activities and actions. And my understanding is they’ve been a productive player over this last 10 days of conflict. I don’t think that there were many of us who thought that it would be the end of the Palestinian conflict, or issues with Israeli Arabs and others because of the Abraham Accords, but I think it does set a template and a sort of a better view from that 20,000 feet of the possibilities here in the region. Despite the road bumps and clearly the critical issues that this conflict over the last 10 days has brought to the fore.

Rich Goldberg  

William, if I’m a listener at home, anywhere in the United States, and I’m thinking to myself, I’m worried about family and friends in Israel. I’m worried about William in Israel right now. But no, I’m very worried about this conflict. I’m worried for Israel’s safety. I am shaken by the social media feeds I’m seeing from people I was following last summer during Black Lives Matter. I was very supportive and now I’m getting whiplashed and seeing all kinds of anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian propaganda thrown my way. What can people do? What’s your message to the Jewish community out there of the three, four things people can do to be proactive, so they don’t feel like they’re just sitting around being victims?

William Daroff  

I think the first thing to do is to contact your member of Congress and your senators and the White House. And let them know that you are a voter and an activist and someone who is supportive of a strong U.S. relationship and recognizes the importance of the ability for Israel to defend herself against these terror attacks. That would be, I think, issue number one, and something that we can all do to ensure that our members of Congress are in the right place and that the administration stays focused, as they have over the last week plus of this conflict. I think secondly, is to engage on social media as well. Everybody started out with just one Twitter follower. My dog Miss Snuggles has, I think, over 700 followers on Twitter. I opened an account for her to sort of show that anybody can get followers and even a six pound Yorkshire Terrier, feel free to follow her @MissSnugs. And so you can tomorrow, get on Twitter, get on Tik Tok, get on Facebook, and express yourself to your universe of friends. Just looking on Facebook, as I’ve been doing a bit over the last few days, there are real conversations going among friends. The people who are Facebook friends, you know, not from our Jewish universe, are people who see us as a reliable source of information and someone who is a friend. If they’re a barber, or a neighbor, or PTA president and not engaged in the pro-Israel world, they need to hear from us and to hear our narrative as distinct from what they may be hearing on BBC or CNN or Al Jazeera, or reading in the mainstream press. So I think those are clear things they can do. And I think, thirdly, is to really express unqualified support for a strong Israel. There are many, many issues here in Israel that people are arguing about and disagree about. At Shabbat tables here and across the world you’ll hear more criticism of the Israeli government than you hear just about anywhere, including the Knesset. We all have issues that we work on, but right now is not the time to be piling on. Right now is the time to be hugging an Israeli. To be holding them in solidarity. To show that we, in the diaspora, we in American Jewry, understand the pain that they are going through. The fact that they are being attacked for one reason, and frankly, that one reason is because they’re Jewish. That is something we need to stand arm in arm with our Israeli brothers and sisters so they know that there is a wall of support, not just with the American government with American Jewry, from left to right from top to bottom.

Congresswoman Kathy Manning reveals she and Rep. Raskin are fourth cousins

On this week’s episode of Jewish Insider’s “Limited Liability Podcast,” hosts Richard Goldberg and Jarrod Bernstein were joined by Rep. Kathy Manning (D-NC) to discuss her support for the U.S.-Israel relationship, the current nuclear talks with Iran and the growing threat of antisemitism.

On whether to return to the JCPOA: “I don’t understand how you can go back to a deal that was put into place under different circumstances, many years ago,” said Manning of the negotiations to return to the 2015 Iran deal. “Some of the sunset provisions have already expired. We no longer have the arms embargo at the U.N. We were hoping that being in the deal would cause Iran to curb its bad behavior and perhaps even cease from some of its malign behavior in fostering terrorism around the globe. And what we’ve seen is that they’ve done exactly the opposite. We also see that when faced with real economic trouble for its own people, rather than use their resources to take care of their own people, they are using that money to continue to foster and support terrorists around the world. So when you think about all those things that have changed, or that we’ve learned from since when the deal was put into place, I don’t even understand how you can say, ‘Let’s get back into the same deal.’ We’re not in the same world today.”

Praise for Blinken: “I think in our new Secretary of State Tony Blinken, we have someone who is the consummate professional. He understands Iran, he understands Israel. Frankly, his knowledge of the world is extraordinary. And I believe that he has the right goals and also the right instincts. So we had an opportunity on the Foreign Affairs Committee to take testimony from him. And he was slated to stay for two hours, he was kind enough to expand that to four hours so that each one of us could ask our questions. And he was just fabulous. And the way he responded, and particularly on the Iran issue, he understood that we’re looking for a deal that is longer, stronger and broader. And I believe that he endorses that.” 

Middle East in a phrase? “‘The best of times, the worst of times.’ I wish it were original. We had a hearing yesterday on Syria. And when you get into the details of what has happened over the past 10 years in Syria, what a possible resolution could be, it’s extraordinarily complicated. And the fact that we have Iran trying to get a foothold there, that we have Russia establishing a foothold there, it adds a new dimension to the region. And you know, Russia won’t give up easily because it really wants to be there. On the other hand, I think the Abraham Accords are incredibly good. Give us hope. Somebody corrected me the other day when I said ‘Israel lives in a dangerous neighborhood,’ and somebody said, ‘Well, it’s not quite as dangerous as it used to be.’ I hope that’s correct. I think that the Abraham Accords certainly have been in the works for many years. And I think it is a demonstration of the fact that there are countries in the region that see Israel as, as a model.”

On succeeding former Reps. Eliot Engel (D-NY) and Nita Lowey (D-NY): “I could never fill the shoes of either of those two individuals. But I am a strong pro-Israel Democrat, and I’m not shy about it. And I will stand up for Israel, and I will also stand up for the U.S.-Israel relationship.”

On UNRWA: “I am going to be leading and getting my colleagues to sign on to a letter to the Secretary General of the United Nations objecting to using funds for the kinds of textbooks that we know they continue to promise not to use and yet they continue to use. Textbooks that are filled with incendiary, antisemitic comments and language and anti-Israel teachings. I believe, that’s got to stop and in this moment, when there’s such attention focused on discrimination of all types, I think this is the moment to step up to this issue as well.”

On how leading JFNA prepared her for Congress: “I was sitting in the House Gallery when the [January 6th] insurrection took place. And when all the commotion started, they told us to take off the gas masks. Because I was in the Gallery, we were the last group that was taken to safety. And when they finally got us to the other side of the gallery, they told us to get down on the floor, take off our member pins so that they couldn’t identify us if the insurrectionists broke into the doors. And then there was just quiet while we all sat and waited. And I thought to myself, I’ve been through much worse, I’ve had to run to bomb shelters in Sderot when you could actually hear sirens going off and the rockets coming over. And you know, I laugh about that, but I seriously thought about that and thought, ‘okay, I’ve been prepared for this. I’ve been through worse.’ I didn’t know that that was going to be preparation for being in Congress. And, of course, at the time, we couldn’t see what was going on outside the building. Nor could we have ever imagined what was going on outside. But I think my work in the Jewish world prepared me well.”

Favorite Yiddish word? “I think machatunim, because there is no English equivalent. And when you try to describe what that word is to non-Jews, first they get confused, and then they say, ‘Well, why don’t we have a word for that?’” When told she had chosen the same word as former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), Manning cheerfully replied, “We have something in common!”

Jewish geography: Manning revealed the recent family discovery that she and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) are fourth cousins. “It is a very small world.”

Eric Cantor: GOP needs to return to ‘suburban agenda’

Former Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) joined Rich Goldberg and Jarrod Bernstein on this week’s episode of Jewish Insider’s “Limited Liability Podcast.” Cantor shared his thoughts on the state of the Republican Party and the trajectory of bipartisan support for Israel in Washington.

Who leads the GOP: “Clearly Donald Trump has demonstrated that he’ll do what’s good for him, no question about it,” Cantor said. “And so it’ll be an interesting primary season for the midterm elections in 2022 to begin to understand what Donald Trump will do. If he wants to maintain his importance, obviously, he’ll need to play ball with the party, if you will. If he wants to do what’s good for him and believes he can be of outsize [importance] on his own. That’s a different story. And then in the meantime, clearly, the other leaders in the party nationally, [Senate Minority Leader] Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has stated very definitively that it is his job to go in and make sure that Republicans regain the majority in the Senate. My former colleague and successor, [Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA)] has said, without qualms, that his job is to make sure that Republicans regain the majority in the House. So at that point, I don’t think you have a national voice speaking for the Republican Party. And naturally that will come as we then pass the midterms and begin the primary season for the presidential race, which will occur in ‘24.”

Suburban living: Asked about the key steps Republicans would have to take in order to win back the House and Senate, Cantor recalled his early days in Congress with fellow Republican (Goldberg’s former boss) then-Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL): “I first went to Washington, and I was in Mark’s class, and Mark was famous for the suburban agenda. I will say today, that that’s what my party needs to regain its footing within the electorate that it seems to have lost during the last four, six, eight years. And it is about speaking to the suburban professional voter, because I worry that without those voters, states — like mine in Virginia, and others throughout the country — it’s just becoming increasingly difficult for my party to be electorally competitive….You’ve seen it take place in a state like Colorado, obviously, you’re seeing it increasingly take place in sunbelt states like Arizona and Georgia. So there is a real question.”

Growing up Jewish: “I grew up in a not-so-Jewish community. It was, obviously a suburban Richmond city in Virginia, small Jewish population, fairly prominent, but small. And so the district had maybe 1%, or less Jewish [population]. I went to a private school in Richmond, and I went to chapel every single day — it was a Protestant school. I often tell people I was exposed to prayer in school early on. And at the same time, in the afternoon, I’d go to Hebrew school. So it was sort of a great upbringing for me, because I think it brought it closer to the faith and who I am as a Jew… When I first got elected to Washington, being in such a minority within a minority, it was almost like people would parade through my office just to see this individual, like this creature — like a freak show. But again, I do think that I was able to project the notion that both of our parties should be open to all faiths.”

Special relationship: “Increasingly, I think two things happened on Israel. One is, as we saw, the more radicalization, if you will, of the progressive left. That term they use of intersectionality — I don’t quite understand all of it — but if you’re a victim, then we’ll be for you because we’re a victim. And it almost became [like] Israel after the Yom Kippur War proved to the world that it was no longer the underdog, and that it was actually the strongest player, certainly in the Levant, and in the eastern Mediterranean, if not throughout the Middle East… Secondly, during the Obama administration, there’s no question about it, [then-White House Chief of Staff] Rahm Emanuel — [Rich’s] fellow Chicagoan — was unequivocal at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue: he was not supportive of Bibi [Netanyahu] as prime minister. And the sharing of political talent on both sides that played out in Israel reflected what we had going on here. So I do think those two issues really started to cloud the support for Israel? I do think it’s still somewhat bipartisan, but there’s definitely a lot more difficulty at it.”

Lightning round: Favorite Yiddish word? “The term, for which there is no English word and only Yiddish, is Machatunim” said grandparent-to-be Cantor, who earlier in the episode described meeting his wife, a Florida Democrat, on a blind date in New York City. Favorite part of Passover? “The eighth day at sundown.” Current reading list? Dealing with China: An Insider Unmasks the New Economic Superpower by Hank Paulson, and We Should Have Seen It Coming: From Reagan to Trump — A Front-Row Seat to a Political Revolution by Gerald Seib. Favorite place in Virginia nobody has heard of? “Colonial Trail, which is a new bike trail between Richmond and Williamsburg and goes along the plantation alley along the James River, is a great new addition.”

Senator Gillibrand joins Jewish Insider’s ‘Limited Liability Podcast’

On this week’s episode of Jewish Insider’s “Limited Liability Podcast,” hosts Richard Goldberg and Jarrod Bernstein were joined by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) to discuss her relationship with New York’s Jewish community, the recent allegations against New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, and her take on how to approach Iran’s continued nuclear development.

Community ties: Gillibrand, who represents the largest Jewish population outside of Israel, spoke at length about her ties with New York’s Jewish community. “It’s a very diverse community,” she said. “It’s a community that cares deeply about New York and their fellow citizens. It’s a community that truly believes in the greater good; a lot of the not for profits that are run by Jewish leaders are among the best in the state. So it’s a real joy to spend time and to work with people in the Jewish community across our state.” Still, Gillibrand emphasized the dangers facing the community, which has seen a dramatic increase in targeted hate crimes. Calling antisemitism an “exponential” and “constant growth across the country,” she specifically blamed former President Donald Trump. “When they had the Charlottesville riots and chants were done that were deeply offensive against the Jewish community… President Trump did not stand up to it.”

“What I try to do in the U.S. Senate is be a galvanizer for legislation and policies to fight antisemitism.” Gillibrand — who later named “chutzpah” as her favorite Yiddish word — continued. “I typically lead the legislation and the bills that relate to fighting against antisemitism at the UN, which unfortunately, the Human Rights Council is often used as a platform for antisemitism. I also lead the letters and the funding to fight against antisemitism and to keep our community safe.”

On Cuomo: An early advocate supporting the #MeToo movement, Gillibrand came under pressure this past week to address the sexual harassment claims leveled against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Calling the allegations “obviously serious” and “deeply concerning,” the Albany native offered her support for the independent investigation requested by New York Attorney General Tish James. “I support her doing that. And I think that is the appropriate next step to allow people to be heard and allow facts to be gathered.”

“Many survivors, men and women, who have endured sexual violence, sexual harassment in the workplace, when they told the authorities what happened to them, they were disbelieved. And so the investigation never took place. So justice had no possibility of ever being done,” Gillibrand continued.“That’s why we have things like the [Equal Employment Opportunity Commision], and we have other systems to guarantee that we fight against antisemitism, that we fight against racism, [that we] fight against sexism, that we fight against harassment in the workplace. And so what I do is work on a bipartisan basis to change the way we deal with these cases.”

On Iran: Gillibrand reiterated her opposition to the U.S. leaving the 2015 Iran deal under Trump, explaining that her support for the deal fit with the evidence presented to Congress. “I sit on the Armed Services Committee, I now also sit on the Intelligence Committee, and at that time, our national security experts — our CIA, our Department of Defense — all said that the deal made such a better position for America in terms of national security,” she explained, “because we would gain all the knowledge of the minds, the mills, the centrifuges, the production, and we’d have hands on eyes on each production facility and and that they believed was the kind of intelligence that could not be passed up for any future conflict that might be necessary if Iran did breach…So that’s why I supported it. If we’re going to enter into it again, we need to have the same national security priorities”

Asked about [International Atomic Energy Agency] reports of undeclared Iranian sites, Gillibrand mentioned a trip to Vienna before the pandemic to meet with IAEA officials on the issue. “I certainly hope as soon as COVID is under control that we can take another trip out there and to not only meet with the IAEA again, but meet with our partners in the region, to assess the credibility of the review and where and how the US should stand with the world community against Iran,” she continued.

Lightning Round: Favorite Yiddish word? Chutzpah. Books she’s currently reading: Presidents of War: The Epic Story, from 1807 to Modern Times by Michael Beschloss and Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card (with her son). Favorite upstate New York delicacy? Apples, especially Honeycrisp and McIntosh, and Stewart’s ice cream. Most admired New York politician past or present? Former Senators Hillary Clinton and Daniel Patrick Moynihan.

Ritchie Torres vows to prevent the ‘Corbynization’ of progressive politics

Freshman Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) cautioned about the rise of antisemitism in progressive politics during a wide-ranging conversation in the inaugural episode of Jewish Insider’s “Limited Liability Podcast,” hosted by Rich Goldberg and Jarrod Bernstein.

Torres, who describes himself as “the embodiment of a pro-Israel progressive,” said he is mindful of anti-Israel elements within the Democratic Party that have the ability to turn antisemitic. “We have an obligation to combat antisemitism no matter where it emerges, whether it’s from the right, from the left. It has to be fought at every turn and in every form,” he said. 

“My concern is that the pro-BDS left could be to the Democratic Party in American politics what Jeremy Corbyn has been to the Labour Party in British politics,” Torres cautioned. “It only takes a few demagogues to pump antisemitic poison into the bloodstream of a political party. And so I see it as my mission to resist the Jeremy Corbynization of progressive politics in the United States.”

Torres, a freshman representing New York’s 15th congressional district, addressed his hard-fought primary victory, which pitted him against a diverse group of Democratic candidates, from the conservative Rubén Díaz, Sr. to Democratic socialist Samelys López, who had the backing of high-profile progressive leaders and groups.

“New York City has become ground zero for Democratic socialism. In the latest election cycle, the [Democratic Socialists of America] won every single race in which it endorsed, except mine,” noted Torres, who on Thursday endorsed New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Yang.

“I had powerful forces arrayed against me — I had Bernie Sanders, [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez], the [Working Families Party], the DSA, all endorsed Samelys López against me. And not only did I win, but I won decisively,” Torres said of his primary victory. “And I sent a powerful message that you can run as a pro-Israel, pragmatic progressive without catering to the extremes and you can win decisively in a place like the South Bronx.”

“Limited Liability Podcast” is a new weekly podcast for readers of Jewish Insider. Hear from the key players generating buzz and making headlines in conversation with two top political operatives, Jarrod Bernstein and Rich Goldberg. One Democrat, one Republican. Both hosts have extensive experience in the political arena and a deep rolodex to match. It’s Jewish Insider’s Daily Kickoff brought to life.