- TPMtv: Bitter (Pundits) Pill
- Stop Using Israel As a Bludgeon
- In Philadelphia, Obama's Historic Challenge
- The Negro Sings Of Zionism
- Is It Pandering to Jews or Scapegoating Them: Plus McCain's Sterling Endorsement of Talking to Hamas
- Bush Birthday Gift to Israel: WAR
- Welcome to Skid Row
- Ya Gotta Watch This....The Best Hillary Impersonations Ever -- Not Mean Either
- A Republican-Hugging Debate: The Sins of Debbie Wasserman Schultz
M.J. Rosenberg
- : M.J. Rosenberg works in Washington supporting US efforts to advance an Israeli-Palestinian agreement. Previously, he worked on Capitol Hill for various Democratic members of the House and Senate for 15 years. He was also a Clinton political appointee at USAID. In the early 1980s, he was editor of AIPACs weekly newsletter Near East Report. After the signing of the Oslo Accords, Rosenberg broke with the AIPAC position and became a strong advocate of the "two-state solution" to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The views he expresses at TPMCafe are his alone.
Is It Pandering to Jews or Scapegoating Them: Plus McCain's Sterling Endorsement of Talking to Hamas
If I did not know better I would think that there is some conspiracy out there to produce an anti-Semitic backlash in a country, this country, that has been relatively free of that scourge since its founding. Think about it....more »
Posted on May 16, 2008 9:44 AM
Bush Birthday Gift to Israel: WAR
I know I'm breaking TPM rules by using my space to link to another Cafe piece. But I have to do it. Everybody needs to read Todd Gitlin's report about the cheerleading conference on war with Iran that is taking...more »
Posted on May 15, 2008 1:33 PM
Ya Gotta Watch This....The Best Hillary Impersonations Ever -- Not Mean Either
Thanks to Andrew Sullivan for finding this. Watching Rosemary Watson helps this Obamaniac even feel some sympathy for the former next President. She is absolutely brilliant. They are all great. Start with this old one from Iowa and then the...more »
Posted on May 14, 2008 9:02 AM
It's Obama-Clinton
I can't help myself. I can't help but think that Obama-Clinton is the dream ticket. No, not because Hillary is my second favorite Democrat. She isn't. But I doubt Lyndon Johnson was the Kennedy people's second favorite either. The name...more »
Posted on May 13, 2008 6:49 PM
Obama On Israel-Palestine
I previously referenced this interview in my Cafe piece on Joe Lieberman's smear about Obama and Hamas. But I want to comment on it independent of that silliness. This is a great interview about Israel. That is not because Obama...more »
Posted on May 12, 2008 4:34 PM
Pulling The Plug on Lieberman PLUS Obama Talks About Israel
So now Lieberman is putting out the line that a Hamas "endorsement" of Obama is the same as an Obama endorsement of Hamas. I'm not going to argue about the illogic of Lieberman's statement. Or its sheer obscenity. If Obama...more »
Posted on May 12, 2008 12:04 PM
Five Myths About Being Pro-Israel by Jeremy Ben Ami of J Street Project
Jeremy Ben Ami, the founder of the J Street Project, has a piece in Sunday's Washington Post about what it means to be pro-Israel. Not surprisingly, Jeremy -- who is an American but from a very prominent Zionist family in...more »
Posted on May 9, 2008 4:18 PM
The Holocaust and The Occupation
Yesterday Israelis commemorated Yom Ha'Shoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. Next week is Israel's 60th Independence Day. That Independence Day immediately follows Yom Ha'Shoah is appropriate. Together these two days encapsulate the message: Never Again. The existence of Israel is in no...more »
Posted on May 2, 2008 4:17 PM
Hatemonger Daniel Pipes: Forget Rev. Wright, Obama is a Muslim!
I guess the Wright story is passe. Daniel Pipes, the one-time academic and now full-time race warrior, is back to proving that Barack Obama is a Muslim. If only Barack had just said so. If he's a Muslim, he obviously...more »
Posted on May 1, 2008 1:06 AM
Netanyahu Agreed To Give Golan Heights Back to Syria
The irrepresible Bibi Netanyahu is now attacking Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for contemplating returning the Golan Heights in exchange for a binding peace with Syria. Nothing surprising about that except Daniel Levy now has the proof that when Netanyahu was...more »
Posted on April 30, 2008 11:41 AM
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Brilliant piece, Todd. And bravo to Steve Spiegel for standing up to the war mongering. I'm glad you are at that conference. And I'm glad I skipped it.
Sounds like AIPAC on steroids.
How utterly amazing that these guys would put their populations (and ours) under threat rather
than simply sit down with the Iranians and negotiate a "grand bargain" that would end the threat.
I say that both as an American,who has no interest in putting my kids at risk in a game of chicken with the Mullahs, and as a Jew who fears that an Israeli military attack on Iran would lead to the destruction of Israel.Madness, absolute madness.
If it is going to happen, it has to happen between now and Jan. 20. Neither Obama nor McCain are embarking on a second neocon war. Onviously Obama wouldn't. But neither would Mc Cain because he is a patriot who would not let the Feith-Perle & Co. axis anywhere near power.We need to worry from now until 1-20. After that,
this particular kind of nutcase will be out in the cold, celebrating the beautiful success their Iraq war turned out to be.
Posted at May 14, 2008 11:07 PM in response to Iran: What's the Game?
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I think it's a fine defense. She just dismisses the story as meaningless. Perfect.
Posted at May 14, 2008 4:22 PM in response to Hillary Defends Obama From McCain's Hamas Attack
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It is especially impressive how funny she can be without being mean. Also, I never noticed before how Chicawgo Hillary sounds.
Posted at May 14, 2008 2:50 PM in response to Ya Gotta Watch This....The Best Hillary Impersonations Ever -- Not Mean Either
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I do believe what I wrote. But I am easily convinced the other way.
My only concern is that Obama win. If it takes Hillary to do it, that is what I'm for. I'm a liberal, obviously, and prefer a more progressive type.
But if Obama has to go the center right Evan Bayh route, I'd prefer a Hillary because she will energize women voters, and plenty of others who just like her. My real choice would be one of the 22 senators who voted "no" on the war. For me, the war vote was the #1 test of leadership and character.
Posted at May 14, 2008 12:27 PM in response to Ya Gotta Watch This....The Best Hillary Impersonations Ever -- Not Mean Either
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Right. NY is in the bag. But we need the people she's been attracting, particularly older women. Anyway, I like Democratic unity tickets so long as my candidate is on top.
Posted at May 13, 2008 7:43 PM in response to It's Obama-Clinton
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Jimmy Carter beat Ted Kennedy in 16 out of 20 primaries and then lost the election to Reagan in 1980.
There is zero correlation between winning primaries and winning the general. Anyway, the racist vote will go Republican in November, in contrast to now.Posted at May 13, 2008 2:46 PM in response to If a Black Man Still Can't Get Served in a West Virginia Restaurant, How Can a Black Candidate Expect to Get Any Votes?
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Every election in this country since 1964 has been about black people.
The south is Republican because of racism. Obama lost PA and OH because of racism. And the upcoming election would not even be a contest but for racism.
In that sense, it is all about black people. If Obama was white, he's be winning a landslide. As LBJ predicted, the Dems lost the majority of whites when it endorsed voting rights.
This country is all about race. Always has been.
Posted at May 13, 2008 2:08 PM in response to The Myth Of The Black Racist Voter
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"More than racist, they are insecure and scared. Race is a factor, but it is definitely not racism in the sense of the social and political superiority as we commonly understand the term."
Sez you. Racism is racism is racism.
Posted at May 13, 2008 11:32 AM in response to The Negro Sings Of Zionism
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This is a brilliant piece. Have you read Arthur Hertzberg's introductory essay to his classic "The Zionist Idea." Sounds like you have.
In any case, pandering on Israel is little different than all the pandering candidates do on virtually every issue. The way I see it, a candidate has to say what he has to say. I have no doubt that Obama is more empathetic to both Israelis and Palestinians than any candidate ever to have run for President. He says what he has to say to make sure Jewish voters understand that the black man is not going to sell out Israel (race is a huge factor here. The Israel first Jews tend to be the more racist Jews in the community). But he will not bash Palestinians.
This brings me to Amy Poehler's brilliant HRC bit on SNL. "I'll say anything to be elected. My opponent won't." That is exactly true.
Posted at May 13, 2008 11:10 AM in response to The Negro Sings Of Zionism
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Thanks, Blue Pearl. I will keep speaking up. My side of the debate -- the clear majority of Jewish Americans -- has been silent too long. These rightwing ethnic chauvinists bring to mind that Jack Nicholson line, they "can't handle the truth."
And they work around the clock to suppress it.
I'll tell you, if I didn't have a secure job and money in the bank, I'd be scared shitless to take on this issue.
Look at what these people are doing to Rob Malley. Luckily he has a Harvard Law degree, but they are trying to make him unemployable because he dared to write that Barak was as bas as Arafat at Camp David.
Posted at May 12, 2008 11:00 PM in response to Obama On Israel-Palestine
