Politicians and pundits ponder Presidential picks

Both Americans and Israelis treasure the unique mutual friendship of the two democratic countries, hearkening back to President Harry Truman’s pioneering recognition of the newly reconstituted State of Israel in 1948.

This friendship is still maintained although it has at times seemed to be on shaky ground. Three recent presidential appointments and the actions of a previous vice president have left members of Congress and pundits to question the motives and thought process involved in the choices.

President Barak Obama nominated (Charles) Chuck Hagel, former Republican United States Senator of Nebraska from 1997 to 2009, to the position of Secretary of Defense. He is a Vietnam War veteran, and returned to careers in banking, voting machine manufacturing, and is now a university professor and is co-chairman of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board. He serves on various boards of directors; one is Chevron Corporation. Said Helen Freedman, Executive Director of AFSI (American Friends for a Safe Israel), “his animosity towards Israel and the Jews has been expressed countless times over the years. He failed to sign a bi-partisan letter to the EU to add Hezbollah to its list of terrorist organizations. As Chairman of the Atlantic Council, he approved the publication of a front page article titled, “Israel’s Apartheid Policy.” Nebraska Jews are quoted as saying about their Senator that he “didn’t give a damn about the Jewish community.” He was one of only two U.S. Senators who voted against renewing the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act.” Senator John McCain, (R. Arizona) said, “ I have serious concerns about positions (he) has taken on a range of critical national-security issues in recent years.”

Another presidential appointee is John Brennan, to the position of director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Brennan is currently Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism and Assistant to the President.

He earned a BA in political science from Fordham, learning Arabic and Middle Eastern studies at the American University in Cairo in his junior year abroad. He has an MA in Middle Eastern studies and is fluent in Arabic. His CIA career of 25 years included time in Saudi Arabia. He was deputy executive director of the CIA in 2001. The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) “has expressed concern at and opposition to” Brennan’s nomination, citing his unwillingness to name radical Islam as “waging war on the U.S.”, calling Jerusalem “Al Quds,” criticizing the U.S. for “Iran bashing” as the source of the problem the U.S. has with Iran, believing 2003 reports that Iran had abandoned its nuclear program, defending Hezbollah as having moderated, and other concerns. ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said that Brennan’s nomination as “someone who has whitewashed Hezbollah as a moderating, legitimate political group, pretends jihad is a harmless and unproblematic Muslim religious obligation, and called Jerusalem Al-Quds – is deeply worrying and a further sign of the disastrously wrong direction the Obama Administration is taking the U.S.”

The third appointee causing pundit concern is the President’s choice of senior U.S. Senator John Kerry to the position of Secretary of State. He has been a senator (Democrat) in Massachusetts since 1985. He served in the naval reserve in Vietnam for four months. Kerry has a record of not signing on to letters to support sanctions against Iran, that Arabs negotiate with Israel, renounce terror and recognize Israel’s right to exist. In 2003, Kerry condemned Israel’s security barrier, a safety measure that prevented countless terrorist attacks in Israel. Kerry met with Syrian father and son dictators Hafez and Bashir Assad at different times, and termed Syria “an essential player in bringing peace and stability to the region.”

Citing Kerry’s record, Klein stated that Kerry “would be weak on Iran, terrorism and supporting Israel.”

In other news, former United States Vice President Al Gore sold his cable television company to Al Jazeera, the Qatari based Arab media company. Gore, a promoter of green energy and who reportedly never took advertising from oil companies, now turned over his media company to an oil based country’s news arm. This greatly expands the Arab station’s market in the U.S. Said Freedman “I am not surprised, but dismayed at Al Gore’s December 31, under the tax deadline, sale of his Current TV to Al Jazeera. He felt that selling to Glenn Beck would be betraying his ideals, so selling to an outlet that supports Hamas, Hezbollah and the terrorist organizations that threaten America and Israel seems to fit into his ideology. No surprise here, but we see this as a shameful act of betrayal.”

To voice your concerns call New York Senator Charles Schumer at 212 486-4430 or in Washington at 202 224-6542 or email at www.schumer.senate.gov/contact/ and call New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand at 212 688-6262 or in Washington at 202 224-4451 or email at www.gillibrand.senate.gov/contact/