palestinechronicle.com
Rahm Emanuel and the Big Lie
Wednesday, March 06 2002 @ 07:22 PM GMT
By Ray Hanania
I have a message for Rahm Emanuel, the former
fundraising enforcer who these days likes to pass himself
off as a victim of a vicious anti-Semitic campaign:
Have the courage to stand up and tell the truth, Rahm,
and stop hiding behind the over-abused and sometimes
misused attack of "anti-Semitism" to defend yourself. Your
behavior is cowardly.
This week, Rahm Emanuel's history surfaced in the final
weeks of the campaign for US Congress for the 5th
District, a race that has him pitted against seven other
challengers including the lead challenger, Polish-American
politician and State Representative, Nancy Kaszak.
Ed Moskal, a Polish American newspaper publisher in
Chicago and President of the Polish American Congress,
had the audacity to challenge Rahm Emanuel's loyalty to
the United States during remarks he made at the Casimir
Pulaski Day Polish American Day Parade. Moskal's
newspaper had endorsed Kaszak, who immediately
renounced the endorsement when the anti-Semitism
charges started flying at Emanuel's behest.
Mr. Moskal attacked Emanuel saying he has dual
citizenship with Israel and accused Emanuel of serving in
the Israeli army, an army that has shed its nomicker as a
"Defense Force" in its brutal murder of innocent
Palestinian civilians and assassination of Palestinian
political leaders it dislikes. The fact that the Middle East
conflict is the focus of American Foreign Policy might
suggest that the issue would be front-and-center in the
race for Congress.
But not for Mr. Emanuel, who has joined his supporters in
categorically denying Mr. Moskal's claims. It is so
definitive that there isn't any room to wiggle, so "factual"
to many journalists that even the host of an NPR station
in Chicago when questioning Kaszak about the charges,
said flat out, that the claims "are a lie."
What is the truth.
The truth is there for all to see.
Certainly, Mr. Moskal overstepped his bounds in criticizing
Emanuel. But his anger certainly reflects the longstanding
poor relations that exist between Chicago American
Jewish community and Chicago's American Polish
community.
But Mr. Moskal is correct about two points that Mr.
Emanuel and his political allies are lying about as certainly
as a lie was ever made.
FACT: Rahm Israel Emanuel did have an Israeli passport.
He did have Israeli citizenship. Rahm Emanuel, no matter
how hard his supporters want to insist it is a lie, held dual
citizenship with Israel until the age of 18 when he gave
up his Israeli passport.
FACT: Rahm Israel Emanuel DID serve 2 1/2 weeks in the
service of the Israeli army during the Gulf War in an Israeli
army base on the Lebanese border, wearing an Israeli
army uniform and working to repair Israeli military vehicles.
PROOF: Emanuel told these facts to Washington Post
reporter Lloyd Grove that was published on July 7, 1992.
He repeated them proudly to Boston Globe reporter Adam
Pertman in a story published n Jan. 11, 1993. In both
stories, Emanuel confirmed he held an Israeli passport and
Israeli citizenship, and that he served with "pride" in the
Israeli military.
But what is the real issue, here?
For Rahm Emanuel, hiding behind the charge of
anti-Semitism protects him from this issue so securely
that even reporters who know better have joined in this
lie and have refused to publish the truth.
During An interview on NPR's Chicago affiliate, WBEZ, the
host asked Kaszak what she thought about the charges,
"which are a lie," the reporter noted forcefully and without
even a question as to its accuracy. The newspaper
leading the charge in Emanuel's defense is the Chicago
Sun-Times, which is owned by Conrad Black, the
anti-Arab pro-Israeli Canadian publisher of the Jerusalem
Post, a right-wing newspaper often criticized for its
fanaticism and anti-Arab racial hatred.
The AP story on March 6 said, "The comments about
Emanuels background are not true."
The New York Times wrote on March 6, "{Moskal]
suggested, erroneously, that he had dual citizenship with
Israel and served in its armed forces."
None of the media that denounced Moskal's claims about
Israeli citizenship or service bothered to publish the truth.
Butof course, Emanuel served as an adviser to a president
who quibbled over the meaning of words when he denied
ever having sex with Monica Lewinski.
The real issue is that Rahm Emanuel will do whatever it
takes to win office, including to lie. He will even destroy
the reputation of a Polish American newspaper publisher
whose views may have crossed the line, but whose views
have been debased not just by legitimate criticism, but
also by the Rahm Emanuel lie.
It is a legitimate question to challenge Rahm Emanuel's
loyalty as an American, given the FACT that he held an
Israeli passport and Israeli citizenship until the age of 18.
(And we are taking Emanuel's word on this as the
Government of Israel will neither confirm nor deny that a
passport still exists.) And, given the FACT that by his own
words, Rahm Emanuel worked on an Israeli military base
servicing Israeli military vehicles.
The question for me, someone who proudly served in the
US Air Force during the Vietnam War (stateside ready to
go overseas), and nine years in the Illinois Air National
Guard is about Emanuel's lack of loyalty.
Emanuel found the strength to serve in the Israeli Army
but couldn't find the time to do the same for the army of
the nation he wishes to represent as a Congressman. He
couldn't even volunteer to serve in the US Army. You can
join the US Army and even serve in the Army Reserves,
Mr. Emanuel, even if there is no war taking place.
Rahm Emanuel has proven several things.
Rahm Emanuel has proven that he doesn't mind lying to
achieve his goals.
Rahm Emanuel doesn't mind hiding behind the heinous
accusation of "anti-Semitism" to shoot down his critics,
even though he proudly appeal to the Jewish heritage of
businessmen to contribute to the Clinton campaign in
1993.
And, when it comes to patriotism, Rahm Emanuel is not
very patriotic at all.
And in the wake of September 11 as we pain over reports
of Americans who served in many capacities in the Taliban
army, the issue of patriotism and loyalty to this country
IS an issue that deserves to be discussed, debated and,
even in some cases, to be the cause for American voters
to vote for someone else.
Ray Hanania is a veteran journalist and media consultant
and a leader in Chicago's Arab American community. |
