Daniel Pipes: Democrats Fib Again about Israel

The following by Daniel Pipes is reposted here with permission:

Democrats Fib Again about Israel

by Daniel Pipes
National Review Online
September 11, 2012

http://www.danielpipes.org/11939/democrats-israel

Last week saw a dispute over Jerusalem at the Democratic National Convention that, in the context of similar incidents, provides an important insight into the party's covert distancing of itself from Israel.

The story broke on Sept. 4, when the Washington Free Beacon reported that "Jerusalem is unmentioned" in the 2012 Democratic Party platform. This made news because, since it became U.S. law in 1995 that "Jerusalem should be recognized as the capital of the State of Israel," every platform of both major U.S. parties has reiterated this point. The Republican platform this year, for example, refers to "Israel with Jerusalem as its capital."

Arlene Kushner On What The Democratic Platform Tells Jews About Obama On Israel

From Arlene Kushner

September 9, 2012

Lessons Learned?

The lessons are for all those who are passionately committed to being Democrats and have never voted anything but... and for those who still want to believe that Obama and the Democratic party are pro-Israel.

The news that a host of planks supportive of Israel, which were in the Democratic platform in 2008, had been cut should have done it for those who long to think of Obama as "pro-Israel."

I covered that ground on September 5, and you can review it here: It's Not Too Late!

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But it's only gotten worse for the credibility of the party since then.  What became apparent is that the president and party leaders were so disturbed by the negative press the platform was getting that a mandate came down from Obama to amend it, so that Jerusalem would be recognized as the undivided capital of Israel.

RJC Ad On Rift In Democratic Party On Support For Israel

The episode exposed tensions on Israsel within the [Democratic] Party, put Democrats on the defensive and created a public relations spectacle as Obama arrived in the convention city to claim his Party's nomination for a second term
AP

The Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) came out on Friday with an ad addressing the rift in the Democratic party in its support for Israel:

RJC Executive Director Matt Brooks said, “Important pro-Israel language was stripped from the Democrats’ platform this year, including lines recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and calling Israel America’s ‘strongest ally’. When they tried to reinstate the language on Jerusalem, the convention chairman couldn’t get a clear two-thirds vote and just declared the language added – receiving loud boos from the convention floor.

He continued, “This is a sad display by the Democratic Party and is an indication of how much the Democratic Party has changed in recent years. It was chilling to watch; who could have imagined the day when supporting Jerusalem would be resoundingly booed at a Democratic convention?”

Here is the ad:

Does Obama's Democratic Platform Create Daylight Between The US And Arab Allies?

America is more secure and popular. Al-Qaida and the Taliban are on the run. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are ending. America is supporting democracy, women’s rights, and gay rights around the world. Isn’t this great leadership? How could anyone not vote for Obama?
Barry Rubin, on the thinking of the writers of the Democratic Platform

In a previous post, The Democratic Party Platform and Israel: What It Really Tells Us, Barry Rubin analyzed the Democratic Platform -- before it was revised. He noted that the section of the platform devoted to allies in the Middle East focused mainly on Israel, and when it came to the Arab world, the platform just mentions the gulf states in passing.

Rubin now returns to examine The Democratic Platform: Not One Word on Islamism or Any Support for Arab Liberals and Allies:

The Middle East Media Sampler 9/6/2012: Responses To Jerusalem Added Back Into Democratic Platform

From DG:

1) Platform Shmooze

Josh Rogin reported yesterday, Democratic platform drafters defend Israel section:

Changes between the 2008 Democratic Party platform's language on Israel and the 2012 version were due to a deliberate effort to refocus the platform toward President Barack Obama's policies, two officials directly involved in its drafting process told The Cable.
Leading pro-Israel groups such as AIPAC were heavily involved in the platform-drafting process, saw final language of the draft platform, and told platform drafters they were satisfied with it, both officials said. 

Certain parts of the pro-Israel community are up in arms this week over the fact that the latest version of the platform doesn't include certain passages from the previous version, such as language affirming that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, specific mentions of the terrorist group Hamas, and language spelling out the party's position that Palestinian refugees would be settled outside of Israel as part of any comprehensive arrangement to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

A few hours later he reported Dems change platform to include Jerusalem language after Obama intervened:

Was It Really Obama That Put Jerusalem Back In The Democratic Platform? (Updated)

Here is a scene that may well end up playing over and over again in the nightmares of Democratic leaders, as the Democratic National Committee publicly rams the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel down the throats of those attending the convention:



Based on the boos greeting the "passage" of the Jerusalem plank, it is pretty clear that the Democratic party is not nearly as Israel-friendly as many Jewish voters have been led to believe.

And how did it happen that the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel got put back into the platform?

Are The Democrats Throwing Obama Under The Bus?

One of the controversies hanging over the Democratic National Convention is the failure of the Democratic platform to address the issue of Jerusalem, among other omissions.

The issue was enough to require a response, and as Elana Goodman writes: The Democratic National Convention Blames Obama for Israel Platform.

She quotes CNN’s Dana Bash, who asked the DNC about parts of the 2008 Israel plank that were omitted from the 2012 platform:

Barry Rubin: Democratic Platform A Slap At Israel -- And At The Arab World

Yet this is a party dominated by a top-down group far more to the left, less friendly to Israel, run more by the Progressive Caucus types in Congress, and using “experts” who are often openly hostile to Israel. They put in the boilerplate to keep the suckers–and party moderates–happy but also subtly signal that they don’t mean it.
Barry Rubin on the Democratic party and its 2012 platform

Barry Rubin analyzes The Democratic Party Platform and Israel: What It Really Tells Us, addressing the Democratic denial of the change in policy represented by their 2012 platform:

Democratic Convention Condemns Republican War On Women, But Highlights Ted Kennedy On Women's Rights

One of the major themes of the Democratic National Convention becomes clear as Democrats charge Republicans with "war on women" at convention:

Two dozen Democratic women from the U.S. House of Representatives brought the charge that Republicans are waging a "war on women" to the party's convention stage on Tuesday with sharp denunciations of Republicans on healthcare, equal pay and domestic violence.

Led by Nancy Pelosi of California, the only woman to serve as speaker of the U.S. House, the women pressed the party's argument that the Democrats will protect women's interests against what they described as Republican attacks.

The Democratic National Convention also pays tribute to Ted Kennedy as well, though Democrats' tribute to Ted Kennedy sounds an off note:

Will the Democratic National Convention Succeed In Sinking The Obama Campaign?

Barry Rubin explains Why the Democratic Convention Plan Shows Obama Will Lose the Election:

The information released about the Democratic convention seems to show it is designed to prove how radical the party is, to play to the most limited possible sector of the population. There will be hatred and vicious character assassination. Of all the imams that could have been chosen, one with a radical background was picked to lead services while—from what I’ve read—Catholics were almost deliberately dissed. This is a convention featuring Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. There will be a lot of scary people and nasty rhetoric, sort of like a Keith Olbermann film festival.