Rahm Emanuel apologizes for father's disparaging remarks about Arabs

[subsuelo]

U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's chief of staff Rahm Emanuel apologized to an Arab-American group on Thursday for comments disparaging Arabs made by his father.

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee sent a letter to Emanuel calling on him to distance himself from remarks made by the elder Emanuel in an interview with an Israeli newspaper following his son's appointment last week.

In the interview, Benjamin Emanuel was reported as saying: "Obviously, he will influence the president to be pro-Israel. Why wouldn't he? What is he, an Arab? He's not going to clean the floors of the White House."

While some political analysts have said Rahm Emanuel, a veteran Democratic congressman, should not be held responsible for the actions of his father, there was also a sense that an apology was unavoidable.

"Today, Rep. Emanuel called Mary Rose Oakar, president of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, apologized on behalf of his family and offered to meet with representatives of the Arab-American community at an appropriate time in the future," a statement from his office said.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1037256.html">Haaretz - more

[LeftishBrit]

1. Good for him

While he shouldn't really have to be his 'father's keeper' politically, this is a nice gesture, and I hope it will reduce tensions.

[subsuelo]

2. I agree.. I like the gesture

Maybe I'm still full of that Obama-inspired Hope these days, but yes, it was a decent, good-will gesture I think. Whereas the reactionary types in the current administration may have gone into spin-control screaming how they have nothing to apologize for... this is encouraging.

[legin]

3. Another outing for the 'true/false remark'

put the idea out there and then get SOMEONE else to deny that was what they actually meant.

[leftchick]

4. Rahm Emmanuel's father insults all Arabs???

this is an incredibly stupid and racist remark!


holy shit! :wow:

http://www.democracynow.org/2008/11/12/stream


The American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee urges you to take immediate action by using the contact info below to express your disappointment to President-Elect Obama and Congressman Rahm Emmanuel for the detestable anti-Arab remarks Emmanuel's father made this past week.

ADC wrote a letter to Congressman Emmauel and President-Elect Barack Obama asking the congressman to publicly repudiate the derogatory comments his father made. Benjamin Emmanuel was quoted by numerous Israeli and American publications as saying "Obviously he will influence the president to be pro-Israel. Why wouldn't he be? What is he, an Arab? He's not going to clean the floors of the White House."

There should be no place for such demeaning rhetoric and these comments are contrary to the very type change the President-Elect promised he would bring to America.

Contact President-Elect Obama by fax at 202.228.5417 or through this online contact form .

Contact Congressman Emmanuel by fax at 202.225.5603 or via E-mail at [e-mail]

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/37489

http://www.futuremovement.org/forum/showthread.php?t=49405

[Goblinmonger]

5. Wow

somebody's dad is an asshole. Go figure.

If I was held to the statements my father made while alive, I'd be in jail for hate crimes;.

[leftchick]

9. well me too

a whole other generation but damn! I would tell him to STFU!

[dorkulon]

6. Would anyone here want to be held responsible for the utterances of their parents?

I sure as hell wouldn't.

[Marrah_G]

7. Yikes- Poor Rahm

We all have embarrassing family members. Not much except for him to assure the AAADC that he does not share his father's views.

[rcrush]

8. What?

Obama is bad because Rahms father made a bad joke?

[UndertheOcean]

10. Well , fuck his Jewish-Supremacist father , and lets hope the apple lies very far from the tree

[Name removed]

11. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[leftchick]

15. My best friend is a Christian Arab American

and is an Attorney in high esteem in his city. I will let him know you say FU to him. :eyes:

[ben_meyers]

18. Send me his e-mail and if he is as whiny and insulted

as the Arabs in this article I'll send him a personal FU.

[LeftishBrit]

24. Getting outraged and insulted over everything...

is hardly unique to Arabs!

I do agree that Emmanuel's father's opinions should be seen as irrelevant.

[shaayecanaan]

26. Ah yes, Arabs...

bunch of easily offended, sanctimonious whiners, aren't they? Then again they're not the only ethnicity to bear the brunt of that stereotype, are they, Mr Meyers?

Also, if you want to send a FU to an Arab, by all means, forward it to me: the.hegemon.of.lebanon *AT* gmail.com

By all means include your address if you would like myself or perhaps one of my extended American family to drop by and say thanks.

And a merry Christmas to you.

Kind regards,
Shaaye Canaan

[Blue_in_Mass]

38. Typical.

It is probably a matter of national security to keep an eye on foreign conflicts that have transported themselves to U.S. soil.

Arabs vs. Jews is an example of this.

[cali]

12. I don't know. I think it would be a good idea for Emanuel to

say that his father's views are his father's views and not his. I don't think he should be made to denounce his father's comments further than that. Did you feel the same way about Cynthia McKinney and her father?

Rahm Emanuel is not responsible for what his father said.

[LeftishBrit]

23. Good point, and good analogy

[no_hypocrisy]

13. Equivalent of Mel Gibson's racist, antisemitic, homophobic father.

You can pick your nose, but you can't pick your family.

[IndianaJones]

14. Mel Gibson is at least 2 of those things as well. nt.

[goforit]

16. The seed doesn't fall far from the tree. A huge character flaw of foot-in mouth syndrome.

[cali]

19. oh, please

that's such nonsense. His father is responsible for himself. Rahm is not his keeper.

[LeftishBrit]

21. Often it does (cf Reagan's children)

or for that matter our right-wing MP David Davis, whose grandfather was a leader of the Jarrow march.

[glowing]

17. Ok..

Take the quote in context of thinking out loud while talking..

First.. Of course he will have influence on Obama in being a pro-Israel.. He's not Arab.. as in Rahm is Jewish. AND why do you think he was hired, its not to clean the floors.. I don't think he meant it that only Arabs would clean the floor. He was trying to quell the non-sense stirred up by the McCain camp and the Republicans and by Obama's name that he isn't some scary Arabic, foreign person (Obama I mean)... Stupid way of stating something in public.. and then having the quote written down.

[Behind the Aegis]

20. Very good.

The far-right and far-left are having a field day with this. Of course, the far-left were soooo quite when McKinney's father made remarks about Jews stealing the election for his tin-foil hat wearing daughter.

[LeftishBrit]

22. As we discussed in another thread, the comment is ambiguous, though stupid and unpleasant however

interpreted.

The father could mean, "My son won't be doing menial jobs like an Arab should do" (the way you interpreted it, and I did too at first; or he could mean "My son won't be doing menial jobs, but will have the president's ear, and, as he is not an Arab, will influence him to be pro-Israel".

The latter would not be racist or supremacist, but would still be divisive and narrow-minded, as it would imply that Israeli and Arab interests must always be incompatible. However, Rahm Jr. isn't responsible for his father's embarrassing remarks, and he seems from all I've heard to be a tough fellow in his own right, and not the sort who is likely to be under Daddy's thumb as an adult. Let's hope he does a good job!

[azurnoir]

25. And it is a translation

the comment is from an interview with Ma'ariv a Hebrew language newspaper and unfortunately there is no online English language version, alongb with the fact that we do not know if Dr Emanuel was speaking Hebrew or English at the time so it could be a translation of a translation or prone to "telephone game" syndrome either way.

All in all much ado about about not much

[eyl]

28. From what I've seen

the translation is pretty accurate; the Hebrew version is no less ambiguous. You'd need a recording of the interview to clear it up.

[azurnoir]

29. Trying to give the benefit of a doubt

however Rahm has apologized and hopefully that will be an end to it.

[ProgressiveMuslim]

30. It's not apology I'm interested in; rather a clear statement that he repudiates those views.

Has he made one?

[azurnoir]

31. KInd of but not specific to Arabs

The committee, in a statement on its website, said Emanuel told Oakar it was unacceptable to make such remarks against any ethnic or religious group.

"From the fullness of my heart, I personally apologize on behalf of my family and me. These are not the values upon which I was raised or those of my family," the group quoted him as saying.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1037256.html

[ProgressiveMuslim]

32. Sounds like those are EXACTLY the values with which he was raised. nt

[cali]

39. I'd assume he knows more than you about that

I do know his mother was an anti-war activist.

[ProgressiveMuslim]

40. Again, I'm interested in firm, clear repudiation of those views, which we've yet to hear.

Not the vague, "those values...."

Rahm: Do you share the values of your father in the inherent baseness of "Arabs?"

Do you have any Arab friends? It would be curious to know.

ADC let him off the hook too easily, IMO.

[cali]

41. he apologized unequivocally. Of course that's not enough for you.

he didn't even owe an apology. I'm glad he gave one, but he is NOT responsible for what his father said.

[ProgressiveMuslim]

33. What about that comment could you possibly find ambiguous? nt

[LeftishBrit]

34. There are two possible meanings (admittedly, neither very nice)

(1) My son isn't an Arab. Only Arabs do menial jobs. My son will be doing something important, will have the ear of the president, and will influence him to be pro-Israel.

(2) My son isn't going to be doing a menial job, but something important. He will have the ear of the president, and as he isn't an Arab, will influence him to be pro-Israel.

The second is less racist, but is still divisive and prejudiced in its implications: ("all Arabs are anti-Israel, and Arabs and Israelis can never find common ground!")

At any rate, Rahm has made it clear that his father doesn't speak for him.

[Alamuti Lotus]

35. I don't understand the big deal there

"translation" or meaning-wise, that is. He says that his son supports Israel; duh. He will have influence over Barak, as a peer not a servant. This dissects the statement itself; that shouldn't be any issue in itself. Anyone (CAIR) making an issue over imagined semantics is missing the far more obvious point there. Now a word on the background.

Rahm's father proudly served in the terrorist militia involved in ethnic cleansing of Palestine in the early days, Rahm himself served as a civilian volunteer in the "legitimized" successor of this force during the Gulf War. Thus it is obvious where their sympathies lie, and that's what the statement was about. There wasn't any hidden, insidious, or veiled sentiment there, which is a refreshing approach to an otherwise thoroughly rotten stance they'll be advancing (and always have, no surprises there nor should there be expected any). It was a pep talk to the somehow-wavering faithful to cheer them up about BHO's win, nothing more.

[Vegasaurus]

37. Obama has repeatedly said that he will support Israel

his choice of Rahm is in line with his political views.

What Rahm's father said is of no importance.

[Alamuti Lotus]

27. considering his past history in early terrorist militias

it wouldn't be surprising.. :shrug: :eyes:

[DU GrovelBot]

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