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December 13, 2008
A Missed Faux Pax

It seems that all major U.S. media did not report this faux pax:

Secretary of State Condolezza Rice said Thursday that the establishment of a Jewish state would serve as a solution to national aspirations of American Hebrew citizens.

“Once a Jewish state is established, I can come to the American Hebrews, whom we call American Jews, and say to them ‘you are citizens with equal rights, but the national solution for you is elsewhere,'” Rice was quoted by National Public Radio as saying to students at a New Yorker high school.
Rice: American Hebrews should move once Jewish state established

She later took that back – somewhat:

The American secretary of state has backed off from an earlier stance favoring expulsion of American Jews once a Jewish state is created.

“The national aspirations (of the Jews) should be realized elsewhere, but there is no question of carrying out a transfer or forcing them to leave,” said Condolezza Rice
Rice retracts racist remarks

Posted by b on December 13, 2008 at 15:30 UTC | Permalink
Comments

well done b!

Posted by: Siun | Dec 13 2008 16:15 utc | 1

Ironically, Rice’s comments about “American Hebrews” finding their homeland in Israel came just as Tzipi Livni was talking about transfering Israeli Palestinians to a Palestinian state. Such statements should give pause to “American Hebrews,” not only because of Rice’s weirdness, but also because it provides a rare moment to feel empathy towards Palestinians facing suggestions of exactly the same policy.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7779087.stm
Sadly, if Rice’s comments had been noticed, there probably would have been a major outcry across the media about any suggestion of expulsion of American Jews but a quiet approval of the same policy by Israelis towards Paletinians.
This mirrors longstanding attitudes that Jews are entitled to recover assets stolen by the Nazis but keep property stolen from Palestinians, who are seen as definitely not entitled to recovery or to compensation.

Posted by: JohnH | Dec 13 2008 16:36 utc | 2

@ 2 — b was in snark mode, having Rice say something correspondingly outrageous as Livni’s.
On the other hand, Rice has said some pretty weird things, not as weird as her present boss, I guess, but still pretty off the wall — like seeing the latest Israeli war on Lebonon as “birth pangs”…

Posted by: Chuck Cliff | Dec 13 2008 16:55 utc | 3

Learned my lesson–follow b’s links before opening my mouth.

Posted by: JohnH | Dec 13 2008 17:35 utc | 4

B, your choice of “Hebrew” over “Jew” was very astute! Quite frankly, I could not imagine Rice capable of that degree of verbal finesse…

Posted by: Obelix | Dec 13 2008 18:04 utc | 5

#4
yeah John, that’s an important lesson..!
b’s first link to haaretz seems to be taken off, but if you click the “print” button the article comes up

Posted by: rudolf | Dec 14 2008 15:11 utc | 6

I’m getting an article about Livni saying something crass about Palestinians when I click that first link, and a similar article when I click the second link. Was this statement scrubbed? Can we find another place it was reported?

Posted by: Li | Dec 14 2008 18:19 utc | 7

Of course the “national solution” for American Jews is in fact in Israel. That’s the whole point of Israel’s existence, and a major factor in support for Israel in the Jewish community in the U.S.
So from what I can tell, this would be a perfectly reasonable thing for Rice to say. At least as long as people actually think about what’s being said instead of knee-jerking. Admittedly, finding such an audience is rare (including amongst American Jews, many of whom are just as stupid and shallow as any other group of people you wish to pick).

Posted by: Boris | Dec 14 2008 18:24 utc | 8

um, Li, that was b’s sense of humor… he turned it around and put words in Condi’s mouth so we could fully appreciate the despicableness of Tzipi’s recent pronouncement.
good one b.

Posted by: bea | Dec 14 2008 21:56 utc | 9

boris, ‘a’ national solution for american jews could be israel, but that is not ‘the’ solution. what is obvious is that if american jews believed it was their solution, they would be there, not here. they are no less american than any of us and their choice of national solution is of course, america. as for ‘a major factor in support for israel in the jewish community in the US’, i think that’s BS. there is no evidence ‘ the jewish community in the US’ speaks in one mind, or that mind is motivated by the idea israel is their ‘national solution’. the jewish community in the US is as divided as all other groups. they don’t think in a one mind. most american jews would no more consider making israel their national choice/solution than fly to the moon.

Posted by: annie | Dec 15 2008 5:51 utc | 10

if , as tzipi states, it should be clear to everyone israel is the state for jewish people, what about arab jews ? what about iraqi jews? lots of jews have arab blood. are they trying to become a white race/state?

Posted by: annie | Dec 15 2008 6:06 utc | 11

Ah, Israel is a Jewish state and homeland and has been since 1948. So what is this “”Once a Jewish state is established” all about? What am I missing? Is she suggesting Israel isn’t yet a Jewish state? That’s the only interpretation I can make that makes any sense, in an insane sort of way. Which means what? A Greater Israel without Palestinians. Now I don’t believe that is what she meant but on the other hand, what the hell did she mean?
As far a a place of American Jews to go, that’s sort of odd too but I think the first question is more important.
Condi is nuts. I often have wondered how a super smart spinster BAP becomes a monster. Doing a mind meld with a silly frat boy from Texas. One of histories great mysteries.

Posted by: Anonymous | Dec 17 2008 22:35 utc | 12

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