Rahm Emanuel’s Chutzpah

One word comes to mind after the address delivered at Tel Aviv University by the Democratic presidential contender Rahm Emanuel: “Chutzpah.” The politician with the proclivity for profanity accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of leading the Jewish state to a “dead end” of “occupation and isolation.” He told Israelis that he “understands” their cynicism in the face of relentless violence, but said that “today is a day for truth.” If anyone needs a dose of truth-telling, it is not the citizens of Israel but the ranks of the Democratic Party that Mr. Emanuel is transparently aiming to capture. The party’s hostility toward the Jewish state, reported in a poll this week from the Associated Press, is spiking. Israel is facing a “dramatic erosion” of support in the party, half of which reckons Israel is guilty of genocide. Jewish Democrats are reporting tales of pariahdom and exclusion.The antagonism to Israel is more than just vibes. Rage at Gaza is being alchemized into electoral power. Just ask Mayor Zohran Mamdani, whose slate of candidates powered through Democratic primaries by railing against the Jewish state. Or look to Maine, where senatorial aspirant Graham Platner was surging — before recent allegations of rape — in large part due to obsessive focus on Israel’s perfidy. No candidate harped on the Jewish state more. Mr. Emanuel, a former congressman, aide to President Obama, envoy to Japan, and mayor of the Windy City, told the Israelis that he flew to Israel on a visit from Chicago “to tell you directly where things need to head if we are going to maintain the historic alliance.” He added that “the alliance is at a crossroads. It cannot stand or survive as it has been.” What’s really shocking is that Mr. Emanuel could be the best the Democrats have got on this head. Yet Mr. Emanuel is lecturing the Israelis, who for three years have been fighting to win a war that they did not start, that they have “turned from being known for your technological prowess to being considered primarily a territorial pariah. You need to think about what that means for your future.” As if the denizens of the Jewish state — and especially of Tel Aviv — would not love to spend their days sipping cappuccinos and hatching unicorns.Mr. Emanuel told Israel’s News 12 that the country “does not have a problem with the Democratic Party, Israel has a problem in America.” It is true that voices like Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, and others are peddling conspiracy theories that center on nefarious and esoteric fantasies of Israeli influence. Trends are worrisome among the young. Still, the Associated Press poll disclosed that Republicans are supportive of the Jewish state.What is happening on the left presents a sharp contrast. As Semafor explains, the movement led by Senator Bernie Sanders “and his faithful,” are “inside the party,” resulting in a “very successful case of entryism, in which left-wing activists join a larger organization to move it in their direction.” For those activists, a relentlessly anti-Zionist stance is what the podcaster Hasan Piker, a new kingmaker, calls a “reliable litmus test” for ideological purity.This isn’t the first time the Democrats have folded in a fight. It’s something of a pattern, sad to report. The Democrats buckled in Vietnam, even cutting off aid in Saigon’s most desperate hour. They pulled out of Iraq under President Obama. President Biden surrendered in Afghanistan in a debacle that shocked the world. So no one should be surprised by the Democrats’ turn against Israel at a crucial moment in the fight for the future of Zion.Instead of hectoring Israel, Mr. Emanuel could have elected to pursue the kind of Sister Souljah moment that once helped make his erstwhile boss, Bill Clinton, president. The then-candidate Clinton likened the rapper’s racism to that of David Duke, albeit with the colors reversed. This time around Mr. Duke is praising the radical politics of one of the new crop of Democrats, Darializa Avila Chevalier. What’s the word for “irony” in Hebrew?

Rahm Emanuel’s Chutzpah

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