Rahm Emmanuel, a Likely 2028 Candidate, Says in Israel That Unconditional Support Must Come to an End

Rahm Emmanuel, one of the most famous operators in modern Democratic politics, says that unconditional support for Israel must come to an end. Speaking at Tel Aviv University on Wednesday, Mr. Emmanuel called for new security arrangements in the region to secure both Israel and a new Palestinian state.Mr. Emmanuel has been a fixture in national politics for more than three decades, having served as a senior advisor to President Clinton, a congressman and member of House Democratic leadership, as White House chief of staff under President Obama, as the two-term mayor of Chicago, and most recently as the ambassador to Japan under President Biden. Now, he is not being shy that he himself would like to take a turn sitting behind the Resolute Desk. Mr. Emmanuel, whose father fought in the Israeli war for independence, is laying out the clearest position yet of any potential 2028 candidate with respect to American Middle East policy and its relationship with the Jewish state. He says that it is time for the American–Israeli relationship to fundamentally change. In his speech on Wednesday, Mr. Emmanuel began his remarks by acknowledging the feelings of many Israelis who believe that the world has turned its back on them.“I understand why, even if you oppose the Netanyahu government, you are so prone to dismiss criticism from the outside world. I understand that the corrupt Palestinian leadership has never lived up to the Palestinian people’s legitimate right for self-determination and sovereignty. I understand all of that,” he told the crowd.“Without question, the alliance is at a crossroads. It cannot stand or survive as it has been. To maintain the strength of our ties, this alliance needs significant changes and a new direction,” Mr. Emmanuel declared. He then moved on to warn Israelis that their actions are causing real damage to Israel’s standing in the world, arguing that the country is becoming a “territorial pariah” and that Prime Minister Netanyahu is leading Israel into a “dead end.”“You had no day after plan for Gaza. You had no strategy to make a partner of the Lebanese government against Hezbollah. Sinwar, Nasrallah, Khomeini — all dead, just as many in Israel have long sought, and yet Israel has never been more strategically isolated,” Mr. Emmanuel told the crowd. “It should be obvious that strategic isolation is not a foundation for security. It’s a countdown clock.”He laid out his vision for what the next American president should do with the respect to Israel. He says the Unite States “cannot continue to finance and support” what he calls Mr. Netanyahu’s cynical view of the world.“The pursuit of a so-called ‘Greater Israel’ is as self-destructive and fanatical as the chant, ‘From the river to the sea.’ Your government has been complicit in the horrors now being inflicted on innocent families in the West Bank that undermines your international legitimacy as a small nation at a time when you can least afford it,” Mr. Emmanuel said. “The hard truth is that America’s silence through the years has engendered the worst of your domestic politics. We’ve done you no favors by averting our eyes from, in my view, your misjudgments,” he continued. Mr. Emmanuel declared that there must be a new sanctions regime against Israelis who attack Palestinians, and against any bank or construction company that is in any way involved with settlement construction in the West Bank. He also called for what he called a “23-state” solution, and decried the “now-discredited” plan for two states — one Jewish, and one for Palestinians. He says the 22-member Arab League must take an active role in holding Palestinian terrorists accountable and to help ensure that the next generation of Palestinians does not seek to kill Jews just because they are Jews. Mr. Emmanuel toward the end of his remarks against assailed Mr. Netanayhu, whom he says has seriously endangered the future of Israel’s security for short-term political gain. “In the United States we have a saying: ‘If all you have is a hammer, everything you look at is a nail. Israel will become a prisoner of its own tools. Your military is a hammer, such that to the Prime Minister Netanyahu, every security challenge is a nail,” Mr. Emmanuel argued. “Today, you may be more militarily secure. However, you’re more diplomatically and politically isolated than ever before. That is a choice this government has made.”

Rahm Emmanuel, a Likely 2028 Candidate, Says in Israel That Unconditional Support Must Come to an End

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