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TechnoratiKucinich Withdraws as Palm Beach County Democratic Keynoter Amid Uproar over His Israel Stance
U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich lasted less than 24 hours as headliner for the Palm Beach County Democratic Party's annual fundraising dinner after some of the party's elected officials blasted the Ohio Democrat's stance on Israel and threatened to skip the event.
![[Dennis Kucinich ]](http://www.commondreams.org/files/article_images/kucinich_0.jpg "kucinich.jpg")
Kucinich, who has a history of criticizing the actions of the Israeli government and opposing congressional resolutions in support of Israel, withdrew Friday as the keynote speaker for next week's dinner after being announced Thursday.
The liberal former presidential candidate had been called in as a last-minute replacement for moderate Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu. Landrieu was dropped as keynoter this week because party activists were upset by her refusal to commit to blocking a Republican filibuster of health care overhaul legislation.
While Landrieu was the target of behind-the-scenes grumbling, Kucinich sparked public revolt.
State Rep. Kevin Rader, D-Delray Beach, said Friday he was withdrawing his pledge to buy a $1,500 table for the dinner and would encourage other Democrats to boycott the event because of Kucinich's record on Israel.
State Sen. Ted Deutch, D-Boca Raton, who's running for the seat that U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler is vacating, called Kucinich "someone whose position on Israel stands in total opposition to the conscience of this community."
County Commissioner Burt Aaronson called the selection of Kucinich "an absolute horror" and said he would refuse to share the podium with him.
Kucinich has opposed sanctions against the anti-Israel government of Iran. In January, he was one of only five House members to vote against a resolution condemning Hamas rocket attacks on Israel and reaffirming Israel's "right to act in self-defense to protect its citizens against Hamas's unceasing aggression."
Kucinich said Friday in an e-mail to county Democratic Chairman Mark Alan Siegel that he supports the Jewish state and its right to defend itself and said his critics are "falsely characterizing me as 'anti-Israel.' "
But Kucinich said he did not want the controversy surrounding him to hinder the party's ability to raise money, so he would "humbly withdraw."
Siegel said the decision to invite Kucinich was made by a "leadership circle" of about 20 people and no one raised concerns about Kucinich's record on Israel.
Siegel heard those concerns Friday.
"People feel he's anti-Israel. I don't read it that way, but the leadership of AIPAC (the American Israel Public Affairs Committee) and other elements of the Jewish community do and I don't want to get into an argument with them," said Siegel, who is Jewish.
Siegel said he doesn't know who the party will get as a keynote speaker for the dinner, which is scheduled for Nov. 14 at the Palm Beach County Convention Center.
The event has traditionally been called the Jefferson-Jackson dinner, but the name was changed this year to the Truman-Kennedy-Johnson dinner because of qualms among party activists about Thomas Jefferson's slave ownership and Andrew Jackson's Indian-removal policies.
Siegel said the nixing of two keynote speakers this week shows party leaders are listening to the concerns of Democrats.
"In both cases, the same thing happened," Siegel said. "We responded to complaints from important elements of our constituency and neither one of them is speaking."
144 Comments so far
Show AllDennis always speaks truth to power.... and power doesn't like it one little bit.
GO GET 'EM DENNIS!
Once again, Kucinich is CORRECT.
We SHOULD be criticizing Israel. They are a miniscule little country that dominates their part of the world, simply based on the fact that the United States sends them $Billion$ in unbudgeted arms aid, _above_and_beyond_the_Congressional_ AID_appropriations_.
They DOMINATE our part of the world too!
Because it claims to speak for all Jews, the existence of the Zionist entity, Israel, puts all Jews at risk, not just in the settler-state but in the good old U.S.A. as well. Even anti-Zionist Jews, whose numbers are rapidly increasing, are threatened by Israel's existence, because, sooner or later, Americans are going to wake up to the fact that it's U.S.- supported Israeli aggression against Palestine & its neighbors that's responsible for the fear & hatred that underlies all the violent messianic movements in the Mideast & elsewhere, including al Qaeda & the Taliban.. And once Americans are aware of this, their first reaction is going to be, "Hey, what's the Palestine-Israel struggle got to do with me anyway", followed a few seconds later by "Enough of this dual allegiance, decide Jewish-American, on whose side, Israel or America? And best make up your mind quickly, cause I'm mad as hell at what my government has put upon me by way of its ties with Israel." And then even anti-Zionist Jews will be at risk, because how many people are going to believe an American-Jew who says he or she opposes Israel, let alone supports justice for Palestine. Why would they, considering how many times they'd heard Zionists claim that israel speaks for all Jews. Which is why Jews who understand that Zionism not only is racist, but that by way of its potential for undermining the trust that non-Jews have in the patriotism of Jewish-Americans, is inherently anti-Semitic as well. The answer, of course, is for Jewish-Americans to stand up and say, "Oh no, Israel, you don't speak for us, you speak only for Zionists, which we are not. What's more, we support justice for Palestine, attainable once Palestinian and Jewish-settler sit down together for the purpose of figuring things out, based on one equals one & with liberty and justice for all. Do that & only that & gain our support.
I have a problem with the term "anti-Semite" because not all Semites are Jews AND not all Jews are Semites. From the Oxford English Dictionary, the term means "a member of a people speaking a Semitic language, in particular the Jews and Arabs." To use the term "anti-Semite" to mean someone is anti Zionist, is to ignore the fact that the Palestinians are Semites. I support equal rights for the Palestinians. I do not support the militarized, Zionist State of Israel.
But then, I have not supported the past 50 years of wars around the world that have been fought by the United States, in the name of "democracy, freedom and security".
I do not oppose the existence of Israel, but I oppose the control of Israel by a minority of militants who continue to oppress the people who were there for generations before the formation of the State of Israel. I have never fully understood the history of _why_ the Jews were brought there after WW-II. Yes, there are Jews who have an ancestral connection to that region, but there are many who do not. What right did _anyone_ have to decide that the Jews should be brought there AND that the Palestinians who were already there should be displaced?
Much of the recent violent history of the Middle East is a direct result of VERY BAD DECISIONS that were made by the British early in the 20th Century. Those mistakes were compounded by the forced takeover of Palestinian homes by the Zionists.
Part of my view of Israel is influenced by the attack on the USS Liberty during the 1967 Arab-Israeli conflict. The son-in-law of my neighbors was killed in that attack, leaving his wife and a young son. Israel has _never_ admitted that they KNEW it was an American ship, or that they committed a WAR CRIME when they attacked us.
I favor the withdrawal of Israel to the pre-war boundaries ... which is a requirement of a United Nations Resolution, which Israel continues to ignore.
[What's more, we support justice for Palestine, attainable once Palestinian and Jewish-settler sit down together for the purpose of figuring things out, based on one equals one & with liberty and justice for all.]
This is not sufficient. It's very easy to interpret the words democracy, freedom, justice, to achieve any goals you desire. Thus, the US has invaded Afghanistan to support democracy, freedom, and justice.
So, here is what is sufficient - to be an anti-Zionist you must explicitly denounce the existence of Israel as a Jewish state, that is, you must support the dismantling of the Jewish government in Israel, and replacing it with a plurilist democratic government that included all of Palestine, this is commonly known as the one-state solution.
When you get right down to it, even the one state solution is Zionist. The Jews will have their homeland, although they will not have exclusive control of the government.
Consider this, a burglar breaks into your house and throws you and your family into the street. The Likud Zionist says that the burglar gets to keep the house and the adjacent houses on the block as well. The 'humanist' Zionist says that the burglar gets to keep only the one house. The one-state solution Zionist says that the original occupants of the house should be re-admitted, and all can share. A true non-Zionist would say that the burglars have to get the hell out of the house.
Many good points but wouldn't a true not just non-Zionist but anti-colonialist say that it's up to the Palestinians as to who can stay & who must leave their house?
PDFTT
I believe the problem is that the conservative republicans and the right are absolutely terrified about this congressman who has a conscience and is anti-war and what we're hearing and seeing here is the beginning of attempts to corrupt Congressman Kucinich's image and character before he gets even more popular--but I still praise him for his anti-war views and his philosophies in general. He is a good man and definately NOT anti-Israel and I will follow this man and hope that he gets a chance at presidential nomination!
Like they were afraid of Paul Wellstone
Is this McCarthysim 2009? In the past year I've been called a Socialist, a Communist and now - perhaps an Anti-Semite? Shame on you Congressman Ted Deutch, State Rep. Kevin Rader, D-Delray Beach, County Commissioner Burt Aaronson, Democratic Chairman Mark Alan Siegel and the Palm Beach County Democrat Steering Committee. Your constituencies are populated by multiple nationalities. How dare you take one side over the other? Politically motivated, fact-free attacks, slurs and name calling only serve to discredit the name callers. Step outside of your political suit and ties and try to see the big picture. The blood of Palestinians, Iranians, Israelis and Americans pour out from gunfire all the same.
As far as I know Dennis Kucinich is just anti war, NOT anti-semitic. I have met him and had no issues. I am more concerned about a UFO comment that he made. Truth is I am anti-UFO. This whole anti-semitic controversy was brewed up by a crowd that wears horse blinders and uses a $1500 per table price tag to make themselves look good to their constituents. I dont think any of the sides have behaved appropriately.
I think sanctions should be brought against all players involved until they get *it*. Palestinian Israali and Iranian blood pours out from gun shots all the same. Children are dying on all sides. This fighting affects everyone. Someone started an anti-Kucinich smear for their own political purposes out of sheer ignorance.
Im willing to support a propeace rally this weekend in Palm Beach County with Palestinians Israelis Iranians Americans who want Peace with each other. if you are interested contact me at http://www.facebook.com/anacampos
Annual PBC Democratic Party
Truman - Kennedy - Johnson Dinner
Saturday, November 14th from 7:00pm until 11:00pm
at Palm Beach Convention Center
650 Okeechobee Blvd., WPB, FL 33401
For the Democratic party of Palm Beach to single out an innocent man as being an anti Semite encourages Hate Among different nations. Lets encourage peace and communicating.
Curious, but are you anti-alien or just anti the sighting of UFOs? Many people have seen UFOs which simply means unexplained, unidentified flying objects -- not necessarily aliens at all.
Obviously this is used to discredit people, which is odd in itself as it is a rather innocuous observation. On the other hand, the First Lady of Japan purports to have flown to Venus.
Not so much an Israel issue as a wealth issue.
For I keep telling everybody the bottleneck is the upper 50% with
all the wealth who want no change, people all tell me no,
its only the top 3% who have all the wealth, and
I reply that more than just 3% have two nice cars in the garage.
So how has your approach worked out?
"Two nice cars" isn't wealth, John -- very few cars ever grow in value with age. "Wealth" is that which makes money, e.g., business ownership. 85% or more of *all* wealth is owned by 10% of the country, and most of that by the richest 2%. See Edward Wolff's work at NYU for details.
for starters, rochefellow masters = 100 mansions,70 mile driveways/HELLicopters arriving at the various mansions/ cmon get real.duck Cheney living in DUBAI dining and putting cronies up at the only 7 8 or 9 star Hotel in DUBAI in the world. Ditzy glitzy Pelosi and spouse eeking out a living from subsidiary of HALLIBURTON, KBR The million dollar per minute war war addiction of the one or two or three per cent of the world's filthyist enriched.Don't split hairs here! It is what it is.A giant slave scam and guess who the slaves are supposed to be.
Palm Beach County in an uproar over Dennis Kucinich's Israel stance? That only means one thing: Bernie Madoff didn't do a good enough job of sending those Palm Beach County cannibals straight back to their humble begginings.
Those of us who respect Dennis and are on his side, will only appreciate him all the more for this. Of course, going forward he knows that he can't schedule anything in any of two continental provinces of Israel: Palm Beach and Brooklyn.
I will not sit here and listen to this anti-Croatian bashing.
Dennis Kucinich is a proud Croatian, and was the youngest Mayor of a major American city. I want CommonDreams to apologize, formally and prominently, for insinuating that this Congressman and former Democratic Presidential Candidate is in any way, shape or form AGAINST International Law. I want to see a disclaimer appended to this article showing the Congressman Kucinich is ONLY against countries that violate International Law, and is in no way, shape or form "anti" ANY country for arbitrary ethnic, religious or culinary reasons.
Thank you and good day.
You will be hearing from my attorneys.
Herodotus,
This article is posted under the News section of CD, not the Views section. CD collects these news pieces and editorials on a daily basis and sends them out to subscribers of their site...
That's it. That's pretty much what CD does. They didn't write the piece. I'm sure they thought it would be of interest to visitors to their site since it involves one the most prominent progressive pols in the country.
Therefore, no one at CD owes you anything.
And I read the whole piece and missed the Croatian bashing. Perhaps you'll enlighten me on that one.
It seems like a pretty straight-forward piece of reporting to me. Of course, that doesn't mean I necessarily agree with the Florida state Dems under the thumb of AIPAC who boycotted him. In fact, I think they're vile. But I'm glad I read the story and know what happened. That's what news is...
Don't be so naive.
That's like a newspaper reporting on the Wall St. financial scandals and saying *Bernie Madoff* is a cold-blooded, lying bastard who stole $billions. Or saying *Richard Fuld* who kept $480 million after running *Lehman* Brothers into the ground and helping to cause the Great Recession of 2008 is anti-American.
These "news" stories are obviously anti-Semitic, the code is so obvious a disclaimer should be required to tell the ADL there is no other way to write the story.
Now here's *Dennis Kucinich* being told he is not welcome among 'oldschool' Florida Democrats. Do they have to spell it out for you ? What, Rudy Perpich, Michael Stepovich, Michael Bilandic and George Radanovich have to be asked to leave a fundraiser the same DAY for you to connect the dots ? Do they ask Joe Lieberman to leave a fundraiser because he is anti-Vatican ?
The Sons of Zagreb will not stand for this anti-Croat libel. Just claiming "I didn't WRITE the story, I am just spreading it around" is no defense. SOZ will fight vigorously to see all Hate Crime laws are enforced.
Herodotus, I think your satire went over a few heads. Good though!
"Sons of Zagreb?" That sounds like something Dwight from "The Office" would pull out of his ass.
Are you serious?
Until U.S. Jews are convinced that unmitigated support for the right-wing acts of Israeli forces is detrimental to their wealth, until it is crystal clear that they will face humiliation, or at least ostracizing, when they try to spin the atrocities occurring, the world will be a very unstable place. Whether you believe that this is the only choice, and that without arming Israel with nuclear bombs, the U.S. will lose that spot in the middle of South Western Asia, never has been the Middle East, or if you think that because they seem more fit, it's okay for Israeli Jews to take land and kill innocents, Israel will be the proximal cause for the final end for this lost people. Once Jews reach the tipping point, once more people quit buying their act, it will slide into a hell no one has ever seen before and nothing will help them. If Jews want to coerce and pay for "loyalty" they will learn it will never last forever. They are scared, rightfully so. They are hated, at their own doing. When you broadcast how you want your children to only marry your own kind and when you practice apartheid or worse to those who don't have power, you are living on borrowed time.
I am not speaking for Dennis, but I believe Dennis does not "oppose" Israel because he truly is a man of peace. To be truly a man of peace means he is "for all" to live in peace. So to criticize policies is not the same as "to oppose."
To ignore his real message is to be in denial. The truth is not always convenient in the short run but isn't it always the way to freedom in the long run? The truth sets everyone free.
Dennis could be a modern Ghandi figure if a significant number of Americans would rally with his voice. He could help bring about a much more peaceful and stable world of prosperity and happiness. If not now, when it is too late?
Dennis is regularly and systematically CENSORED. Not on CSpan-- maybe PTB think hardly anyone watches-- but everywhere else. Therefore, my voice is censored in our society too. I and others have been censored, or marginalized as a token of fake democracy, ever since speaking our concerns about invading Afghanistan and Iraq, and more. I am taxed with no representation, officially!
As far as his continued support for the Democratic Party, at this time, I cannot figure it out. Perhaps he feels obligated to complete his term for which he was elected. Perhaps he feels that duty is in reforming toward the good that was supposed to be the system. Maybe he thinks he will be able to get that Department of Peace created. I sure wish he would cut away and go independent, and I add my vote if he does.
This is just MHO, but I also think we in the USA ought not castigate "Zionists" while we could be pointing fingers at ourselves for ongoing atrocities. Pressure on our government to stop arming conflict, yes, however how can we tell someone else what they ought to do? How can we preach? WE are the manufacturers of the weapons and bombs.
Tonight at a peace forum I am going to proudly wear my Kucinich '08 shirt.
Bring America Back !!!!
****What is obvious is that this powerful Zionist coalition kept Jebby Bush in power as Governor for 2 terms, and no doubt voted brother King George over John Kerry when it came to keeping him re:elected.
****So, How can they call themselves Democrats when they
are much worse than the Blue Dogs--They are Red Dogs !!
You Go, Dennis, Kucinich for President !!!!
Are you saying that King George was actually elected? Wow! You learn something new every day...
If Kucinich had any courage he would've remained as the keynote speaker for this ghastly event. And if he weren't a coward he would start his speech by saying, "good evening, Israel is the greatest terrorist state in the history of the Middle East and you and I are paying for it."
But he's a smart politician writing pretty articles for CD and making Obama-style phony speeches, when action is needed Kucinich always ends up supporting the Democratic fascist on top, like he did in 2004 when he supported Kerry and 2008 when he supported Obama. Nothing has changed, he knows that his fake rhetoric and fraudulent outrage are able to keep him reelected so why risk it? So he cut and ran again: "he supports the Jewish state and its right to defend itself" something Gingrich or Giuliani would say. Bravo.
Sorry_uncle_charlie, the drama queen, setting-up strawman arguments?
Please, do you always attack the messenger when you can't handle the message?
Actually Dennis probably hasn't forgotten Paul Wellstone fate
uncle charlie,
"If Kucinich had any courage he would've remained as the keynote speaker for this ghastly event. And if he weren't a coward he would start his speech by saying, "good evening, Israel is the greatest terrorist state in the history of the Middle East and you and I are paying for it."
DK, Dennis has already proven his courage. It is courageous to be willing to speak truth to power, knowing one is vilified for doing so. And as I said above, he would not be a person likely to throw stones at others. He would never want to say or mean what you wrote he should say.
He may have had reasons for his past support for the Democrats, and I agree with you it is now going to be problematic for his credibility if he continues past his term. From what I have seen of him I trust his integrity.
It is not a lie to say one "supports the Jewish state" while supporting a "Palestinian state" if his opinion is that could work. Again, Dennis could not "oppose" anyone, as a man of peace, who would see ANY conflict as an OPPORTUNITY for a peaceful solution. I can't judge but I don't think Dennis is a fake. I also prefer his rhetoric to rhetoric that condemns anyone.
Please, just HOW has Kucinich proven his courage? By writing pretty articles, by giving nice speeches? Like I wrote in another thread, is he really exposing Obama for committing the same war crimes Bush had committed for 8 years? Is he exposing the Democrats and demanding long-overdue investigations of all the illegal wiretapping, no-bid contracts, 9/11, Katrina, Valerie Plame, bailouts and now the giveaway to health insurers that Democrats have either allowed and/or perpetrated in the last 9 years?
A man of peace does not support someone like Obama, who as a Senator had proven to be a war monger and profiteer. DK supported Obama for president, so don't call him a man of peace.
He paid his dues long ago, Charlie. He paid for a lifetime membership in the Brave Politicians club --in which he and Cynthia McKinney are nearly the only members left alive-- by the price he paid to save Muni Light as he promised.
Please do not EVER put Cynthia McKinney and Kucinich, a Democrat, in the same sentence. Cynthia McKinney has more BALLS as a woman than Kucinich prancing around with his trophy wife will ever have. Cynthia McKinney quit the War Party and denounced them as the corrupt Repugnant clones that they are. When exactly did Kucinich do that?
I don't have the day it would take to respond to something so narrow and sexist as that, so I won't respond at all. Carry on.
lol you don't respond because you can't argue, but nice try. Kucinich can't hold a candle to McKinney. Kucinish is the fraud while McKinney's the real thing.
Uncle Charlie my admiration for you grows I love Cynthia ,the jury is out about Dennis.ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS!
dupe.
dope.
another cheap soundbite attacking the messenger, not the message.
Yeah but... what's a jew???
CONGRESSMAN KUCINICH YOU HAVE MY VOTE FOR PRESIDENT, I AM ONLY SORRY I WAS UNABLE TO VOTE FOR YOU THIS LAST ELECTION. OUR VOTE IS WITH YOU.
Considering that Andrew Jackson committed genocide against Native Americans, naming a pro-Zionist dinner after him would be most appropriate. I can't really think of a better name for such a dinner, actually.
Israel has a stranglehold on congress; here's the way it works:
Israel "lobbies" congress for $billions, which it gets, then it kicks back a small amount to bribe all congress members with "campaign contributions", which they eagerly accept.
NO ONE, and I mean no one, stands a chance in congress or getting elected in the first place if they stand up to Israel.
Good luck to you Dennis!!!
Bring America Back !!!!..............!!!!...This is the perfect place to recommend for Progs reading the book: "Those Who Dare To Speak Out"..by a former Congressman, and it's fact and revelations are as valid today, as they were
when the book came out !!!
GOOD FOR YOU DENNIS!!!!!
Anyone who criticizes Israel in ANY way is called an anti-semite as a means of silencing ALL criticism of Israel.
I would make YOU president if I could or at least certainly give you a prominent place in the White House.
You are a good guy and you tell it like it is!!!
Please keep up the good work!!!
THANK YOU...THANK YOU Dennis Kucinich....are you the ONLY person left in Congress who speaks the TRUTH about issues!!!!??? Whether it is healthcare in America or peace in the Middle East!!!!!????
I won't be called 'racist' or 'prejudiced'....I'm Jewish!!!
BUT IT IS HIGH TIME THAT AMERICA STOPS FUNDING ISRAEL, UNTIL A PEACE SETTLEMENT IS REACHED IN THE MIDDLE EAST!!!!
LOCK THEM ALL IN A ROOM ON BREAD AND WATER UNTIL THEY COME TO SOME KIND OF PEACEFUL UNDERSTANDING!!!
AND USE THE BILLIONS THAT WE NOW SPEND IN SUPPORTING ISRAEL AND SUPPORTING THE OBSCENE WARS IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN ON HEALTHCARE FOR ALL PEOPLE ON AMERICAN SOIL!!!!
I live in Europe, and while our healthcare is not perfect, socialized medicine is much better than what you have in America!!!!
Dennis got another boot, eh! I like him even more. I thought "Palm Beach Democrats" were not just your typical corporate elitists. Oh well, let them eat Bentleys!
What’s wrong with this picture?
$5 billion or so in foreign aid continues to transfer every year from a now failing and nearly bankrupt people to a moderately wealthy, wholly ungrateful, racist nation, which then proceeds to use this gift in the furtherance of an on-going annihilation of the ill-fated Palestinians, all the while the beneficiary shamelessly brawls in opposition to the benefactors’ right to speak-out in protest.
Ole Dorothy!!!
God loves ya!
TheAZCowBoy
Tombstone, AZ.
I suggest Netanyahu as a replacement speaker. He's a Democrat, isn't he? (He was due to arrive in the US last night, here to speak at an assembly of Jewish Federations. As an afterthought, he'll fit in a meeting with Obama this evening.)
The AIPAC mafia has spoken.
Only International bankers who start wars have any say in our government anymore. George Washington had slaves, why don't we quit using the dollar since it just benefits the Federal Reserve. I think I'll stop accepting dollars for debts owed to me. I'll accept Euros or Yuans or Gold or Barter from now on.
Dennis, IT'S TIME TO SPLIT OFF FROM THE MAFIA PARTY. Go Green. Go Libertarian, Go Independent. I won't vote for you for president if you're a Democrat (I already got burned with Polosi.)
TJ
"All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent." - Thomas Jefferson
Right on!! This may be the only hope for this country.. However the corporate state has that one
covered to, making it almost impossible for third parties to compete in this fashist country.
We have stopped buying anything that is not an absolute necessity. And of course buy nothing on
Sunday.. You know what I have found that I do not need to work anywhere near as much. Have lots of free time. And pay very little taxes to the empire.
Democrats in Palm Beach support health-care reform and Israel. So?
Technically, the story has nothing to do with Israel - it is all about PEOPLE'S SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL.
Why all these anti-Israel comments?
So far, 62 and counting...
sanych you really are serious or are you?
"Why all these anti-Israel comments?"
"So far 62 and counting"
Well, clarifying would be as simple as ABC
THIS YEAR PRE AND POST "CAST LEAD" THEN ON TO THE OTHER ISRAELI SUPERPOWERS' DIRTY GENOCIDAL DEEDS.USSA'S COMPLICIT ROLE IN THESE RACIALLY AND GREED BASED GENOCIDES that ZIONISTS are so fond of.Not a righteous or humane group .More like SUPERSADISTS and MONSTERS! VICTIMS--NOT
Define support for Israel. Does it mean cowering in silence when Israel engages in war crimes? If you truly were in support of Israel then you would speak out against the wide spread and continuing crimes it is committing against the Palestinian people. you would take the time to speak out against the collective psychosis that has fallen like a shroud over her with not only the hawks and the power hungry in government but too many of her ordinary citizens blathering and sputtering and quivering and calling for war against what they call the demon Iran rising up to kill them all. It takes blatant racism to accept the wild fantasy of Iran choosing to be the first state to want to commit suicide by attempting to attack Israel. this rabid and delusional behaviour guarantees Israel's continued lack of security if not it being destroyed. It is Israel that is downright suicidal. Israel has given up security for occupation. If you were a supporter of Israel and wanted her to be secure and safe you would have the common sense to point this out. And if you were able to find your own humanity, something that appears to be out of your reach, you would see that the Palestinians have as much right to peace and security and as decent a standard of living as Israelis.
Are you an American? do you criticize the US government? Or is that forbidden as well? Does my criticizing the U.S. government's policies make me anti-American? Are you so completely blind as to not see that by denying human beings their right to criticize the policies of governments you are acting like a fascist?
I don't have to define what "support for Israel" is, and nor do you. And definitely not any government.
The people in Palm Beach have a freedom and a right to define it for themselves and you and the rest of the mob here don't have any right to "define" it for them.
This is what America is all about. And when I pledge allegiance to the flag and to the Constitution of this country, I confirm this freedom for all Americans.
My point is that your definition of support for Israel is totalitarian in nature. You make a mockery of the Constitution. You most certainly have the right to be overcome with hysteria over someone as decent as Kucinich, a man who is clearly seeking only justice and security for the people of the Middle East including Israel. Your labeling those of us who are seeking the same as a "mob" only reinforces my contention that your reaction to this is irrational and ultimately does Israel much more harm than good. You're in the throes of serious delusional thinking - understandable given this madness is so common among self-described "supporters of Israel"- and need to address your fears with deep contemplation and self-examination.
I am a supporter of Israel's right to exist in peace and security within internationally recognized borders. I am against wars of aggression and the persecution and murder of human beings. There is nothing Kucinich has said or done that I can find that contradicts these principles. If you were a true supporter of Israel you would find these ideas perfectably reasonable.
In my messages on this thread I did not "define support for Israel", I only argued that people are entitled to define their own.
Apparently, many Floridians with rather progressive view support Israel's actions. According to you, if this does not agree with you, then it is "totalitarian". I guess, I still have to find logic on this board ...
As far as your claim of support of Israel's right to exist blah-blah-blah, these are just hollow words. Most of the messages here are most vile in tone with direct calls for Israel's destruction.
The fact that you did not object to any of those, but chose to post to mine betrays your true feelings toward the only Jewish state.
I did not reply to comments calling for the destruction of Israel because they should not be dignified with a response nor would I engage or otherwise argue or debate with Holocaust deniers because I value my humanity.
I believe you're missing my point entirely. Your original post implied you not only believed that everyone has the right to formulate their own definition of "support for Israel" but that you yourself agreed that Kucinich's views and votes were in direct opposition to the security of Israel, a charge that is baseless. If this is true and you personally agree that Kucinich stands in opposition to the peace and security of Israel and think he and people like him (a group that numbers in the tens of millions around the world including a significant proportion of Israelis) should be disinvited from speaking at events or otherwise shunned by those who claim to know what is best for Israel then I stand by my contention that this kind of thinking is delusional and paranoid and is in keeping with the totalitarian nature of what is considered respectable debate about Israel in the U.S. I have to assume you're well aware that within the state of Israel, there is FAR more open and vigorous debate about the nature of Israeli crimes.
As for Floridian progressives, I'd be curious to meet one who supports Israel's lawless policies. The slaughter in Gaza for instance? Preposterous.
I think your comment is anti-Palestinian.
So far, 1 and probably not going to bother counting... ;)
What is anti-anything in my comment?
Being PRO-Israel is ANTI-American.
A zionist virus has attacked our country. It's time for the people to behave like an immune system and become anti-bodies to the zionist virus.
However to amplify here, I would propose the larger truth:
Being Pro-Israel is being Anti-human in the larger and purer sense of the term.
–(Jill Bains)
PS For what it's worth, a penny for my thoughts, is that when there is rhetoric like this at peace rallies, I cannot join.
Americans are in no position to criticize others when we should be focusing criticism on our own mess.
Ah, bien! an opportunity to reconstruct the earlier comment eaten by the Mister Crash smiley-face:
____________________________
In the spirit of pragmatism over principle that is the hallmark of the Obama maladministration and the Democratic Party, I have to agree with the Palm Beach County Democratic Party on this one.
It's obvious that they were just trying to protect their flanks against the prospect of another rout by the "Jews for Buchanan"!
· Yr Obd't Servant
DENNIS KUCINICH FOR PRESIDENT 2012 !
Given fair exposure in the media, there is a best choice to lead our nation: DENNIS KUCINICH. I was very impressed with him at the Media Reform Conference in Memphis. Since then, everything he says makes the best of sense. America is long overdue for a man of his caliber who does not have a price tag.
Gerhardt J. Steinke, Madison, Wisconsin and Freiburg, Germany
We don't even need a president.The girl scouts could lay wreaths and do all the frou frou stuff!
Given fair exposure in the media...well,
THAT aint happenin...Poor Dennis was cropped out of photos, not mentioned at all, had his words twisted or taken out of context, made to look like an idiot, ANYTHING but given fair exposure in the media during his last run for prez. Corporations don't want him anywhere NEAR the White House, and there's not much Kucinich can do about it.
Careful, you're not allowed to criticize Jews on this site or they'll ban you.
No, actually, you're not "allowed" to stereotype Jews (or blacks or whites or any other ethnic or religious group). If you do, people will think you're a bigot and an idiot, and that you're better off watching FOX than trying to contribute to an on-line discussion.
Josh
"Power coceded nothing without demand. It never has and never will." Frederick Douglass
Careful, you're not allowed to call blacks an "ethnic group" on this site or they'll ban you.
So, Jefferson owned slaves, Jackson worked hard to remove the Native Americans, the indigenous people of America, from their land. So they changed the name to Truman(only use of nuclear weapons against humans), Kennedy(Bay of Pigs), Johnson(Vietnam escalation); what a relief! Kucinich was demonized because he doesn't support the removal and genocide of the indigenous people of Palestine by Israel. Also, I don't see Israel stepping up to the plate to help us ANYWHERE! NOWHERE! They just take from us, and help run our government. Where is the "AIPAC" that lobbies for the U.S. that helps in the Knesset? There is none! No self respecting government would let outsiders help make their decisions. Corporations should also be banned. Kucinich is one of the very few in our Congress that stands up for the human being over governments and corporations.
Well, bravo Kucinich!
Meanwhile, the Dems continue to eat their own. Lurid. I am amazed at their confusion to find themselves without a Republican leadership before which to retreat. So often they seem to recite lines from the wrong play.
De-countrify Israel.
NOW!.
sierra7
Bravo! For Dennis K.
The froth at the mouth Israelis that support the continuing crushing of the Palestinians (and the anti-Jewish in country) are getting closer and closer to acting like animals with the Palestinians.
The majority of Americans are totally ignorant of the actions of the radical Zionists since the late 1940's.
Now we know why Dennis K. was excluded by the Democrats from all the public debates in the last Pres. elections.
Damn the Republicans.
Damn the Pentagon.
Damn Wall Street.
And, damn the genuflecting Democrats!
We need more political parties that have the courage to take our bought and paid for system apart and renovate.
From article: "Kucinich said Friday in an e-mail to county Democratic Chairman Mark Alan Siegel that he supports the Jewish state and its right to defend itself and said his critics are "falsely characterizing me as 'anti-Israel.' "
That is exactly what is wrong with this issue that doesn't get discussed. Does a country have a right to be a 'jewish' state or christian state?
Many people find it easy to oppose the idea of a muslim state but that is no different than a christian or jewish country.
Furthermore, the UN's Bill of Rights talks about no country imposing a religion on people.
In Isreal you have a defacto apartheid system where if you are muslim you have less rights.
Oh wait, the jewish lobby raises a lot of money for politians, so they must be okay.
It's just like when a republican does something it is bad, if a democrat does it, it must be okay.
If a muslim person does it, it must be bad. If a jewish person does it, it id okay.
Double standard is not justice.
I fully support Congressman Kucinich. He has the courage to stand up to the typical withering attacks from likudnik psychopaths.AIPAC and it's minions are on the wane. Americans are waking up from the hypnotic propaganda machine they run.
Little victim Israel, always on the run, always threatened with it's very existence. Israel is an aggressor nation that reverts back to "victim" status to justify it's destruction of Palestinian society. Every time they are criticized it's boo hoo hoo, you are anti-semitic. Don't you remember the holocaust? Yes we do. And it was horrendous. But that does not justify the apartheid cleansing of Palestinians from land that is theirs. Kucincih knows that, and that makes him unique in American. A little man with vision and courage.
I have no quarrel with the Jewish people. However, when the Israeli government treats a people like they were German Jews,I am beyond disgusted. Apparently, as is happening here, more laws are being passed to criminalize any Jew with a conscience who protests government policy.
As to the current "politically correct" trashing of most of the founders of this nation, remember that ethnocentricity may be in vogue today, but one has to take in to account the times in which one lived. I remember John Kennedy addressing a blue ribboned group of Nobel scholars in the following words; "This is the greatest concentration of intellect that has gathered in this room since Thomas Jefferson dined alone."
I'm not surprised at the Democrats abandoning Jefferson. If Thomas Jefferson were alive today, I'm sure he would have nothing to do with either party.
Finally, I decided long ago to never vote for a member of the two-backed beast again i.e., the Republicrats. The article above only reinforces my decision. There is very little difference between being Bushwhacked and living in the Obamanation except that the present occupant can speak in complete sentences and is of a darker hue. And, one can carry the analogy back for many years of similar government. It all boils down to the Oligarchy and its drive to own and control everything, including our own nation of serfs and wage slaves.
First the smearing of the Goldstone report, now this. The Democrats have made it clear that they do not want a peaceful, two-state solution. They couldn't care less about the human rights of Palestinians. There is a political party that stands for the human rights of all people, though. Hint: Cynthia McKinney has already found it.
Just thought I'd check on McKinney .... is she a Zionist or not ....
Q: Do you advocate a 2-state solution for Israel & Palestine?
A (McKinney): The US ought to be an honest broker. Now we are definitely NOT an honest broker in the affairs of the Middle East. We've got to stop our weapons transfers to countries over there--all of them. We gave "bunker-buster" missiles to Israel--this is inflammatory. With regards to 1-state or 2-state, I would listen to the voices that are there. I would strip away the influence of AIPAC and listen to the human rights advocates who are there.
So, McKinney quibbles. Would she have listened to the 'voices that are there' as to whether South Africa should remain an apartheid state? I'm getting a little hard over on this issue, given the absolute preponderance of Zionists in the media and politics, if you do not denounce Zionism then you are a defacto Zionist. McKinney does not denounce the 2-state solution, i.e. the apartheid solution that has existed for 50 years, therefore she is a Zionist.
FORMER congress woman and presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney experienced a week in the Israeli prison system,after being removed by Israeli Gestapo from the peace activist's boat in INTERNATIONAL WATERS.I'm not seeing the correlation "defacto Zionist""therefore she is a Zionist"It had not occurred to me but I plan to look into it and figure it out,whether she is or is not a Zionist?Has she ever denounced Zionism?Interesting points,then Dennis Kucinich would be in that similar arena? or no? I know that AIPAC psychopaths got her out of office with the elaborate funds donated from the NEW YORK GARDEN CLUB towards her opponent's campaign.
You don't have to have a 2 state solution if there were a guarantee that human rights for all would be protected. But you know how hard it is for the government of Israel to not beat on the heads of the Palestinian people. The people of the region should be the ones to make that determination, not some spectators on the other side of the ocean from there.
[The people of the region should be the ones to make that determination, ]
This is the Zionist position, given that the people of the region that have power are ..... think for a minute now...... the Zionists.
And, it's idiocy anyhow, the invasion of Palestine was launched from Europe with the ultimate backing of the British and the US. It's Europe and the US that has financed the Israeli apartheid state for the last 60 years. It's Europe and the US that has prevented the UN from solving the problem that Europe and the US, with the Jews, blackmailed it into making in the first place.
It is the US's responsibility to solve the middle east problem because ultimately we created it by our unflagging support of apartheid Israel. If we withdrew our support, which is impossible given the Zionist influence in US politics, Israel would eventually be annihilated by the Arabs. Better to solve the problem now, as it was solved in apartheid South Africa with a one-state solution, than wait for the cataclysm.
Considering that "the voices that were there" in South Africa would mostly have spoken to her against apartheid, I assume McKinney would have listened.
When she's talking about 1 or 2 state solutions, that's not a question of "apartheid or no apartheid."
Considering someone who clearly states that all the people in the region should be represented as a "de facto Zionist" seems strange, given that you have just quoted a contrary opinion.
has anyone heard of a guy by the name of count folk bernadotte? he's a swedish guy who rescued thousands of jews from europe, but was then shot and killed by david ben gurion's driver in 1948. bernadotte became a diplomat after ww2, when the un assigned him to go to palestine and try to make peace there. his assassin was a mr. cohen, who admitted to the crime only after the statute of limitations had run. i thought simon wisenthal said there should be no such time limits when it came to hunting down evil men. at least, that's what he said when he was rightly chasing nazis like eichman across south america. but the first prime minister of israel, david ben gurion, would not turn over his own chauffeur and best friend, though he knew he was a murderer! why did cohen kill the count? because the count was pushing a peace plan that would not allow a greater israel. israel continues to push its borders today, as it is now in the process of driving 60,000 arab residents of jerusalem from their homes. read about the count, though. google up his name. a true hero among cowards, whatever ensignas they emblazon to justify their ethnic cleansing.
It's as if Dennis Kucinich were ahead of his time, except is it not blisteringly clear that the time for getting it right is NOW?
This is a perfect example of right wing Zionists denouncing a left wing Zionist. Kucinich fully supports Israel's existence as a Jewish state on Arab land and supports the hoax two-state solution to the problem, that is, the status quo, the same division of Palestine that has existed for 60 years, Kucinich wants to remain for another 60.
The task is to convince the International big wheels that the War economy must end.
Fear of "enemies" is how they hold the racket together....
Weapons are the biggest product of the USA.
Dennis K knows the game the big shots play and they don't want to hear that they are full of it.
Israel has illegal nukes and can threaten the samson option if they don't get their way.
The zionist lobby are good shills for the war racketeers.
Now you should know what it means..."I would rather not argue with those people"
Good Luck
"The task is to convince the International big wheels that the War economy must end."
–(Jim Glover)
To "convince?" Please, be my guest, 'convince' away!
–The "International big wheels" can never be 'convinced' to voluntarily end the war economy by moral suasion, or quite frankly by anything short of their own demise.They can only be forced to.
Certainly there currently exist no oppositional forces to destroy them, so it seems feasible to try and 'convince' them by proposing rational and practical alternatives to force. Isn't that the 'reasonable' thing to do? Are not reasoned and compelling 'arguments' backed by a knowledgeable electorate and an aroused public the way to go? Most certainly!
I encourage you to try. Know that 'the perfect is the enemy of the good.'
Yet know with certainty that before the ink is even dry on such rational 'compromises' they will be sending fascist special forces paid for by your tax dollars to cave your heads in.
The point here being is that knowing in advance that the architects and profiteers of the capitalist war economy will never be willingly 'convinced' to relinquish power allows for the possibility of developing a politics up to the task of destroying them.
Unless of course, if truly destroying them is not what you had in mind?
–(Jill Bains)
You "encourage" me to try and then say they will cave my head in.
Thanks
The empire of War is in such a fall
while the whole world is watching
One for All.