Every appointee to the American government must endure a thorough background check by the American Jewish community.
Reads the lede in an article in Haaretz today. Haaretz
In the case of Obama's government in particular, every criticism against Israel made by a potential government appointee has become a catalyst for debate about whether appointing "another leftist" offers proof that Obama does not truly support Israel.
The nomination/appointments of Chas Freeman and Chuck Hagel have received scrutiny and criticism from Jewish American groups. Now another appointment is drawing attention and some criticism.
Advocacy organizations should advocate for appointees that reflect their member's interests.
The latest round of heated debate has been over the nomination of Hannah Rosenthal to head the Office to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism in the Obama administration.
Rosenthal, who is the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, served as a Health Department regional director under the Clinton administration, and held positions in different left-leaning Jewish organizations.
Between 2000 and 2005, Rosenthal was the head of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs; she was also the executive director of the Chicago Foundation for Women. In recent years, she has served on the advisory board of the J Street lobby.
Abe Foxman of the Anti Defamation League endorsed the appointment.
Why is Ms. Rosenthal controversial?
Jeffery Goldberg in the Atlantic seems to think she might be vision impaired, but he's, uncharacterisically, not sure.
I'm not sure if Rosenthal is myopic or just a sloppy thinker. I'm not even sure I should judge her thinking based on this interview, but it's not a very impressive start.
http://jeffreygoldberg.theatlantic.c...:
She seems to be pro-peace, in an article recalling an Israel Solidarity rally in she wrote:
Throughout this day of speeches and rallying cries, I began to ask myself the same questions: Where was the pro-Israel, pro-peace message? Why was the voice of so many American Jews absent from this rally?
How did we arrive at a place where pro-Israel events had come to be dominated by narrow, ultra-conservative views of what it means to be pro-Israel?
It is a question I have been asking myself ever since.
Reclaiming The Pro-Israel Mantle
The NJDC also endorsed the appointment
The National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC) applauds the appointment of Hannah Rosenthal as the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Unfortunately we live in a world in which anti-Semitism is still alive and well. The selection of Rosenthal to this post—given her rich experience, and her personal history as the daughter of a Holocaust survivor—shows how seriously President Barack Obama’s administration takes the issue of global anti-Semitism. Indeed, this appointment sends a signal that should be heard loud and clear around the world.
NJDC Applauds Appointment of Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism
Some Right Wing Blogs are unhappy with the appointment based on concerns that Ms Rosenthal is insufficiently pro-Israel and insufficiently anti Islamic.
As TPM notes:
However, if you were a reader of right-wing blogs you might not be as certain. On Thanksgiving Day, World Net Daily's Aaron Klein wrote a piece under the salacious headline, "Obama appoints anti-Israel lobbyist to anti-Semitism post." But as Klein and his rightwing brethren should know, this simply isn't true. Perhaps more importantly, this sort of writing reflects a total lack of perspective on the part of this right wing fringe - demonstrating again that it is entirely removed from mainstream political discourse.
In his attack, Klein joined the infamous Ed Lasky of American Thinker who earlier declared, "Hannah Rosenthal ... does not care much for Israel." In the same article Lasky asked, "Is that a good sign, that the man [Abraham H. Foxman, the National Director of the Anti-Defamation League] who was victimized by anti-Semitism and has spent his life fighting anti-Semitism, has problems with the one person President Obama sees as being qualified to combat anti-Semitism?"
Would Obama Appoint an "Anti-Israel Lobbyist" to Anti-Semitism Envoy?
Best wishes to Ms. Rosenthal as she takes up this important post.