Posted on 07/12/2007 10:26:21 AM PDT by West Coast Conservative
Dennis Kucinich, the colorful Cleveland congressman and longshot presidential candidate, has outraged Jewish leaders in Northeast Ohio by insisting that Iran's anti-Zionist leader is not seeking to exterminate Israel.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is regarded by many in the western world as a menace with nuclear ambitions, who recently called for supporters of Israel to, among other things, "burn in the fire of the Islamic nations' fury." Kucinich, however, says another translation of that and other statements is that Ahmadinejad merely wants regime change in Israel, not death to its people and supporters.
Jewish leaders say such a translation might be acceptable only if Kucinich ignored Ahmadinejad's behavior, which includes torture of his own people, and Middle East history since Israel's founding in 1948.
Kucinich's position puts him in a slim minority in Congress - two, if you count Kucinich.
He and Texas Republican Ron Paul - also a presidential aspirant - were the only House members to vote against a June 20 resolution condemning the Iranian leader and asking the U.N. Security Council to take up charges alleging violations of genocide conventions. Cleveland Democratic Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones and Lake County Republican Steve LaTourette were among the measure's 103 co-sponsors.
A June 28 letter to Kucinich from Harley Gross, chairman of the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland, and Stephen Hoffman, the federation president, called Kucinich's interpretation of Ahmadinejad's statements "both tortured and a clear indication of either a lack of understanding of Israel's enemies on your part or, and we hope that this is not the case, an antipathy toward Israel."
"Unfortunately, it goes beyond naive," Alan Melamed, president of the Cleveland chapter of the American Jewish Committee, said in a phone interview Wednesday.
Kucinich sent a letter on Wednesday seeking to defend his actions, saying that, whatever the translation, he finds Ahmadinejad's statements "objectionable and outrageous." The letter to Hoffman and Gross asserted Kucinich's "full support for the people of Israel."
Yet he said that he could not back the House resolution because it carried only worst-case translations and he regarded it as an attempt to beat "the war drum to build support for a U.S. attack on Iran."
This is not the first time Kucinich has upset Jewish community leaders.
After he and his wife, Elizabeth, visited the Middle East in 2006, they described in detail the destruction they had seen caused by Israeli bombs in Lebanon, but they did not visit scenes of Hezbollah attacks in Israel. He said he ran out of time in part because of travel difficulties.
In 2003, Kucinich reversed himself and returned a $500 campaign contribution to a man linked to Middle East terrorists. Kucinich resisted returning the 1997 donation from Abdurahman Alamoudi until Alamoudi was arrested on charges of accepting payments from Libya and supporting terrorists. Other politicians had already returned donations from Alamoudi, who was later convicted. The American Jewish Committee at the time said Kucinich's refusal showed a lack of moral leadership.
Kucinich's stances, however, have not hurt his congressional re-election efforts to date. He has support from many Arab-Americans in his district, which does not have a big Jewish community.
Joe Charif, president of the Cleveland American Middle Eastern Organization, called Kucinich a "highly regarded" representative who strives for peace. Charif said that he personally does not know whether Ahmadinejad called for Israel's destruction, but that he has seen people on Middle Eastern television - critics of Israel - explain it in ways similar to Kucinich.
Said Sam Khawan, chairman of the Arab-American Community Center for Economic and Social Services, which sponsored Kucinich's trip last year: "All I know is that Dennis is a man of peace and always wants a peaceful resolution."
I have lost all sympathy for the majority of American Jewish voters, who continue to vote commie-treason-jihadist party in every election.
They might as well vote for Hitler and then whine about Nazi war crimes.
I am sorry, but the “Jewish leaders in Northeast Ohio” are certifiable morons for their endless support of the moonbat anti-semite democrats. Dennis Kucinich did not just become an abomination two days ago.
Maybe the Jewish leaders in Northeast Ohio are waking up from their denial coma, but I doubt it.
He and Texas Republican Ron Paul - also a presidential aspirant - were the only House members to vote against a June 20 resolution condemning the Iranian leader and asking the U.N. Security Council to take up charges alleging violations of genocide conventionsThis further strengthens my conviction that Ron Paul is a moron and a loser. Voting with Kucinich. You can't get much lower than that.
That he is an anti Semite is neither a shock or surprise.
How could he be anything else but; considering that like Popeye, he is who he is. Denis Kuchinich.
There but for the grace of God goes I. Wait. No. Not I.
Israel has a coalition democratically elected government. What “Regime”?
Dennis the menace.
Kucinich and Ron Paul make a wonderful couple....(chuckle)
He and Texas Republican Ron Paul - also a presidential aspirant - were the only House members to vote against a June 20 resolution condemning the Iranian leader ...
Ron Paul is anti-Israeli...as I have said before.
?????
“Kucinich/Paul ‘08”
Two sides of the same rotten coin...and “Blame America First” is the inscription.
Kucinich said: “my friend put me up to it!”
” For years Germany has been waiting in vain for the fulfillment of the promise of disarmament made to her by the others. It is the sincere desire of the national Government to be able to refrain from increasing our army and our weapons, insofar as the rest of the world is now also ready to fulfill its obligations in the matter of radical disarmament. For Germany desires nothing except an equal right to live and equal freedom.
In any case the national Government will educate the German people in this spirit of a desire for freedom. The national honor, the honor of our army and the ideal of freedom must once more become sacred to the German people!
The German nation wishes to live in peace with the rest of the world.”
Hitler 1933
“My good friends, for the second time in our history, a British Prime Minister has returned from Germany bringing peace with honour. I believe it is peace for our time.”
Neville Chamberlain 1938
“Addressing about 4000 students gathered in an Interior Ministry conference hall, Ahmadinejad also called for Palestinian unity, resistance and a point “where the annihilation of the Zionist regime will come”.
Khatami was in favour of
‘dialogue among civilisations’
“The Islamic umma (community) will not allow its historic enemy to live in its heartland,” he said in the fiery speech that centred on a “historic war between the oppressor and the world of Islam”. Ahmedinejad
http://english.aljazeera.net/English/archive/archive?ArchiveId=15816
More than regime change there Dennis.....
From Mel Brooks “To Be or not to Be”:
Adolf Hitler: Have you read the foreign papers?
-They call me a monster! A madman!
-Und a maniac!
What do they want from me?
I’m good-natured. I’m goodhearted.
I’m good-looking.
Every day, I’m out there trying
to make the world safe. For Germany.
I don’t want war.
All I want is peace. Peace.
Peace!
(Breaks into a song)
A little piece of Poland
A little piece of France
A little piece of Portugal
And Austria perchance
A little slice of Turkey
And all that that entails
Und then a piece of England Scotland
lreland and Wales
“Regime” has a negative connotation usually reserved for the leaders for life of, well ALL of the countries that surround Israel.
First you have to shove a half a grapefruit in Kucinich’s face, then you take her.
There are more little old Slovenian ladies here to vote for him than Jews to vote against him.
Then why do they keep supporting left-wing Democrats who support the enemies of Israel and the United States?
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