[Peace-discuss] Chuck Hagel Anti-Israel Charge Is 'Extremely Stupid, ' Israeli-born Nebraska Rabbi Says

[Robert Naiman]

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Chuck Hagel Anti-Israel Charge Is 'Extremely Stupid,' Israeli-born Nebraska
Rabbi Says http://huff.to/UWuXjt  <http://t.co/qQjmCze3> via
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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/21/chuck-hagel-anti-israel_n_2347948.html

Chuck Hagel Anti-Israel Charge Is 'Extremely Stupid,' Nebraska Rabbi Says
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/21/chuck-hagel-anti-israel_n_2347948.html?view=print&comm_ref=false>

Posted: 12/21/2012 4:41 pm EST  |  Updated: 12/21/2012 5:25 pm EST

WASHINGTON -- An Israeli-born, Omaha-based rabbi who has known Chuck Hagel
for many years said charges that the former Nebraska senator, and potential
nominee for secretary of defense, is somehow anti-Israel or anti-Semitic
are "extremely stupid."

"I thought we were done with this," said Aryeh Azriel, the rabbi at Temple
Israel in Omaha, Neb., where Hagel has been a longtime regular presence, in
an interview Friday with The Huffington Post. "I though we were done
already with the [childishness] of being Jewish where everyone who says
something critical about Israel needs to be labeled an anti-Semite. I find
this extremely stupid, and definitely not helpful."

Azriel, who also penned a
letter<http://www.omaha.com/article/20121221/NEWS0802/712219981/1681#the-public-pulse-december-21>
published
Friday in the Omaha World-Herald defending Hagel's pro-Israel bona fides,
told The Huffington Post he has known the former senator for many years,
and has been "completely astonished by the attacks on his character, on his
identity and his ability."

Hagel's pro-Israel credentials have been called into question over the past
week after he emerged as a leading contender for secretary of defense.
Pointing to a sparse selection of votes in which Hagel had not supported
the most stringent sanction against Iran, and one instance in which he made
pejorative reference to the "Jewish lobby," critics have
suggested<http://www.politico.com/story/2012/12/foxman-hagel-troubling-85296.html?hp=l3>
 that Hagel harbored secret
anti-Israel<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324907204578185223495090066.html>
or
even anti-Jewish sentiment.

"I think that remark is troublesome, it's problematic," said Rep. Eliot
Engel (D-N.Y.), a pro-Israel congressman, during an interview on
C-Span<http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/12/21/top_house_democrat_hagel_has_an_endemic_hostility_towards_israel>
in
which he also accused Hagel of having an "endemic hostility towards
Israel." "It shows at the very best a lack of sensitivity, at the very
worst perhaps a prejudice. And I'm concerned about it, I'm concerned about
the nomination."

In response, allies of Hagel have circulated a fact
sheet<http://www.politico.com/story/2012/12/chuck-hagel-allies-fire-back-critics-push-for-michele-flournoy-85336.html%20%3Cbr%20/%3E>
outlining
Hagel's many votes and statements of support for Israel, and noted that on
the whole, he has been extremely supportive of funding for Israel, and
tough sanctions on Iran.

Azriel said that in numerous one-on-one meetings with Hagel over the years,
as well as several appearances by the senator before Azriel's congregation,
he has emerged with a similar sense of Hagel's personal attachment and
support for Israel.

"We developed a very close relationship," Azriel said. "I cannot tell you
how many times we spent talking, with him wanting to know about my
childhood in Israel, what it was like having to go to the basement in
apartment building I lived with my parents to hide from bombings. He was
deeply interested in my personal experiences."

The fact that Hagel has at times spoken out against a monolithic view of
what it means to be pro-Israel, Azriel said, was something that had
endeared him to the Midwestern community of Jews.

"He represents the best in the way people are brought up here," said
Azriel, who moved to Omaha from Israel 25 years ago. "This is what I like
about him and it is part of the Nebraska piece: He's definitely independent
in his thinking, and people want truthful politicians, people who speak
their minds, people who are not moved as marionettes on strings."

-- 
Robert Naiman
Policy Director
Just Foreign Policy
www.justforeignpolicy.org
naiman at justforeignpolicy.org
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