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2018-06-02 Home Front: Politix

U.S. ambassador to Israel is rebuked (by partisans) for reported partisan remarks

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Posted by Frank G 2018-06-02 09:10|| || Front Page|| [1 views ] Top

#1 It goes back to this:

Why Democrats and Republicans are fighting over the Jerusalem embassy bash

[IsraelTimes] US Ambassador David Friedman insists all were welcome, but pro-Israel Democrats say they weren't invited.

Days before the May 14 opening, the White House announced that the US delegation to the ceremony would include a relatively short list of six: Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan would lead a celebration that included Friedman; Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin; Ivanka Trump, President Donald Trump’s daughter and adviser; Jared Kushner, his son-in-law and adviser; and Jason Greenblatt, Trump’s top Middle East negotiator. All but Sullivan are Jewish.

Also attending were 10 Republicans from the House Armed Services Committee and four Republican senators, who went of their own volition. All the senators are known for their closeness to the positions of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: Ted Cruz of Texas, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Dean Heller of Nevada, and Mike Lee of Utah. Florida Gov. Rick Scott, who is running for the Republican nod for Senate in his state, was there, too.

Who was and wasn’t on hand quickly became political thanks to Cruz, who was quoted by The Times of Israel as saying on the morning of the event, “I don’t know why the Democrats will not be here, chose not to come. Every member of Congress had the option before them to come and be here. There was no way on earth we could have inaugurated this embassy without my being here to celebrate it. It’s too important.”

Friedman subsequently told Axios a week later, on May 23, that he would have been glad to assist any Congress member who wanted to come.

“We would have been delighted to host as many Democratic congressmen and senators as would have come,” he said, adding that the absence of Democrats “concerned” him. “The invitation was open to all, or I should actually say we made it clear that everybody was welcome. We didn’t specifically invite anyone. The Republican congressmen and senators who came, did not come on the basis of a specific invitation. They reached out and they came.”

[Some Democratic congresscritters] argument was that the White House should have — as other administrations have done before when planning Israel outings — assembled a delegation that included Congress members from both parties.

“On many previous occasions of importance to the United States and Israel, such as funerals or other national ceremonies, the White House has organized bipartisan participation of members of Congress,” they said.

Posted by trailing wife 2018-06-02 11:18|| 2018-06-02 11:18|| Front Page Top

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