Discussion: Feinstein: 'Arrogant' For Netanyahu To Say He 'Speaks For All Jews' (VIDEO)

system1 · March 1, 2015, 7:48pm

Discussion for article #233813

blue_grit · March 1, 2015, 7:58pm

Netanyahu is a politician first. The GOTP for him are just ‘useful idiots’ that he can use to further his goals. I still believe that most Jewish-Americans see the recklessness of Bibi’s policies and also see through the pandering of the Republican Party.

bonvivant · March 1, 2015, 8:12pm

There’s an interesting read in the online Israeli YNET. Ex-Mossad chief Meir Dagan is against Netanyahu’s speech. His interview covers so much more. Link… http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4631634,00.html

smokinthegotp · March 1, 2015, 8:18pm

As usual, DiFi is trying to have it both ways: She thinks Bibi LeStrange’s insistence that he speaks for all Jews is “arrogant”, and yet she will attend the speech.

The wrong Senator from California is retiring!

topcat · March 1, 2015, 8:22pm

You said it… I’m co-signing.

stephen_maturin · March 1, 2015, 8:30pm

“Whether this political move can be effective or not, I don’t know, but it’s not helpful,”

It’s remarkable how this same statement can be applied to Feinstein’s decision to attend anyway.

rudesan · March 1, 2015, 8:36pm

Just because she doesn’t agree with him doesn’t mean she shouldn’t stay informed.

Snafu · March 1, 2015, 8:40pm

there won’t be video or a transcript? by attending she supports him

srfromgr · March 1, 2015, 8:46pm

Dana Bash is Jewish too. Feinstein should have turned around and asked her…Does he speak for you too? Idiots. The both of them. Feinstein shouldn’t reward rightwing political calculus, which she’s already identified and acknowledged, by dignifying or rewarding Bib’s speech with her presence. She’s wrong about this, but she’s always been way too stubborn and thick-headed for my taste. She seems a lot like the female version of Joe Lieberman. Too gung-ho for active military action in the MiddleEast. Not my cup of tea for a Democratic Senator. I would think, California can do a lot better and find themselves an actual progressive for that job when the time comes.

stephen_maturin · March 1, 2015, 8:49pm

I am, however grateful, for several reasons, that Feinstein does not “intend to jump up and down.”

I know that she’s not entirely ruling it out- she may be overtaken by an irresistible urge- but her intent signals a tremendous concession.

Oh, thank you, Diane.

Snafu · March 1, 2015, 9:01pm

She’s more of dumbass than a hothead. That’s her going to bat for Obama. lmao It’s just like how she went to bat for the American public against the intelligence apparatus. Letting the intelligence agencies go wild then she’s butthurt when they treat her and her staff like any other American and hack their computers and monitor them. She’s an idiot. How many times did she allow herself to be rolled out on to a newsroom floor over the years defending all the bullshit the NSA and CIA does domestically? DINO Feinstein needs to lose her job. Lieberman is more of an attention whore, with his two girlfriends Wrong Way McCain and Butters. At least Feinblind pretends to have character. Lieberman has had more changes of heart than Dick Cheney. He’s a rusty political weathervane.

ewparris · March 1, 2015, 9:05pm

Bibi and Putin should form a club.

mymy · March 1, 2015, 9:13pm

But he’s the idiot in this, because ‘useful idiots’ often turn into menacing ones. He certainly does NOT speak for all Jews.

By the way, Haaretz just reported that members of the IDF (the Israeli army) are begging Bibi not to speak, saying he is ENDANGERING Israel. So did the former member of Mossad who criticized him.

So he doesn’t speak for all Israelis either.

arrrrrj · March 1, 2015, 9:18pm

Yes, he’s even speaking at an anti-Netanyahu event:

Ex-Mossad chief Meir Dagan to headline anti-Netanyahu rally

Dagan, who called Netanyahu’s policies ‘destructive to the future and security of Israel,’ will speak at rally demanding regime change at Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square.
Ex-Mossad Chief Meir Dagan to Headline anti-Netanyahu Rally - Haaretz Com - Haaretz.com

And he’s far from alone in Israel’s intelligence, military and diplomatic establishment; there’s a long list of former heads of the various agencies coming out against Bibi’s speech, his position, and his re-election. Of course, why they should see somebody who misrepresents their intel, misuses their force, and threatens their country’s diplomatic relations is a mystery. Thanks for the link to that interview.

srfromgr · March 1, 2015, 9:19pm

I don’t see her as dumb at all… In fact just the opposite, she’s too smart for her own good.

But what you said about how she was all butt-hurt about the way she was treated by the NSA and CIA, but couldn’t care less when it was happening to the rest of the American public…I couldn’t agree more. That’s where I lost all respect for her. She started out as a very progressive politician from what I could gather, but once she became extremely wealthy through the benefit of her third marriage to an investment banker, she’s been something of driver against seriously popular progressive economic policies more than once over the years. She has a real problem with democratic economics that help to build the middle-class from the bottom up, to say nothing of her chickenhawk attitude about our involvement in the MiddleEast, and America’s war powers that look a lot like American hegemony around the globe.

littlegirlblue · March 1, 2015, 9:31pm

I guess you’re from California so you have a stake in which Senator does what here, but her term isn’t up until 2018 at which time she will probably retire. You’re mistaken about her intentions. Bibi’s the elephant in the room, and it would be the height of folly to ignore him which does not mean acceding to his plans as the Rs are planning to do. . .

arrrrrj · March 1, 2015, 9:34pm

I would, however, defend her just far enough to say she’s no Lieberman. If he were still around, he’d have been on tv 24/7 for weeks praising Bibi’s brave move and condemning the pending deal with Iran with all his grave oh-so-independent love of mischief-making for Dems. DiFi isn’t a completely unreliable Democrat, at least, and is saying the right things on this. But geez, if someone like her could stay away from the speech, what a statement that would have made. Every Dem attending had better fucking sit on their hands and keep their mouths shut every fucking second of Bibi’s campaign appearance, and just leave when he’s done, no “respectful” applause. Give him the respect he gave you, idiots. And they still need to hear from all of us.

littlegirlblue · March 1, 2015, 9:37pm

The crowd here took up her defense when the newly-elected Cruz got on her case at a Senate hearing about assault weapons. How dare the wet-behind-the-ears criticize the seasoned Senator! She spoke about the aftermath of a shooting in a law office in San Francisco, and that memory translated into her efforts to have those weapons banned. No, she’s not a straight up always-to- the-left figure, but she was the mayor here when Moscone and Milk were killed in 1978, and her actions in those bleak days are what continue to make most people here remain fond of her. She should not be pilloried in the manner she is here and dependably so.

littlegirlblue · March 1, 2015, 9:39pm

Feinblind, Wrong McCain, Butters, so clever, so full of nothing.

inlabsitrust · March 1, 2015, 9:55pm

Thank you for this thoughtful analysis of a very complicated set of Mid-East relationships. Netanyahu uses American domestic politics to undermine an Iranian deal the world wants, and Republicans use Bibi to poke a stick in the eye of a nonwhite president. This is unprecedented. Even when Churchill spoke to Congress in the 40’s, the president approved, and Congress did not do this to embarrass the president.