Facing Senate confirmation with a trail of controversial quotes, Power’s pro-Israel bona fides win endorsement from ADL, Alan Dershowitz, Joe Lieberman, Rabbi Boteach and McCain.
WASHINGTON — The nomination of Samantha Power for America’s UN envoy garnered significant support Thursday, and not just from Obama backers.
Power’s nomination, announced Wednesday in a White House Rose Garden ceremony, may face a rocky confirmation process. As Foreign Policy’s The Cable blog noted, any case against Power would enjoy an “extended paper trail” owing to her “decades-long career as a journalist and Harvard scholar dedicated to human rights abuses and genocide.”
A sign of the partisan divide that may slow the nomination came from the main Democratic and Republican Jewish outreach groups. While the National Jewish Democratic Council expressed “full confidence” that Power would continue the US support for Israel at the UN, the Republican Jewish Coalition was more critical.
“Samantha Power has a record of statements that are very troubling to Americans who support Israel,” RJC executive director Matt Brooks said after the nomination was announced.
An early taste of how the nomination’s opponents may wield that record came later Wednesday in a statement by the right-wing Zionist Organization of America.
“The overwhelming evidence of her entire record causes us great fear and concern as to her appropriateness for this post,” the ZOA said in a comment that included a list of her past controversial statements. “The ZOA, in opposing her nomination, cited Power’s documented record of outspoken anti-Israel statements and lack of diplomatic tact and has urged the Senate to vote her down when her nomination comes before it,” the group said.
But the complaints from RJC and ZOA were dwarfed by a series of high-profile endorsements from conservatives and well-known pro-Israel figures, endorsements that will likely serve as ammunition for Power’s backers in Senate confirmation hearings.
Former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman offered what is — for him — high praise for Power in a conversation with Foreign Policy. “Generally speaking from her writings, Samantha is probably more personally interventionist as a matter of American foreign policy based on human rights than this [Obama] administration has been. I’m very encouraged by the president’s appointment.”
Influential Republican John McCain, the party’s 2008 presidential candidate, concurred. “I support President Obama’s nomination of Samantha Power to become the next US ambassador to the United Nations. I believe she is well qualified for this important position and hope the Senate will move forward on her nomination as soon as possible,” McCain said in a statement.
Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, a noted advocate for Israel who authored the book The Case for Israel, praised Power as a human rights expert “perfectly suited to stand up to the United Nations’ notorious double standard and inversion of human rights.
“To be sure, Samantha has said some things she now regrets,” Dershowitz added, “about Hillary Clinton, about Israel and about other controversial matters.”
But her work during the first Obama term as senior director for multilateral affairs and human rights at the National Security Council offered her many opportunities to support Israel — opportunities she took, according to Dershowitz. “While serving in the Obama administration, she has supported Israel’s security and defensive actions against terrorism,” he argued. “She stands squarely behind President Obama’s pledge never to allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons, even if preventive military action is required. She played a pivotal role in persuading the United States and some of our European allies to boycott the notorious Durban II conference, sponsored by the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, which invited Ahmadinejad to be its keynote speaker.”
The Anti-Defamation League, a major pro-Israel group, was among the first to endorse Power’s appointment, offering similar praise for Power’s efforts in opposing the demonization of Israel in international bodies.
“As head of President Obama’s multilateral affairs efforts, Samantha engaged in an all-hands-on-deck US campaign against Palestinian unilateral efforts in the UN to circumvent peace negotiations,” the ADL’s director Abe Foxman and chair Barry Curtiss-Lusher said just hours after she was nominated. “She experienced first-hand the hostility faced by Israel and the abuse of the UN bodies to promote anti-Israel bias. As someone who appreciates, to the core of her being, the meaning of international human rights mechanisms, Samantha is clear eyed and understands the injustice of their abuse to target Israel’s legitimacy.”
Shmuley Boteach, an unsuccessful Republican candidate for Congress in 2012, called Obama’s nomination of Power “one of the most impressive actions of his presidency,” and said that those who claimed she possessed anti-Israel animus “are wrong.”
“As the author of the 2002 Pulitzer-prize winning best seller, A Problem from Hell, Samantha has emerged as the world’s foremost agitator against genocide and, as a member of a nation who experienced the worst mass slaughter of any in history, I have always been in awe of a woman who has given voice to God’s ancient plea to humanity, ‘the blood of your brother cries out from the earth,’ ” Boteach wrote in The Times of Israel.
Alanrock Said:
This was a subject I only discussed once with my Father. He did not wish to learn ANYTHING about my Grandparent’s family.I respected his wishes. Thank you for your information.
Can a leopard change her spots?
@ honeybee:
Honeybee,
Thought if anyone would know of Rumkowski, you would.
Chaim Rumkowski was the Judenrat head of the Lodz Ghetto. He constantly smiled and threatened the Jews in the Lodz Ghetto, was tireless in rounding up Jews for the train stations and the ovens, and thought that the Germans would never kill him and his family, but in the last liquidation of the ghetto this rodent and his family and friends were shoved on the trains as those whom he sent to their deaths were.
There have been quite a few books written about the bastard, but I can’t think of their titles right now. Sunstein, Jakey Lew, Emmanuel, and so many other JINOs in the Obama crew are quite reminiscent of this scumbag.
Time will tell if she has learned something or lost influence.
So far as long as Islamists are invading the US administration by the truck load, one has to doubt.
With V. Jarrett with have 2 Islamophils in control!
Most Jewish Am. leaders are on the left. That is unhelpful.
Alanrock Said:
Who is this person, my Grandparent ‘s family died in the Lodz,Ghetto.
p.s. Methinks I would prefer Rabbi Cat Stevens aka Yusuf over “rabbi boteach” rabbi linder of Scottsdale, or any other so-called rabbi who busses Obama’s ass and would support Power. At least we know where Cat Stevens is coming from, and if he’s dreck, they’re even worse.
Honeybee knows EXACTLY what I mean…;) LOL.
@ honeybee:
Not really.
I for once agree with Yamit and his last sentence in his last commentary says it all.
Sunstein is about as Jewish as Soros, or Gens, or Rumkowski of the Lodz ghetto are and were. You don’t marry an openly pro-Islamist, Jew cursing ‘ho if you have any self-respect. The fact that he allowed her to name their son Declan speaks volumes about what a despicable POS Sunstein is. IF she ever called him a ‘Jew bastard’ he’d just stand there and smile.
As for Shapiro, he is as despicable as Sunstein, maybe more so because he touts his knowledge of Hebrew and his semi-Orthodox ways, but the schmuck clearly would put Obama and the Democratic Party above his own self-respect and people. Boteach – he is just plain stupid. A Rabbi who was smeared and cursed as being a Jew by Pascrell, the Italian-American Islamist and his terrorists friends in New Jersey yet turns around and says he’ll lift his Yarmulke to Obama for choosing Power is an ass. Not smart.
In the end, these, the others mentioned (Lieberman, Peretz, Foxman, and Dershowitz) and the 11 (once 12, but Lautenberg bought the farm) Judas Iscariot JINO Dems who voted for Hagel and will now vote for Power, will urge the 70 percent of mentally challenged Liberal Jews to board those trains Obama will have waiting for them to go to those luxury camps – run by Islamists. In the end we never learn a damn thing, do we.
stanrevich Said:
The appointment of Samantha Powers as UN Ambassador is certainly unnerving but to some degree the dangers that she poses are not what one might think at first glance. I decided to investigate further and the results are rather interesting. The charge that she said that the US should invade Israel is a bit disingenuous because she was asked a VERY leading question – “What would you do if either the Israeli’s or the Palestinians were at war and one or the other was committing genocide?” it was in that context that she said the US should used armed force to stop the genocide. To be truthful, I too would hope that if arab armies were invading Israel and winning and committing genocide, the US would step in and stop the slaughter of Jews. It is in this context that McCain, Dershowitz et al are supporting her. There is no doubt that she is VERY smart. Her resume, at such a young age, is unparalleled. She is also a fierce advocate of American active involvement in Human rights. Nothing wrong there either. But we must look a little deeper. She is married to Cass Sunstein, a far-out leftist also with decidedly militant views of what the U.S. should do in the world. Boteach said that she could not be anti-semitic because her husband is a Jew — but they got married in a Roman Catholic Church so Sunstein’s Jewishness is quite debatable. Sunstein is an advocate of an Imperial presidency. He has said on more than one occasion that the president should have the ability to override the courts and be able to do almost what he wants. He was a fierce supporter of Obama’s ability to issue executive decree after executive decree. He even, during the Bush presidency, supported Bush in using presidential powers to get his way. A man THIS farseeing is indeed very dangerous.
No, the danger that this power couple pose is that they are ideologues. If they “feel” something is bad, nothing will be allowed to stand in their way. They are advocates of increased centralization of power and that power should reside in the hands of the left. You cannot argue or debate with such people because their “moral rightness” will brook no opposition. I distrust such utopian idealists beacause more often than not their ideals will mean my death.
As for Ms. Powers’ Jewish supporters they are nothing more than Obama’s useful idiots. We had enough of them during Stalin’s time; we have more than enough of them now.
The friends of our enemies can never be our friends. Those who give support to anyone seeking to weaken or harm Israel are our enemies, even if they happen to be “Jewish”. Give them no quarter. Cut them no slack. Make no compromise. Our future is at stake.
Samantha Power gets early boost from our “friends”
ADL’s national director Abraham Foxman and Barry Curtiss-Lusher, ADL National Chair, had this to say:
As the world is sickened by the images of slaughter in Syria and as Israel faces an ever more volatile Middle East, we are heartened that the U.S. will be represented by an individual whose moral resolve and fierce pragmatism will serve our country well.
Defending Samantha Power on Israel
Jews are the most shallow and stupid people on earth. If one can convince them that the trains carrying them to the gas were really taking them to labor camps to work and to be cared for, they will believe anything and these (Jewish (spit) Fools) will believe anything and anyone when the right stimulus is applied.
Boteach, the rabbinical fool, was smeared by a garden variety, pro-Islamist anti-Semite by the name of Bill Pascrell who is a chip off the Obama-Samantha Power block. He obviously didn’t learn a damn thing from that election to a jerk who applauded the Palestinian flag flying high on the Paterson, NJ City Hall. He owes Bill Pascrell an apology if he is going to endorse a ‘ho whose wet dream is to use American troops to invade Israel. If he is taken in by the crocodile tears of a longtime Jew hater, God only knows what Rabbi Boteach would accept next.
As for Dershowitz and Marty Peretz, they are losers. Dershowitz was pegged by me during the OJ trial as wishy-washy two-sided pontificater, and Peretz who first broke the Baker story and blasted Bush I, Clinton, and Obama initially only to go sucking to them – he turned the New Republic from a journal that while Liberal at least told the truth into just another Democratic Party rag.
Lieberman is the oddball of them all. He worshipped Scoop Jackson and sought to emulate him, but he has turned out to be just another Pat Moynihan, whose star shone so brightly as an Ambassador to the same world body Baby Barry seeks to send the ‘ho to. Moynihan stood up for America there, but when he was elected Senator, he resorted back to his Liberal ways. Sadly as he was dying, he was told to support Hillary Clinton and he dutifully did so. Scoop Jackson is turning over in his grave over the equally lily-livered Lieberman who like McCain thinks that if we support Qaedists in Libya and Syria they will become our bosom buddies. Wrong then, wrong now. Joe Lieberman’s star too has faded – and the less said the better.
If Jews like these could support Samantha Power, God knows what they would have done if Hitler nominated Goebbels or Von Ribbentrop to become UN Ambassador. We know that their friends Boxer, Schumer, Franken, Cardin, Sanders, Wyden, et. al., endorsed Hagel and obviously if they had no problems voting for that Jew-hater, they will also buss Ms. Power’s pink butt. Same thing, different time.
yamit82 Said:
If you were in Laos you did have very interesting specialties. I understand why you don’t sleep.
honeybee Said:
Nope.
honeybee Said:
No, I was actually operating in Laos for only about 3.5 months as I was detached from my unit in Korea for special duty. McCain was a Navy pilot and I was a grunt with specialties.
Powell was an affirmative action military politician. nough said.
yamit82 Said:
Did you know McCain while in Viet Nam? Cb had a acquaintance OSarg. [ now deceased] who ended his military career in Viet Nam,who intensely dislike Colin Powell. Any thoughts on the matter?
@ yamit82:
Yamit 82,darlin, you were expecting better.
ADL, Alan Dershowitz, Joe Lieberman, Rabbi Boteach and McCain?
I don’t believe support for Israel played any part in their endorsement of Powers and that includes McCain.
Their support is for Obama and Liberalism which for each including McCain (who was recently photographed in Syria hugging Al-Qaeda fighters) is their religion and primary ideological and political concern..
I think it is reasonable to state that McCain is an idiot and we would be no better off had McCain beaten Obama for the Presidency, conceivably even much worse. He is an idiot.
Boteach recently wrote a controversial book called “Kosher Jesus” and has been Chopped and diced by the whole Orthodox Jewish communities of both America and Israel.
Tovia Singer debates Shmuley Boteach: Is Jesus Kosher?
What I think the above personalities are attempting to do is to stamp the Pigs (Powers and Obama) with the stamp of Kosher. Liberalism über alles and screw the Jewish State.
@ Laura:
Darlin Laura,you expected better?
They have lost any shred of credibility. We are talking about a woman who advocated that America invade Israel to create a “palestinian” state.