NY Mayor de Blasio, an Israel lover… in the closet?

By Eric Fettmann, MOSAIC

In an old joke that used to be told during Francisco Franco’s fascist regime in Spain, a man walks into a bar and asks the bartender: “What do you think of Franco?” The barkeep looks around nervously, then motions the man to follow him into the cellar, where he shuts the door and shutters the windows. After checking to make sure they’re alone, the bartender says, “What do I think of Franco? I like him.”

That joke came to mind upon hearing of Mayor de Blasio’s closed-door speech to a midtown meeting of the major pro-Israel lobbying group, the America-Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC. The event wasn’t listed on de Blasio’s schedule, his press office didn’t release his remarks and event security escorted a Capital New York reporter from the event, though the Web site did obtain an audiotape.

Why the secrecy? De Blasio delivered up a boilerplate pro-Israel speech remarkable only for how unremarkable it was, certainly for an officeholder in a city that’s home to the world’s largest Jewish population. Defending Israel is “our obligation,” said the mayor, and “elemental to being an American, because there is no greater ally on earth.”

Nor does this appear to be some kind of post-election conversion; de Blasio noted that he’s made three trips to Israel, one with his family, including a visit to Sderot, the border city targeted by Palestinian missiles from Gaza. And he promised his hosts that “City Hall will always be open to AIPAC.” Not surprisingly, the mayor received several rounds of enthusiastic applause.

De Blasio’s office said the host group preferred to keep the press out, though that certainly didn’t preclude him from listing the event on his public schedule or distributing his prepared remarks. Not surprisingly, he caught some news media flak over the seeming contradiction to his professed policy of complete openness and transparency.

But was there a political motive for keeping the mayor’s appearance so hush-hush? De Blasio, after all, is the new hero of the Democratic Party’s increasingly dominant hard-left wing — and in those circles, support for Israel, and particularly AIPAC, is increasingly unpopular.

Which explains why the mayor was lambasted by the editors of The Nation, who accused him of “pandering to the powerful right-wing lobby” with his “deplorable” and “dismaying” remarks. A group of 58 Jewish liberals, including Gloria Steinem, Eve Ensler, Erica Jong and some left-wing activist rabbis, issued a statement denouncing de Blasio, saying: “It is not your job to do AIPAC’s bidding when they call you to do so.”

But it’s not just one small segment of the Democratic Party whose commitment for Israel is on the wane. Recall that at the 2012 national convention, the party initially removed its traditional and long-standing commitment that Jerusalem “is and will remain the capital of Israel.” When embarrassed party officials tried to reinstate the past language, they were greeted with a chorus of raucous boos. After three voice votes, the chairman hastily declared the measure passed — though it clearly hadn’t.

The sharpening of the partisan divide over Israel is a worrisome trend that’s being exacerbated by elements in both parties. But while some Republicans are questioning whether Democrats remain committed to Israel, some Democrats seem to be wondering if Republicans are too committed to Israel.

De Blasio’s speech should have been a strong and welcome affirmation from the Democratic Party’s hard left that support for Israel and its defenders is not inimicable to their values. But as Eric Yoffie, a leading Reform rabbi, told Haaretz, AIPAC and de Blasio “managed to take a routine political event intended to promote support for Israel and turn it into a mini-crisis and a major embarrassment for all concerned.”

Let’s hope that this was all about AIPAC’s logistical bungling and not any desire by Mayor de Blasio to keep his genuine enthusiasm for Israel behind closed doors. Because if support of Israel has to be kept secret, like the frightened bartender in Franco’s Spain, the Jewish state and its supporters have real cause to be worried.