Jeffrey Goldberg has a revealing interview with Marcy Winograd, who is challenging Jane Harman in California’s Democratic primary on June 8th.
Here’s a collection of Winograd’s thoughts as shared with Goldberg:
- Why the US brought 9/11 on itself: “Most of the hijackers were from Saudi Arabia and were angry at the proliferation of U.S. bases and forces in Saudi Arabia, so I think there’s a great degree of pushback over the presence of U.S. troops all over the world.”
- In answer to the question, “if we left Afghanistan, wouldn’t the Taliban shut down these women-led NGOs?” “Well, that would be the whole point in investing in women-led NGOS, to make them stronger and to help women emerge in leadership positions politically. Under the Soviet-influenced government in Afghanistan, women had far more freedom than they do today, after how many years of American occupation?”
- Why Jews are to blame for antisemitism. “Zionism categorizes Jews as a race, which makes it easier for Jews to be targeted.”
- Why a ‘one-state’ solution doesn’t apparently involve killing most of the Jews currently living in Israel in order to be workable. “I’m a believer in equality, one voice, one vote, Israelis and Palestinians, one voice, one vote, that’s my personal position.”
- And the customary “as-a-Jew” narcissism. “I’ve labeled myself as a Jewish woman of conscience who is compelled to speak out because of the suffering in the world.”
Awful. Just awful.
But here’s a question for J-Street. According to this puff piece about Winograd, one of her enthusiastic backers is Lila Garrett, a J-Street Board Member. Is supporting a candidate who, in her own words, reveals herself to be a Soviet apologist, an advocate of Israel’s elimination, a believer in the thesis that the US brought 9/11 on itself, a supporter of the equation of Zionism with racism, and an optimist on the Taliban’s attitude toward the rights of women compatible with the “pro-Israel, pro-peace” branding?
Yikes! What’s disturbing, aside from Winograd’s naivete on issues foreign and domestic, is the degree to which she is plainly misinformed about the Middle East.
She says she would engage in people-to-people solidarity with Iran’s youth (she’s read somewhere that 2/3 of Iran is under 30) - okay, to what end? The language sounds good but what would she hope to accomplish with people-to-people solidarity? Helping to overthrown the regime? Doubt it. Helping them understand America’s position in the region? That would be preaching to the choir to some extent, plus Winograd herself is skeptical about the US role so…
She is not ready or responsible enough for Congress. A leftwing Sarah Palin, imo.
Nice edit, typical of a hit piece.
At least try not to lie about the questions from an interview you link to.
“What are the root causes?” not, “Why the US brought 9/11 on itself:”
That’s really pathetic–if you going to smear someone, at least do it competently.
And concern trolling for ngos while we support the corruption of the Karzai govt., much less the brutality of regimes to which we ’special rendition’ is as sad as it gets.
And after a decade of military posturing, two American occupation forces on foreign lands, close to one trillion spent on two wars, record unemployment at home, a depressed manufacturing sector, record numbers of Americans dying for lack of access to health care and no discernible military victory to be had in Afghanistan, I question who is truly naive here about American foreign policy.
Quick, quick, tell us about the ‘evil-doers’ that lurk and hate our freedom.
And why we should never question Israeli policy or they win.
That’s what Jane Harman does, in addition to trying to get foreign espionage agents off while being wiretapped.
Jane sounds like a right-wing Benedict Arnold to me.
So very sad.
Doesn’t seem like he’s doing much ’stretching’, or a hit piece to me.
If anyone’s naive about foreign affairs, it’s Marcy; she’s a complete amateur to think that ’strengthening NGO’s’ will be able enough to stop the Taliban from plunging the women into a dark abyss.
And the freedom the Soviet Union gave to the people of Afghanistan? She seems to be forgetting the hundreds of thousands killed and the millions forced into exile.
And to top it off, she accuses others of dual-loyalty.
Questioning the politics of the US isn’t the problem here; it’s her odd, detached views that give more pause for concern.
“Jane sounds like a right-wing Benedict Arnold to me.”
There it is. Ye old far right and far left strategy of questioning the national loyalties of pro-Israel Jewish Americans.
You have to laugh. I quote Winograd’s on-the-record statements and Walter accuses me of smearing her. He then invokes Benedict Arnold in attacking Harman, producing absolutely no evidence to justify his smear.
Ganselmi is right that this is a standard antisemitic “dual loyalty” ploy. All I’d add is that it’s monumentally stupid and historically illiterate as well. So thank you, Walter, for reminding me that most of our adversaries are really not that bright to begin with.
A J Street spokeswoman said the following in an email to Politico: “J Street does not share Marcy Winograd’s view of the Middle East. We favor a two-state solution and believe that it’s the only way to secure Israel’s future as the democratic homeland of the Jewish people; Winograd favors a binational state.”
Frightening that anyone with Marcy Winograd’s lack of any sensitivity towards the Jewish people, purportedly her “own” people, would be seeking an elective office. She needs to be stopped in her tracks. You listening my Jewish brethren?
Winograd’s “I’ve labeled myself as a Jewish woman of conscience who is compelled to speak out because of the suffering in the world.” is the poorman’s (or idiot’s) trice-removed version of Rosa Luxembourg’s famous quote, though without the special pleading for ignorance which Luxembourg might have merited when she uttered these words in 1916:
“Why do you come with your particular Jewish sorrows? I feel equally close to the wretched victims of the rubber plantations in Putumayo, or to the Negroes in Africa with whose bodies the Europeans are playing catch-ball… I have not a separate corner in my heart for the ghetto: I feel at home in the entire world wherever there are cloud and birds and human tears.”
History as shown, as Gustavo Perednik noted: “With hindsight, those Jews of the 1916 ghetto would have been happy to exchange their fate with the Putumayo workmen and Black Africans in Africa.” (H/T: Bob from Brockley)
See one possible explanation for the Winogradic self-sublimation:
http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/news/the-jew-flu-the-strange-illness-of-jewish-anti-semitism-1.267172
Using Ben Cohen’s reasoning, the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA) also believe that ‘the US brought 9/11 on itself’. They report,
“Indeed, according to documents cited by experts on Al Qaeda, such as Rohan Gunaratna, the group attacked the United States on 9/11 (and before) not primarily because of our support for Israel, but because of our support for Saudi Arabia and other “moderate” Arab countries…Al Qaeda’s aim is to restore the caliphate (the unitary Arab Islamic state that existed in the days of Muhammed and his followers), but they understand that as long as the United States props up Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait and Egypt and Jordan, with weapons and soldiers and financial support, and the promise of military intervention if necessary, these regimes are unlikely to fall…Thus the earlier Al Qaeda attacks against the Unites States, in Saudi Arabia, in Kenya and Tanzania, in Yemen, and finally on the U.S. homeland on 9/11. These attacks had nothing to do with Israel and everything to do with U.S. support for Arab regimes”.
In fact, they seem to think that the US brought a whole range of attacks on itself.
What’s Ben Cohen’s position towards CAMERA? After all, both the AJC and CAMERA are part of the Israel on Campus Coalition (ICC).
Guilt by association - a proud tradition for supporters of Joe McCarthy. Go after J Street because a board member is also a supporter of a candidate with views more to the left? This in no way links J Street with Winograd.
I’ll be waiting for the next post asking Jeremy Ben-Ami to name names.
I know Jane Harman’s congressional district well. Palos Verdes is very affluent and filled with political moderates, both Democrats and Republicans. They usually vote Republican, but they like Harman and have returned her to office many times. Winograd hasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell of winning against Harman.