Will the Arab World Take Issue With Rahm's Israeli Roots and Pro-Israel Views?

"He's a perfect choice. Obama's made a statement to Iran and the rest of the Middle East he's no pushover."

No, actually Obama just confirmed what the world already thought of the US and who controls the policy. Shame on Obama. What a coward, needing to over-compensate for any perception about him that showed even a remote compassion towards the suffering of the Palestinians.

Instead of having guts like Powell who talked about the overt prejudice towards Arabs and Muslims, he kept silent and then adds insult to injury by making this move. I now regret my adamant support for this newly-minted AIPAC toady.

And Jake, IRGUN was a TERRORIST ORGANIZATION that existed long before the PLO or Hamas, yet since they're Jewish, they're merely called "militant." Tell that to the thousands of Palestinian civilians killed or driven out of their homes in the 30s and 40s.

Yeah, no media bias when it comes to all things Israel. Sickening

It is so funny to read the comments from the Obama fanatics anytime they perceive the slightest bit of negativity in an article about their "flawless" leader. I'm happy that Obama is president, but the Obamabots are so over the top in their defense of everthing he says and does.

as a non-arab I ALSO have a problem with the US's blind support for Israel... Not just an Arab thing, sorry

He's a perfect choice. Obama's made a statement to Iran and the rest of the Middle East he's no pushover.

Good cop; bad cop. I think Obama's acknowledgment of his own weakness is extremely important.

What does it matter what Emanuel's position on Israeli issues is? He's the chief of staff, not the secretary of state. Chief of Staff is a grande operations manager, a guy who controls schedules, who manages time, who is a link between the president and congress. He does not have a policy role.

If Obama had picked Emanuel to be his Secretary of State, we might have cause for concern. However, just because someone in your government is very pro-Israel does not mean they have a say on Israel policy.

Finally, so the guy's father was Irgun. It was Menachem Begin, a fellow former Irgunist, who made peace with Egypt. No one has asked the father whether he believes today in a 2-state solution.
Moreover, no one has asked the son. Since when is support for Israel anti-two state solution?

Finally,

WoW!
I want to know what is so objectionable about cleaning floors.
I have NEVER had the money to have someone clean my house.
I have always cleaned my OWN floors.
What a novel thought...

There is nothing wrong with cleaning floors.
There IS something wrong with looking down on those that clean floors.

I think President-Elect Obama gathers big thinkers with strong opinions as his aides. Perfect! Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Learn how all kinds of people think!
It may just help us think outside of the box to solve problems and live together on this planet.

You can't please everybody. Our next President didn't choose him because of politics - he wanted to get the job done. Also, Rahm is a very close friend of his - which means he knows that he will have his best interest at heart. Besides, the man is VERY good at what he does. In the end it will all be revealed.

This will be a great team for America and the world - even if the Palestinians don't see that right now.

Before the end of his term, Obama's policies will cause the entire world to erupt in flames.

Bush walked into a dream, he had a stong foundation to start with & he blew it. In 8 years America went from a thriving economic & powerful country to a country embedded into a recession, two wars & the largest government debt in American history to the laughing stock of the rest of the world. Bush chose a team of inexpereinced & maverick members to support him.

I like ABC news and I watch it regularly. Ever since I've been noticing the provocative articles from Jack Tapper, I've noticed his cynical views and reporting.
My views and opinions about ABC news is starting to slide solely because of Jack Tapper's pretentiously slimy reporting. His reports appear to have a distinctly cynical under current.
ABC news would be better off without this kind of reporting.

Haili: You are aware that Emmanuel worked for years in the Clinton administration? And I am pretty sure that he was Jewish then, too. Along with Rubin?

Flash: He also supported the Israeli bombing of civilians in Beirut - which the Israeli people did not support. Olmert had his lowest approval ratings at that time - lower than George Bush ever had.

Deena - That is truely disturbing. Maybe there is a genetic factor at play.

Gee, I thought the problem for the past two years was that Obama was a secret Israeli hater. It's hard to choose my own personal favorite from all of the smears, but it's go to be these lines, which were the summary of another anti-Obama piece on this site:

"As the campaigns compete for Jewish support, it would be political malpractice for rivals (sic) campaigns to not send this blog entry around to big pro-Israel donors. Political Punch 3/4/07 Jake Tapper"

Rahm Emanuel is Howard Stern's first cousin. I'm more disturbed about that than his stint in the Israeli Army.... no kidding.

Rahm is a tough SOB who has proven that he can get things done. Obama was smart to pick him as COS. Don't read foreign policy tea leaves in this choice.

I am wondering how can a U.S. citizen with dual citizenship (Israeli), and who served in the Israeli army, obtain a top secret clearance to be the White House chief of staff. Unbelievable.

Let's get our facts straight.
Emanuel had nothing to do with the current financial crisis. He was named to the Board of Directors for the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation ("Freddie Mac") by President Clinton in 2000. He resigned from the board in 2001 when he ran for Congress.
That was way before any of this stuff happened with the current administration.

Let's get real. Rahm E was a Director of Freddie Mac. He's one of the people responsible for the current economic crisis. Of course he's a pitiful choice. But he was probably selected because he's part of the cover up of the Democrats role in the current economic crisis and he is a staunch, tough, partisan.

This is certainly change you should have counted on.