I can look at the history of Rahm Emanuel from two angles. The first is as a Palestinian constantly disappointed in his past actions. Or, I can look at it in terms of fundamental Chicago and American politics, that constantly changes.
Emanuel did not hesitate to undermine the presence of Palestinians in the Chicago City Hall government. He terminated the Arabesque Festival the week he came into office in 2011, and reorganized and downsized the Human Relations Commission to shutter the Advisory Commission on Arab Affairs.
Worse, he hosted Ramadan Iftars by excluding most Arab community leaders and focusing on inviting non-Arab Muslims — 75 percent of Muslims in America are non-Arab and for Emanuel that helped him avoid contact with Palestinians and Arab activists.
On the other hand, Emanuel is a politician and a former Chicago Mayor.
I covered seven Chicago Mayors from Richard J. Daley to his son Richard M. Daley. (Mike Bilandic, Jane Byrne, Harold Washington, David Orr, Eugene Sawyer) while I was “desked” at City Hall. I was there everyday from 9 to 6 PM beginning with Bilandic covering Mayoral actions. I understand how Chicago Politics works.
Political Confrontation is not driven by hatred, as some might ascribe to Emanuel’s actions while mayor. It is driven by selfish politics that is the foundation for the agenda you hope to implement.
British leader Lord Palmerston stated in 1848 that England had no eternal allies or perpetual enemies, only eternal interests. That is where the evolved saying in politics comes from, “there are no enemies in politics, only political interests.”
In 2011, Palestinians were just emerging as a political force in Chicago, thanks to the generosity of Mayor Richard M. Daley who was enjoying expanded contacts with the Arab World including enjoying soirees with major Arab Airline companies and many business corporations. He also was building his presence among big name Arab AMerican donors, like the late Nemer Ziyad, whose father founded the largest Middle Eastern food producer and distributor, Ziyad Brothers Importing from a little store on 63rd Street in 1966.
Emanuel was being lobbied by pro-Israel and Jewish community leaders in 2011 who were angry that the Arabesque Festival that Mayor Daley alunched in 2007, served as a platform not only to shwo case Arab and Muslim culture, but also for Palestinian rights.
The Chicagoland area has one of the largest populations of Palestinian Americans, although the Jordanian and Lebanese community are substantive, too. The Lebanese were the first to assimilate into American society and have had the strongest influence on American politics.
But all Emanuel knew was what the racist and biased mainstream American news media would allow him to know about Chicago’s Arabs. And he quickly responded to the complaints from the Jewish community.
Afterall, they had a Jewish Mayor and they could finally shut down the Palestinian community and their very divided Arab community base.
It was purely a political decision for Emanuel, who had no real close advisers in the Palestinian community, but many in the non-Arab community like Salman Aftab, a very influential Afghan American and Muslim who became close.
Now, as a Palestinian, I guess I could hold a grudge against Emanuel because of his past actions. And maybe I could even compare it to Kamala Harris who just couldn’t get herself to embrace moral principle on the Israel-Palestine conflict, always coming up short on pushing Israel on Gaza, fearing she would lose the influential Jewish American vote. She got that vote but lost the increasingly influential Arab and pro-Palestinian vote, and that cost her the election.
I editorialized in support of Emanuel in the 2011 election and in the 2015 election, in columns published by The Future News, published by the late Jordanian journalist Mansour Tadros. We both believed that politics could bring Emanuel back around to a more balanced approach on the Middle East.
Tadros was one of the first people to die in Chicago during the COVID pandemic, and I helped the media cover his tragic passing and COVID-limited funeral. He was a good person who tapped that Arab character that is not too often seen among some of today’s constantly bickering Arab and Palestinian “leaders,” always give your “enemy” a chance to redeem themselves before fighting them.
For Christians, who originate from Palestine, it’s sometimes referred to as “turning the other cheek.” Like me, Tadros was a real Christian — not like the fake Christian Evangelicals in America who exploit Christianity for profit and power.
Even with our support, Emanuel just did not see a political base of support among the Arab and Palestinian voters. He stuck to his guns pandering to the easy vote, the pro-Israel Jewish vote in his backyard.
Recently, however, Emanuel did something many Jewish politicians fear doing. They separated Israel from the policies of Israel’s government.
Emanuel slammed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a war criminal driven by anti-Palestinian hatred. Netanyahu’s hatred comes from his associations with the late Ariel Sharon, a murderous warmonger, too.
Emanuel could also see that many American Jews, who have the highest voter turnout in elections (smart people who see through the political rhetoric to understand how it impacts their lives, families and businesses), have turned away from the Netanyahu government and have spoken out forcefully against him.
That doesn’t mean they have forgiven Hamas for ther terrorist massacre on Oct. 7. But it does mean that Netanyahu’s ongoing terrorist massacre is unacceptable and contrary to Jewish principles.
Polling also shows that a majority of Americans have shifted away from their blind loyalty to Israel, because of Netanyahu’s war in Gaza. And that is being reflected in Congress, which is a mirror of hypocrisy — most elected officials ignore principle and morality and instead rely on pandering to the views of the majority, trying to converge the two conflicted interests. Sometimes it works. Most of the time it doesn.
But I learned that in Chicago’s Machine, the most important principle of politics is staying alive. You do what you need to do to remain in office. When you are not in office, it doesn’t matter much whether you were true to all of your principles or that you compromised on a few.
Oh yea, there are “principled” martyrs out there who tried and failed. Politics and voters are like Chicago’s weather. Almost unpredictable. Be ready to change to survive.
Emanuel is doing just that. He sees the shifting taking place and how it can impact the presidential election.
I can’t blame Emanuel for abandoning the Palestinians and most Arabs as Mayor in 211. We offered him little except bickering whiners who used morality as our entry card. In truth, most Arabs would not have supported him even if he embraced them. Too many hate Jews. It’s an underlying current.
Of course, too many Jews also hate Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims. Both sides have that flaw that their communities can’t escape.
Emanuel saw the winds change. In a vote to strip Israel’s war crimes government of funding, 103 Democrats voted in support of the legislationin Congress. It was unprecedented.
In the ongoing elections, what used to be a blue ribbon guarantee of election victory, financial and political support from AIPAC (the American Israel Public Affairs Committee) is now an albatross for many. So many who received millions from AIPAC lost to more principled candidates who spoke out on Palestinian rights, peace with Israel, and ending the Gaza war, all the views rejected by Netanyahu’s government.
There is a subtle change taking place. It’s not a criticism of Israel. It’s a criticism of Israeli politics. Bad Israeli politics. Netanyahu politics.
Emanuel can see that s he prepares to run for President in the 2028 elections. He outlined the “23-state solution” in July 2026, a new roadmap to Middle East peace strategy calling for the integration of Israel, a Palestinian governing authority, and all 21 Arab League nations into a unified regional framework.
The Framework: Dismisses the traditional two-state model as politically discredited and stuck in past recriminations.
Regional Accountability: Requires the 21 Arab nations to help build and back a Palestinian governing authority that formally recognizes Israel.
U.S. Policy Shift: Advocates ending unconditional military aid subsidies, treating Israel like any other U.S. ally under standard security restrictions.
Political Context: Unveiled during a speech at Tel Aviv University amid widespread speculation regarding a potential 2028 presidential run.
It’s a smart pragmatic plan that positions him strongly among the majority of Jewish American voters and among many Arab and Muslim voters who are both tired of the extremists running and destroying everything with their policies of hate.
Here is my analysis in Arab News Newspaper. A shout out to Salma Aftab, a true leader in the Muslim community.
Can @RahmEmanuel raise the Israel-Palestine conflict up from the depths of Hell? Arab News RayHanania
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2651685/world
Can he? I think he can. It’s worth the chance.
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