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Presidential hopeful Kerry woos Jews with Israel anecdotes: A DESPERATE CRY FOR HELP
hA'ARETZ ^ | Last Update: 04/05/2004 00:37 | By Nathan Guttman, Haaretz Correspondent

Posted on 05/03/2004 3:00:14 PM PDT by Cinnamon Girl

WASHINGTON - Democratic presidential candidate Senator John Kerry on Monday tried to convey to a major Jewish audience, at the annual convention of the Anti-Defamation League, his strong personal commitment to Israel and its security.

But instead of delivering a programmatic speech on the Middle East he decided to appeal to the emotions of the audience, and spoke at length about his first visit to the country, 20 years ago, when he traveled from north to south.

Along with the personal stories, he of course also emphasized that he would never pressure Israel, would not force it to negotiate with an unreliable partner, and would continue trying as president to advance the disengagement plan.

"Whatever the future of this particular plan, if elected president I will guarantee you that I will work continuously, never disengaging as this administration did for so long, in a way that will advance that cause."

On his trip to Israel, he said: "We traveled everywhere, to all of the sites, to the north, to a kibbutz, Kiryat Shmona, which I will never forget, because it was near a school where only a few years earlier children had been murdered, innocently. And we went down into a shelter where children had to take refuge when the Katyusha rockets came across the border from Lebanon."

When the senator's delegation reached the south, he visited Uvda air force base where he asked permission from the local commanders for an overflight of the country.

Although he had limited experience as a pilot, he was given a Fuga to fly and within a few minutes, when he wanted to look out over Aqaba from above, the pilot who was accompanying him said, "Senator, you better turn quickly because otherwise you'll be in Egyptian territory."

That tale, which impressed the audience, echoes the story President George Bush tells about how he was given a helicopter tour of Israel by then opposition MK Ariel Sharon.

Kerry went on with his personal tale. "Then I asked him if I could do a loop, a little aerobatics and see it all upside down - the perfect way to see the Middle East and Israel," he said winning a laugh from the audience.

The last stop on the tour Kerry told to the audience was Masada, where, after a lengthy discussion of the suicide by the survivors on the desert plateau-palace rather than be captured by the Romans, Kerry and the other members of the delegation found themselves, he said, on the ledge where air force cadets are sworn in.

"And we stood on the edge and we yelled 'Am Yisrael chai!' [the nation of Israel lives] And boom, across came the echo, the most eerie and unbelievable sound. And we sort of looked at each other and we felt as if we were hearing the souls of those who had died there, speaking to us."


TOPICS: Extended News; Israel
KEYWORDS: aerobatics; hughhewitt; kerry
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"I'm in favor of the palestinians having a state wherever they want. Or maybe I'm not. You tell me."
1 posted on 05/03/2004 3:00:14 PM PDT by Cinnamon Girl
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To: Cinnamon Girl
He'll screw them the first opportunity he gets, but they'll vote for him in droves anyway.
2 posted on 05/03/2004 3:02:38 PM PDT by dead (I've got my eye out for Mullah Omar.)
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To: dead
Who's 'they', dead? It's not so simple anymore, hence the desperation. And, as an article posted on FR earlier explained, a lot of the Jewish major donors to the DNC have moved over to the RNC, and the DNC depends much more on huge individual contributions than the RNC does.
3 posted on 05/03/2004 3:06:20 PM PDT by Cinnamon Girl
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To: Cinnamon Girl
...it was near a school where only a few years earlier children had been murdered, innocently.

They were murdered innocently??? WTF???

4 posted on 05/03/2004 3:09:28 PM PDT by rickmichaels
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To: dead
>>>...but they'll vote for him in droves anyway. <<<

It would be an interesting strategy for Bush to take a pole among Israelisto see who they would prefer as US President.

I believe that it would come out overwhelmingly positive in favor of Bush. That might convince a few US Jews to switch to the party that Israel prefers!

5 posted on 05/03/2004 3:09:40 PM PDT by HardStarboard ( Wesley...gone. Hillary......not gone enough!)
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To: Cinnamon Girl
> if elected president I will guarantee you that I will work continuously

Surely this Ivy-leagurer knows the difference between continuous and continual.

> never disengaging as this administration did for so long, in a way that will advance that cause."


Yeah, the way Clinton engaged in the sacred "process". Thanks but no thanks.

> it was near a school where only a few years earlier children had been murdered, innocently.

How does one murder children innocently?

Sen. Kerry, you still are flying upside down.
6 posted on 05/03/2004 3:10:14 PM PDT by Paul_B
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To: Cinnamon Girl; dead
No genuine Christian (Protestant or Catholic) or Jew should be able to vote for Scary Kerry in good conscience. He supports everything inimical to a moral life: abortion, promotion of homosexuality, etc etc etc choose anything from the Left's agenda.

But Kerry is dangerous because he is the ultimate post-modern, most relativistic politician on-record. "I voted in favor of the 87 billion dollars for the troops before I voted against it." "Ribbons and medals were absolutely interchangeable." etc.

He seems to stand for nothing but expediency, and the few things he is positive about are appalling: that any use of the U.S. military must be wrong, that following the anti-Semitic, socialist, and patently corrupt dictates of the U.N, must be right, that Western Civilization in general is the cause of most of the world's ills rather than their solution, and that therefore the invalid complaints from Islamic or socialist/communist dictators and governments must be listened to with a bowed head and requisite shame.

But unfortunately that sums up the Left-wing of this country in a general sense, which is why I hope the "Red" part of America gets out and votes against the liberals.

Dubya Bush may not be real popular right now, and I am not happy with various things he has done, but overall one cannot support the Kerry campaign at all.

I have written before at various talk-sites that Kerry shows certain signs of Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome, among them the inability to recall precisely what happened under stressful conditions, and the inability to decide a course of action without disputing its reality later, both qualities one would not really want to see in a President of the United States!

Could one insist that Scary Kerry get a complete psychiatric analysis from an impartial foreign doctor, say one from Iceland, since that seems to be appropriate given Scary Kerry's inexpressively botoxic face?

7 posted on 05/03/2004 3:10:33 PM PDT by Hesse3000
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To: Cinnamon Girl
That tale, which impressed the audience, echoes the story President George Bush tells about how he was given a helicopter tour of Israel by then opposition MK Ariel Sharon.
Kerry can't even keep George Bush's story straight.
8 posted on 05/03/2004 3:11:53 PM PDT by counterpunch (<-CLICK HERE for my CARTOONS)
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To: Cinnamon Girl
And tomorrow Senator John Flipper Kerry will speak at a Mosque (or some similar muslim gathering) and say "the Israeli's are evil, murdering (blanks) and a Palestinian State should be immediately formed by the U.N." (and the Hell with Israel or their right to exist).

(or words to that effect)

9 posted on 05/03/2004 3:12:03 PM PDT by Condor51 ("Diplomacy without arms is like music without instruments." -- Frederick the Great)
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To: Cinnamon Girl
I saw him telling that story during a short period that Fox was covering his speech.

He was very soft spoken, he tried to smile and HE PERFORMED THE PART OF THE ISRAELI BY USING A VERY BAD ACCENT IMPERSONATION.

10 posted on 05/03/2004 3:12:36 PM PDT by texasflower (in the event of the rapture.......the Bush White House will be unmanned)
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To: texasflower; *Hugh Hewitt; generalissimoduane
Hugh is playing clips of the Kerry speech to the ADL right now.
11 posted on 05/03/2004 3:14:14 PM PDT by Cinnamon Girl
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To: Cinnamon Girl
He took forever to tell that story and it could have been an okay story, but he droned on as he told it.

Boring.
12 posted on 05/03/2004 3:14:54 PM PDT by texasflower (in the event of the rapture.......the Bush White House will be unmanned)
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To: Cinnamon Girl
I hope you're right, but I was expecting the big backlash to come against Hillary Clinton, especially after her sloppy kiss with Arafat's wife, the "effing jew bastard" comment, etc. but in the end she beat Lazio 56 to 43 in the Jewish vote.

I don't know what it will take to get that voting block to move into the Republican column, but I hope they do soon.

13 posted on 05/03/2004 3:15:22 PM PDT by dead (I've got my eye out for Mullah Omar.)
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To: dead
I hope he does if there's that dumb to vote for him. How about his fake smile today ???? Repulsive comes to my mind.
14 posted on 05/03/2004 3:16:23 PM PDT by patriciamary
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To: Hesse3000
"Kerry shows certain signs of Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome, among them the inability to recall precisely what happened under stressful conditions, and the inability to decide a course of action without disputing its reality later,.."

It might be because he lies so much - he can't keep his stories straight.

When he gets caught - he flip-flops.

15 posted on 05/03/2004 3:22:27 PM PDT by LADY J
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To: Cinnamon Girl
If he is not going to force Israel to negotiate with an unreliable partner how is he going to stay engaged. Engagement always translates into pressuring Israel into concessions.
16 posted on 05/03/2004 3:23:38 PM PDT by Honestfreedom
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To: Cinnamon Girl
Although he had limited experience as a pilot, he was given a Fuga to fly and within a few minutes, when he wanted to look out over Aqaba from above, the pilot who was accompanying him said, "Senator, you better turn quickly because otherwise you'll be in Egyptian territory."

OK, first he falls on the slopes, then he falls off his bike. You couldn't get me to go up, in the sky, with him as pilot. Sheesh!
17 posted on 05/03/2004 3:23:43 PM PDT by Lynda
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To: Cinnamon Girl
Note to Senator Kerry: You have the Jewish vote, but it is 2% of the population, and most of it is in NY and Illinois, which you were going to win anyway.
18 posted on 05/03/2004 3:47:16 PM PDT by presidio9
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To: Hesse3000
The man is 61. Memory can become inexact just around that age. Some things can simply disappear from memory until one is presented w/something from the time being recalled.

I don't dispute the possibility of PTSD, but I would factor in his age (long-term memory dysfunction) and his pot-smoking (short-term memory dysfunction), as well.

Then one could also factor in narcissism; this condition often results in historical revisionism.
19 posted on 05/03/2004 5:02:06 PM PDT by reformedliberal
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To: Cinnamon Girl
Kerry:

I supported Israel, before I was against it.

20 posted on 05/03/2004 6:08:18 PM PDT by Nachum
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