Report: Hagel called Netanyahu a radical, said Israel was at risk of becoming an apartheid state
posted at 3:21 pm on February 19, 2013 by Allahpundit
Alternate headline: “Liberals remember why they like Chuck Hagel.”
Two problems here. Problem one: Like the earlier report when he allegedly said that the State Department is controlled by Israel’s foreign ministry, there’s no hard proof. There’s not even a direct quote. It sounds like him, which isn’t something you can say of most would-be cabinet members, but good luck getting any Democrats to cross Obama and switch their votes based on that.
Kenneth Wagner, who attended the 2010 speech while a Rutgers University law student, provided the Washington Free Beacon with an email he sent during the event to a contact at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. The email is time-stamped April 9, 2010, at 11:37 AM.
“I am sitting in a lecture by Chuck Hagel at Rutgers,” Wagner wrote in the email. “He basically said that Israel has violated every UN resolution since 1967, that Israel has violated its agreements with the quartet, that it was risking becoming an apartheid state if it didn’t allow the Palestinians to form a state. He said that the settlements were getting close to the point where a contiguous Palestinian state would be impossible.”
“He said that he [thought] that Netanyahu was a radical and that even [former Israeli foreign minister Tzipi] Livni, who was hard nosed thought he was too radical and so wouldn’t join in a coalition [government] with him. … He said that Hamas has to be brought in to any peace negotiation,” Wagner wrote.
Rather Hagelian, but if you’re willing to support him when we know for a fact he’s referred to the “Jewish lobby,” why wouldn’t you support him after this? It’s not like he was poised to have a warm relationship with Bibi and Israel’s defense ministry until the Rutgers stuff surfaced. Obama’s fully prepared for relations with Israel to be further strained in his second term; he’d have never considered this nomination if he wasn’t. (Worth a presidential medal, don’t you think?) Which brings us to the second problem. Dave Weigel did some googling and discovered that ominous warnings of apartheidism are no bar to cabinet appointments … even in Israel:
I’ve obtained a quote from Hagel saying this in February 2010.
“As long as in this territory west of the Jordan river there is only one political entity called Israel it is going to be either non-Jewish, or non-democratic. If this bloc of millions of Palestinians cannot vote, that will be an apartheid state.”
My mistake! That wasn’t Hagel. That was Ehud Barak, speaking in his capacity as Israel’s defense minister. If we accept the text of the email, Hagel didn’t accuse Israel of being or becoming an apartheid state. Wagner has Hagel saying that Israel risk[ed] becoming an apartheid state if it didn’t allow the Palestinians to form a state, and saying that two months after Israel’s former PM and contemporary defense minister had said it.
A former Democratic president once wrote an entire book on this subject. But then, it’s probably a mistake to view these reports of questionable speeches individually rather than in the aggregate. The point here isn’t to find one single thing that Hagel’s said that’ll instantly disqualify him, it’s to give the Democrats a headache that pounds harder, day by day over the next week, so that when they come back to D.C. they’re ready to purge themselves of this whole business. Makes me wonder, in fact, if Hagel’s opponents aren’t discovering this stuff every few days but rather have a pile of it amassed and are now following a Breitbartian strategy of dribbling it out daily to steadily increase the pressure. All his opponents need, really, is a crack in the dam, just one Democrat to say “enough.” Anyone willing to do that, preferably/possibly a southern Dem up for reelection who wouldn’t mind putting some distance between him/her and The One? Mark Pryor? Mary Landrieu? Anyone?
Read Dan Foster on the two scenarios for the Pentagon if Hagel ends up being confirmed. Either he’ll be an incompetent manager of a White House defense strategy that’s more hawkish than he’d prefer or he’ll be an able spokesman for an incompetent, more dovish White House strategy. Being an eeyore, I can imagine him being an incompetent manager of an incompetent strategy, but who knows? Maybe one of the reasons O wants Hagel is that he expects that he or Netanyahu will have to order an attack on Iran’s nuke facilities in his second term and he wants some political cover from his more dovish SecDef when he does it. Hagel’s “brand” is his chief value to Obama, after all; he’s a Republican stamp of approval on defense cuts. Why wouldn’t he be a paleocon stamp of approval on a war with Iran too?
Update: Touche:
Lay off @daveweigel — I assume he is being sarcastic when he suggests Barak has credibility when it comes to the peace process.
— Philip Klein (@philipaklein) February 19, 2013
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How about an arrest. This is assault.
rbj on April 3, 2013 at 4:43 PM
The real reason it went public.
/
CurtZHP on April 3, 2013 at 4:47 PM
And the greatest basketball coach of all time, Coach John Wooden, never said a swear word, and never raised his voice at his players…and these idiots don’t get it. And the people who hire and keep these fools on should go with him.
right2bright on April 3, 2013 at 4:48 PM
http://www.epicgifs.net/images/show/R40P8QWH
Good Lt on April 3, 2013 at 4:50 PM
I tend to agree, I think everything was “fine” until he used a gay reference.
right2bright on April 3, 2013 at 4:51 PM
No, he hasn’t a clue how to motivate excellence.
Good luck finding your next job, bad boy.
fogw on April 3, 2013 at 4:52 PM
This is worse than the shoving. Higher ed is a cesspool.
forest on April 3, 2013 at 4:53 PM
Gays are the new muslims. You’re not allowed to ever offend them. EVER.
CurtZHP on April 3, 2013 at 4:54 PM
ESPN is, of course, falling all over themselves pointing out the use of the word faggot by this coach. I tend to agree that this is the only reason the video came to light. ESPN is just pathetic; too bad they’re the Big Brother of collegiate sports.
MustLoveBlogs on April 3, 2013 at 4:56 PM
+10,000. I totally agree.
Coach Wooden never hit his players, never was abusive towards his players, and never treated his players unfairly. Coach Wooden also set a positive tone for racial reconciliation, back at a time when many African-American athletes were not being treated fairly by their white coaches.
Coach Wooden modelled Leadership, unlike most coaches today whose “talent” lies in modelling Authoritarianism.
Coach Wooden exhibited Character in Leadership , which is sorely missing in our sports culture today.
I say “good riddance” to coaches like Rice and Bobby Knight, but I pay close attention to anything Coach Wooden has said. The difference is Character in Leadership.
ColtsFan on April 3, 2013 at 5:08 PM
I saw this guy at games and he was absolutely insane. I mentioned ti hub and brother that I would hate to be at a practice with him. They agreed it woukd be brutal. He is a bully and knows the players couldn’t do anything if they want to keep their scholarships. I don’t care what he called them, that’s words. Someone in authority doesn’t put their hands on a player.
megthered on April 3, 2013 at 5:10 PM
didn’t they also fold over the Rush deal?
and is the Rutgers also the school of nappy headed hos?
DanMan on April 3, 2013 at 5:11 PM
They’re not kids, they’re in college for cripes sake. They’re adults
They need to be a bit more thick skinned.
That being said, the ball throwing at the head is too much. A b-ball is pretty hard, it could hurt if it hits the right spot. Looks to me the other times he throws the balls, he’s throwing them at the legs, lower body, not trying to hurt anyone but to get attention.
He’s been doing it for years - NOW he gets fired?
Yeah, i agree with other commenters. The only reason he lost his job was for the gay slur.
And how, exactly is calling someone a fa**** a slur?
If the person is gay, they’re simply being called what they are, yea? If not, then how can the person be offended? Wouldn’t that be betraying they’re own hidden bigotry?
Shouldn’t everyone be excited to be called fa* nowadays?
catmman on April 3, 2013 at 5:12 PM
Interesting quotes by by Coach John Wooden :
“Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your
reputation is merely what others think you are.”
― John Wooden
“Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there.”
― John Wooden
ColtsFan on April 3, 2013 at 5:12 PM
Obviously we need an Assault Language Ban.
2lbsTest on April 3, 2013 at 5:14 PM
“The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching.”
― John Wooden
“It is amazing how much can be accomplished if no one cares who gets the credit.”
― John Wooden
“Be true to yourself.
Make each day your masterpiece.
Help others.
Drink deeply from good books.
Make friendship a fine art.
Build a shelter against a rainy day.
Pray for guidance and give thanks for your blessings every day.”
― John Wooden
“Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.”
― John Wooden
“A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment.”
― John Wooden
“Five years from now, you’re the same person except for the people you’ve met and the books you’ve read.”
― John Wooden
“”Consider the rights of others before your own feelings, and the feelings of others before your own rights.”
― John Wooden
More
Coach John Wooden quotes
ColtsFan on April 3, 2013 at 5:15 PM
davidk on April 3, 2013 at 5:17 PM
His dad, whose name is also Mike Rice is the lead sports announcer for the Portland Trailblazers. I feel bad for him, because he is always so proud of his son being a coach at Rutgers.
That Coach was a real Jackass.
portlandon on April 3, 2013 at 5:17 PM
As far as how coaches from the past treated their players, the players in the past also regarded their coaches with respect and honor due to their position.
A player in the 50s or 60 would NEVER think to treat others or act in the way many do today. Aside from actual, physical contact, raving is sometimes the only way to get or keep a persons attention nowadays.
And if players DID mouth off, there were consequences. Bad behavior would get you kicked off the team. Bad grades could too. Students who had athletic scholarships had to work to keep them and policed themselves for the most part to keep their own noses clean. People had more self respect back then as well. Not so much anymore, depending on how things are where you live.
catmman on April 3, 2013 at 5:18 PM
“Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.”
― John Wooden
“The best thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.”
― John Wooden, Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court
“You can’t live a perfect day until you do something for someone who will never be able to repay you.”
― John Wooden
ColtsFan on April 3, 2013 at 5:18 PM
Wooden was certainly a great coach, but I don’t think Rice has players the quality of Walton, Goodrich and Alcindor.
Good Solid B-Plus on April 3, 2013 at 5:18 PM
Yeth.
davidk on April 3, 2013 at 5:19 PM
Bing. Out of control drama queen, sure. But they fired him because you cannot use the F word on a college campus.
Jaibones on April 3, 2013 at 5:19 PM
maybe not…..but I guarantee you that Coach Wooden could take an average player (like one on Coach Rice’s team) and turn him INTO a Walton, a Goodrich, or a future Alcindor by Modeling Leadership through example…..something Coach Rice cannot do.
ColtsFan on April 3, 2013 at 5:20 PM
Good stuff. Thanks.
davidk on April 3, 2013 at 5:20 PM
I wonder if you’ve ever participated in any athletic event.
You will try and offend them at every possible opportunity.
Having met and worked with Coach Wooden I can attest to his personal decorum.
Capitalist Hog on April 3, 2013 at 5:22 PM
This is the kind of guy who slaps his 5 year old kid for spilling his milk.
If wonder if his wife winces whenever he makes a sudden movement of his arms?
portlandon on April 3, 2013 at 5:27 PM
You are welcome.
I don’t want to put Coach Wooden on a pedestal. The Bible that he read daily said he was a sinner too ….but I like to point out when a person is trying to do the right thing.
ColtsFan on April 3, 2013 at 5:29 PM
I was watching the Gator Bowl in 1978 when Woody Hayes, the head coach for Ohio State, took a slug at the Clemson player who had just intercepted a Buckeye pass and ran out of bounds at the Ohio State bench.
Hayes was dismissed from his job, but he was not arrested for assault.
To me, attacking a kid from the opposing team who just made a great play remains the worst moment in college sports coaching history.
JohnD13 on April 3, 2013 at 5:32 PM
My hope is that one or more of these players will press charges,and that the jerk is incarcerated and then “abused” in prison by convicts much bigger than him.
redware on April 3, 2013 at 5:49 PM
I wonder what Don Imus has to say about this. Seems that Rutgers was awfully critical of him after the “nappy” incident.
weaselyone on April 3, 2013 at 5:50 PM
Crikey! A sport coach was yelling at his players? Better call the Governor!
(Nothing there that Bobby Knight didn’t do.)
Deafdog on April 3, 2013 at 5:50 PM
Rutgers is the school that Tyler Clementi went to. He was the gay kid who jumped off the George Washington Bridge when he learned his roommate secretly taped him with another gay male.
The coach deserved to get fired. That behavior is inexcusable. I’m shock that the AD didn’t get fired as well.
RedRobin145 on April 3, 2013 at 5:52 PM
must be a Rutgers thing: the rugby coach there used to call us ‘h0m0s’ and ‘pu$$ies’ all the time. Never threw a ball at us though…
affenhauer on April 3, 2013 at 5:58 PM
If only we had banned Assault Basketballs.
VinceOfDoom on April 3, 2013 at 5:59 PM
I don’t understand why they fired him. He was after all just getting his O’Reilly on.
Do I really need a SARC Tag?
meci on April 3, 2013 at 6:00 PM
Of course it’s genuine. There’s money and dong size on the line here, and these “student athletes” better know their place, damnit!
Reminds me a South Park episode…
Jeddite on April 3, 2013 at 6:01 PM
The quotes lead me to believe he was a follower of our God and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
davidk on April 3, 2013 at 6:04 PM
That’s what we call a one-year guy — he’s going to be booted out of the university, but not before sending his team to the final four — and getting the right to enter the NBA draft.
unclesmrgol on April 3, 2013 at 6:13 PM
Walton could probably turn an average player into a very good to great NCAA player, but no coach on the planet can turn an average player into a Walton or Alcindor. You need to be born with their special kind of talent.
Of course, talent comes with flaws. Walton, for all his prodigious on-court talent, could be flaky, mercurial and supercilious, and he ended up being too brittle in the NBA.
Good Solid B-Plus on April 3, 2013 at 6:16 PM
Amen, brother…..Amen.
Coach Wooden was a Christian man….. that is for sure .
His respectful conduct and positive tone for racial reconciliation sprung naturally out of his Christian convictions , occurring at a time unfortunately, when there was even more racism.
Here are my Top 10 quotes .
Here is another interesting article about Wooden.
ColtsFan on April 3, 2013 at 6:16 PM
Good point.
And I never enjoyed Walton as a NBA announcer either!!
:-)
Good point.
And I
ColtsFan on April 3, 2013 at 6:20 PM
I had a coach like this in High School ball, and he would play with us in off-season. I got clawed by him one play, so I threw him to the ground.
I cannot believe none of these players didn’t lay this guy out, or at least get in his face. Bunch of sissies.
Coaches who do this are always the frustrated ones who were never as good as they thought they were as players.
One of these guys could have popped him, or at minimum, told him to stfu, and his retaliation would be to scream more and make you do more drills. But he wouldn’t suspend you, because that invites outside arbitrators. Hell, he would probably respect that player for showing some backbone.
What concerns me is if this guy’s married.
budfox on April 3, 2013 at 6:25 PM
Unfortunately, football & basketball coaches (and ADs as well) at big universities often have too much power and too little accountability.
22044 on April 3, 2013 at 6:32 PM
It certainly was. Do you think Bobby knight wasn’t physical with his players? The speech police in action again.
Don’t forget that Rutgers was also the university where Tyler Clemently committed suicide because his roommate recorded him having relations with another man. It was the roommate who end up paying for Clemently violating their common space (and apparently university rules). But because an individual’s sexuality was involved it became a widely reported issue.
Maybe there were a myriad of reasons to fire this coach, but it was the use of a gay slur that made it happen.
Everyone concerned about how Sandy Hook triggered an attack on the 2nd Amendment? Get ready folks: this is gonna trigger an attack on the 1st Amendment disguised as some “anti- bullying” crap. And in a country where now everyone feel offended by what someone else says, you can guess the outcome of any such actions.
ptcamn on April 3, 2013 at 6:34 PM
Hmmm… I’m conflicted. I had worse coaches growing up and I was a girl. Heck, I saw a coach pull a gun on the refs in an 8th grade girls’ basketball game. Yeah, this guy’s a jerk but isn’t that in the job description? I guess we’re not back in “the good ole days” anymore.
Fallon on April 3, 2013 at 6:49 PM
Ummm, just to clarify, I’m still a girl but of the grown-up lady type.
Fallon on April 3, 2013 at 6:50 PM
For all the people defending this guy I wonder what would ANY of his supporters do if a Boss or Coworker put their hands on you or someone close to you.
Sorry folks being a Basketball coach doesn’t give you the rights you would never give another private citizen over you.
The days when coaches got some kind of pass on physical assault are over and I don’t see any reason to pine for them. I say that as someone who played Hockey at the highest levels and saw some crazy coaches. The world won’t miss physically attacking players as a way of motivating them. Division I Basketball players are basically college employees and should get some of the same respect.
Conan on April 3, 2013 at 6:58 PM
says the toughest guy of the Interwebs
Capitalist Hog on April 3, 2013 at 6:58 PM
Jerry Sandusky & Joe Paturno.
portlandon on April 3, 2013 at 7:40 PM
This typifies some of the sillier comments from above…first of all most of these Division I players, particularly but not exclusively, outside of the top tier teams, have inflated ego’s based on the fact they are fawned over by colleges. Most of them are minority kids who have grown up without a male parent or parent other than a grandparent. Some come out well adjusted but most do not and then an adult coach, white or black, has got to instill some sense of discipline and teamwork in them.
Physical abuse…of course not, but verbal chastisment and embarassment is part of the process…building a sports team is no different than building a a sense of teamwork in the military. Boot camp is practice.
I speak as someone who played various team sports and caught my share of “abuse”…did I like it, no, but it toughened me up. My son is a Division I athlete and has had his share of issues with his coach but knows its part of the process.
It’s interesting I have now heard two interviews with former players of Rice and both rated him as an excellent coach and motivator and both believe the video was taken out of context…he threw balls at them, they threw them back at him…but you don’t see that part. As far as the language goes, the faggot thing was the kiss of death.
ironmarshal on April 3, 2013 at 8:16 PM
Thanks for clarifying. A friend of mine has a good-looking co-worker who’s marrying a guy who used to be a girl. and they say there’s no such thing as an ex-Lesbian.
It can be very confusing.
williampeck1958 on April 3, 2013 at 9:48 PM
Does this guy have children? Maybe the Dept of Family Services should do a house call.
Kissmygrits on April 4, 2013 at 8:48 AM
Amazing they didn’t fire him initially after seeing the round of clips. This wasn’t just one moment of weakness — the dude clearly has a serious problem.
He has no business being in a position of authority over students until he grasps on both a conscious and a reflexive level that this authority doesn’t give him license to be physically and verbally abusive whenever he’s displeased with something.
Watching the tapes I’m amazed at the restraint of his players; it’s a wonder one of them didn’t just lay him out at various points. It goes to show how deeply engrained is the attitude of acceptance of authority. That’s good in sports to an extent, but clearly here it had gone to the point of accepting the unacceptable.
But somehow I doubt this numbnuts pulls these shenanigans with people who he knows wouldn’t put up with it. Coward.
Chuckles3 on April 4, 2013 at 8:55 AM
Wow! I can’t believe some of you who attempt to justify this behavior on “wussification” and “gay agenda” grounds.
On the first issue, I’ve heard from several former college players, who I wouldn’t exactly call “wussies”, who condemn the actions of this guy. Hell, even the coach said his actions where inexcusable.
Those of you who need to be hit upside the head with basketballs by someone who isn’t even your parent to “toughen up” have problems. At 18-20, I wouldn’t even take that type of abuse from my parents. This ain’t Navy Seal training. It’s college basketball.
To those of you saying he got fired for using “gay slurs”. I guess you’ve never heard of Bobby Knight? Not much difference between that story and this one except Knight was given another pass on account of the legend he built before his abusive behavior got the best of him.
Public university can’t afford the negative publicity of abusive coaches once the media grabs a hold of it. His firing was a foregone conclusion at that point.
Rightfully so. Guy was douche.
mazer9 on April 4, 2013 at 9:51 AM