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John Kerry on “apartheid” flap: “If I could rewind the tape, I would have chosen a different word”

Apr 29, 2014 5:41 am By Robert Spencer

KerryJan2014The surprising thing about this controversy is not that Kerry used the word “apartheid” in connection with Israel, but that anyone is surprised or indignant. The ridiculous claim that Israel is an “apartheid state” has been a staple of Leftist antisemitic rhetoric for years (here is a good refutation of it). And the Obama Administration has parroted far-Left rhetoric on this and innumerable other issues for years. So only now people are waking up to that? A bit late.

“JOHN KERRY: ‘If I Could Rewind The Tape, I Would’ve Chosen A Different Word,'” by Brett LoGiurato, Business Insider, April 29, 2014:

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry released a statement in “support for Israel” Monday night, after a day of high-profile controversy surrounding his weekend warning that Israel may become an “apartheid state” if Israeli-Palestinian peace talks fall through.

” I have been around long enough to also know the power of words to create a misimpression, even when unintentional, and if I could rewind the tape, I would have chosen a different word to describe my firm belief that the only way in the long term to have a Jewish state and two nations and two peoples living side by side in peace and security is through a two state solution,” Kerry said in the statement.

Kerry’s original comment, made at a closed-door meeting of the Trilateral Commission last Friday, spawned a wave of denouncement Monday from various U.S. politicians, along with Jewish leaders and groups. Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor called on Kerry to apologize, and Sen. Ted Cruz, the freshman Republican from Texas, said Kerry should resign.

His “apartheid” comment broke a longstanding taboo of American officials on using the loaded term to describe Israel — then-Sen. Barack Obama denounced using the term in a 2008 interview. Kerry is believed to be the most-senior U.S. official to have ever used it.

AIPAC, the powerhouse pro-Israel lobby, said Kerry’s reported remarks were “deeply troubling,” “offensive,” and “inappropriate.” The Anti-Defamation League said it was “startling” and “disappointing.”

Though apologetic, Kerry was also defiant in the statement, defending his record on Israel and repeating he won’t “allow his commitment to Israel be questioned by anyone.”

Here’s Kerry’s full statement:

For more than thirty years in the United States Senate, I didn’t just speak words in support of Israel, I walked the walk when it came time to vote and when it came time to fight. As Secretary of State, I have spent countless hours working with Prime Minister Netanyahu and Justice Minister Livni because I believe in the kind of future that Israel not only wants, but Israel deserves. I want to see a two state solution that results in a secure Jewish state and a prosperous Palestinian state, and I’ve actually worked for it.

I will not allow my commitment to Israel to be questioned by anyone, particularly for partisan, political purposes, so I want to be crystal clear about what I believe and what I don’t believe.

First, Israel is a vibrant democracy and I do not believe, nor have I ever stated, publicly or privately, that Israel is an apartheid state or that it intends to become one. Anyone who knows anything about me knows that without a shred of doubt.

Second, I have been around long enough to also know the power of words to create a misimpression, even when unintentional, and if I could rewind the tape, I would have chosen a different word to describe my firm belief that the only way in the long term to have a Jewish state and two nations and two peoples living side by side in peace and security is through a two state solution. In the long term, a unitary, binational state cannot be the democratic Jewish s tate that Israel deserves or the prosperous state with full rights that the Palestinian people deserve. That’s what I said, and it’s also what Prime Minister Netanyahu has said. While Justice Minister Livni, former Prime Ministers Barak and Ohlmert have all invoked the specter of apartheid to underscore the dangers of a unitary state for the future, it is a word best left out of the debate here at home.

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Filed Under: Barack Obama, Israel, Useful idiots Tagged With: featured


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Comments

  1. jihad3tracker says

    Apr 29, 2014 at 6:01 am

    Kerry is too dense to realize that the WORD is not what enrages those around the world who are committed to Israel’s survival — it is the IDEA represented by the word.

    … That because Israel is the only ” vibrant democracy” in the midst of totalitarian violent theocracies, it therefore should be regarded as anomalous.

    Such thinking , empathetic to Islam, legitimizes the ceaseless attempts to destroy Israel by both open and covert tactics.

  2. Angemon says

    Apr 29, 2014 at 6:46 am

    “The ridiculous claim that Israel is an “apartheid state” has been a staple of Leftist antisemitic rhetoric for years”

    Here’s a video of apartheid in Israel:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTMHMjZyiV8

    “”I have been around long enough to also know the power of words to create a misimpression”

    But not long enough to think before speaking, despite holding public office.

    “my firm belief that the only way in the long term to have a Jewish state and two nations and two peoples living side by side in peace and security is through a two state solution,” Kerry said in the statement.”

    Awww, that’s nice. What do the “palestinians” have to say about the two-state solution?

    “Though apologetic, Kerry was also defiant in the statement, defending his record on Israel and repeating he won’t “allow his commitment to Israel be questioned by anyone.””

    Makes sense. No one can question what does not exist.

    • Jay Boo says

      Apr 29, 2014 at 12:15 pm

      Islam is an “apartheid state”

      Where is the leftist outrage over that?

  3. Mirren10 says

    Apr 29, 2014 at 7:26 am

    ”First, Israel is a vibrant democracy and I do not believe, nor have I ever stated, publicly or privately, that Israel **is an apartheid state or that it intends to become one**” (my emphasis: Mirren)

    Typical repulsive politician, trying to dance out of what he said, because it involved him in controversy. (And thank God it did; there are **some** people with morals).

    He apparently said that Israel may become an “apartheid state” if Israeli-Palestinian peace talks fall through.

    That sounds to me **exactly** like saying Israel may become an apartheid state.

    • eib says

      Apr 29, 2014 at 10:45 am

      There’s that word, “vibrant” again.
      Vibrant with terrorism, violence, fires, bombs going off, Jews forbidden to worship as their religion dictates, . . . yeah, vibrant.
      Whatever.

  4. thomas_h says

    Apr 29, 2014 at 7:31 am

    “If I could rewind the tape, I would have chosen a different word””

    He would no doubt rewind the tape and replace his disgusting lies about witnessing the American atrocities in Vietnam and seeing action in Cambodia by other, more useful for his career, lies.

    The man is as repulsive as his boss, but way dumber.

  5. duh_swami says

    Apr 29, 2014 at 7:56 am

    two nations and two peoples living side by side in peace and security is through a two state solution,” Kerry said in the statement.

    Pie in the sky…Not going to happen. Childish thinking.
    One state two states or ten states, the jihad against Israel will continue. That’s because Allah wants it that way.

    • Jay Boo says

      Apr 29, 2014 at 12:22 pm

      Kerry is ignoring the supremacist “apartheid” sense of entitlement throughout Islamic doctrine and practice.
      He could criticize a number of Islamic states about their treatment of religious minorities but he is a hypocritical pandering politician.

      • defcon 5 says

        Apr 29, 2014 at 3:08 pm

        “He could criticise a number of islamic states”. Really? Why don’t you try ALL OF THEM? Which scuzzlum states don’t persecute people of other faiths to some degree?

  6. ApolloSpeaks says

    Apr 29, 2014 at 9:16 am

    JOHN KERRY DOES WORTHLESS JIMMY CARTER PROUD

    Carter smears Israel with the name “Apartheid State” because it won’t let poor oppressed victimized Palestinians create an anti-Zionist jihadi state next door. “Apartheid Israel” is the Carter/Kerry equivalent of genocidal Iran’s ” Little (cancerous) Satan.”

    Click http://www.apollospeaks.com to read my unusual piece, The Death of a JFK Mimic and John F. Kerry’s Defeat in 2004.

  7. Jay Boo says

    Apr 29, 2014 at 10:26 am

    Obama and CAIR will still pat him on the head and give him a dhimmi biscuit.

  8. Jay Boo says

    Apr 29, 2014 at 10:31 am

    Apartheid States for Christian and Jews
    The whole Muslim Middle East

    Can I still say this without the censure of numb minded liberals?

    • defcon 5 says

      Apr 29, 2014 at 3:09 pm

      Um, I’d only say it’s not just the Middle East scuzzlum states but the entire islamic world. Do I have to mention N. Africa or Nigeria?

  9. eib says

    Apr 29, 2014 at 10:43 am

    Quote:
    For more than thirty years in the United States Senate, I didn’t just speak words in support of Israel, I walked the walk when it came time to vote and when it came time to fight.
    end

    Traitor, turncoat.
    Why not submit now and get it over with?

  10. Champ says

    Apr 29, 2014 at 1:33 pm

    You would have chosen a different word? …but you didn’t, “and once the toothpaste is out of the tube, it’s hard to get it back in” …

    kerry revealed that he is a liar–again.

    And this, to ponder:

    “What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.” — Luke 12:3

  11. Champ says

    Apr 29, 2014 at 2:38 pm

    kerry looks like a puppet in that photo, lol! 😀

  12. Kepha says

    Apr 29, 2014 at 8:59 pm

    Kerry mouths a long-held Leftist platitude. We should’ve expected this from someone who, while in US military uniform, gave aid and comfort to the side he was supposed to be fighting.

    Too bad the VC he shot in the back weren’t Nguyen Thi Binh and Le Duc Tho.

  13. FatherJon says

    Apr 30, 2014 at 6:44 am

    Too bad, Kerry, it just slipped out, but it is a very accurate description of the way Israel has become. God indeed does work in mysterious ways!

  14. bill says

    Apr 30, 2014 at 7:49 am

    Probably one of those ‘mis spoke’ occasions which seem to happen to politicians especially US politicians

  15. bill says

    Apr 30, 2014 at 9:52 am

    Islam is a perfect example of apartheid. They think everybody who is not a Muslim is inferior to them and they think all infidels should be ruled by Islam. In fact exactly like the Nazis.

  16. Theb Nyip says

    Apr 30, 2014 at 10:55 am

    Wikipedia defines apartheid as an Afrikaner word for ‘the state of being apart’.

    Sharia clearly mandates that, both on religious grounds between Muslims and non-Muslims as well as on gender grounds between males and females.

    The US and other governments should therefore be identifying states implementing Sharia based laws as apartheid regimes and sanctions should be imposed on them just like occurred with South Africa. So as other posters have said, the question journalists should now be asking Kerry is when he’ll be using the term correctly to describe states like Saudi Arabia.

    I’d encourage everyone to raise these points with their elected representatives, local, state and federal. Question what they are doing to promote human rights in those states which are implementing Sharia based laws and vote in elections for candidates you think have the right attitude and vote against those you think are wrong. Make it clear to your representatives that it is this issue your vote depends on.

    Also talk to everyone you know in a calm and reasonable manner, explaining your reasoning, using examples abundantly available on this and other similar sites about what Sharia actually involves, and encourage them to also discuss it with their representatives and vote accordingly too.

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