Dissident Veteran For Peace

In July, I published a long post--Battle Over Bolton Could Be Decided by Jewish Support--about John Bolton's tenure as US Ambassador to the UN. Bolton's recess appointment will expire in December and despite earlier rejection Bush has renominated him.

Marc Perelman reports in the Jewish Forward that the "Jewish community" is determined to stand by their (and Bush's) man. Here are a couple of excerpts from the article:

Bush appointed Bolton, a leading neoconservative who failed to garner sufficient votes in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 2005, during a congressional recess for one year. ...

The administration is now reportedly looking for ways to keep Bolton at the U.N. by circumventing the Senate.

“The Jewish community remains supportive and would want to see [Bolton] stay,” said Malcolm Hoenlein, vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. “He has been an effective advocate, and he is appreciated by the diplomatic corps.”

At the same time, Hoenlein said, he was not aware of any recent effort by Jewish organizations to press administration and Congress on the issue. Several major Jewish groups had expressed their support, in public and in private, when Bolton’s appointment became a political battle in Washington in early 2005. None of these groups has issued statements on the issue in recent weeks.

"The administration and the Congress know where the community stands," Hoenlein said. "But this is not in our hands, obviously." Bolton is viewed as a strong supporter of Israel, and exercised the American veto last week on a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning the killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. While American support for Israel at the U.N. is unlikely to change with a new ambassador and a Democratic Congress, Bolton had cultivated especially close personal bonds over the years with all major Jewish groups. They have hailed him for his role in convincing U.N. members in 1991 to repel [sic] the infamous "Zionism equals racism" resolution, for his outspoken criticism of the U.N.’s failures to enact more reforms, and for his support for regime change in Iraq and a tough line on Iran’s nuclear ambitions. He also has been a fairly active voice for international efforts to stop the mass killings in Darfur. ...

It is important to note that Bolton's opposition from Congress stems not primarily, if at all, from his ardent support for Israel but from his personal combativeness and general hostility to international institutions and law.

See also: Bolton's Proudest Moment: Breaking the UN's Anti-Zionist Resolution by Gary Leupp

Labels: Israel Lobby, John Bolton, Neoconservatives, Zionism