Mitt Romney came fresh off a trip to London in which managed to insult the entire country to a fundraiser in Israel where there were so many things wrong it’s almost hard to know where to begin.
First, the setup: The Romney camp initially stirred up some controversy by scheduling a high-priced fundraiser ($25K – $50K per plate) on a day of fasting in Israel. Accused of being culturally insensitive, there were rumors that Romney would cancel the fundraiser.
But team Romney insisted it wasn’t an accident or a gaffe, and that they’d go ahead with it. HuffPo reports Jonny Daniels, a Republican strategist in Israel, said, “It wasn’t really a gaffe They knew what the day was, but they were looking for the correct time and circumstance to do it. Instead it ended up seeming like a big dinner, but that’s not really what it is.”
“Don’t worry, they’re not going to not have a fundraiser,” he continued. “They’ll find a way around it maybe by having a breaking of the fast meal combined with a Romney fundraiser.”
The event went down yesterday as planned—the way they found around it was just to not have any Israelis there. “All of the donors are U.S. citizens,” writes Washington Post, “and many of them flew here from the United States to be with Romney during his 36-hour visit to Jerusalem.”
But where the fundraiser really got inappropriate was when Romney started talking about his admiration for Israel:
[A]s I come here and I look out over this city and consider the accomplishments of the people of this nation, I recognize the power of at least culture and a few other things. …
As you come here and you see the GDP per capita, for instance, in Israel which is about $21,000 dollars, and compare that with the GDP per capita just across the areas managed by the Palestinian Authority, which is more like $10,000 per capita, you notice such a dramatically stark difference in economic vitality.
Rightly, Palestinians were offended by the comment. Tying Israel’s economic advantage to cultural superiority rather than acknowledging the geopolitical realities affecting the region is not only racist, it’s downright ignorant, they said. Saeb Erekat, top authority in the Palestinian Authority, said:
It is a racist statement and this man doesn’t realize that the Palestinian economy cannot reach its potential because there is an Israeli occupation.
It seems to me this man lacks information, knowledge, vision and understanding of this region and its people. He also lacks knowledge about the Israelis themselves. I have not heard any Israeli official speak about cultural superiority.
Within his brief 36 hours in Israel, Romney set back the clock on the peace efforts Obama has pursued between Israel and Palestine, and managed to agitate yet another sensitive foreign relationship.
Whether Romney was overcompensating for his London insult by going to another country and proclaiming it culturally superior to its neighbor, who knows. Whatever it was, it’s not a good look that Romney can’t seem to step outside the narrow range of rich white Americans who populated his fundraiser without offending somebody (or everybody, as the case may be.)
July 30, 2012 at 2:27 pm, Lunchtime Links - The Daily What said:
[...] Insulted: Palestinians, by Mitt Romney’s racist comments at a fundraiser in Israel [...]
July 30, 2012 at 6:39 pm, Chase S. Gilbert said:
Israel indeed does have a cultural advantage: it's called intelligence. "occupation" has NOTHING to do with Palestinians' lack of success. after all, can anyone name a singular muslim or arab nation who's prospered without the benefit of thievery, corruption, or natural resources? jews turned an arab wasteland into a thriving nation.
July 30, 2012 at 6:49 pm, Britney Brooks said:
The stupidity and racism oozing from your comment is astounding.
July 30, 2012 at 6:54 pm, James Hammett said:
wow you are one racist ignorant fuck arent you?
here's a history lesson you fucking ignorant waste of air.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpcbfxtdoI8&list=PLBDA2E52FB1EF80C9&index=13&feature=plpp_video
July 30, 2012 at 7:08 pm, Andy Fischer said:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Muslim_scientists
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylonia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egypt
That's obviously just a couple. That region is referred to as "the cradle of civilization" for a reason. Also:
Can you name a nation *at all* that has prospered without natural resources?
Are you familiar with what occupation is, at least as it's manifested in Israel? If so, how could you argue that didn't influence day-to-day efficiency and morale?
What made it a wasteland before the Jews showed up…that it was Arab-populated?
You're arguing that Israel has "a culture of intelligence" that you appear to value – how many wedgies did you give the smart kids in grade school?
July 30, 2012 at 8:03 pm, Ben Reicht said:
go, fuck yourself!
July 30, 2012 at 8:33 pm, Dan Behar said:
Well said Chase. If the Palestinians, as a whole, were more focused on building themselves up rather than tearing Israel down, I believe they would be in much better shape.
July 30, 2012 at 8:54 pm, Chase S. Gilbert said:
A nation without natural resources: how about Israel!? No oil, natural, gas, gemstones that I know of! And thanks for your list of scientists, and your wiki on ancient pre-Islamic cultures, but these hardly constitute a fair, well-functioning modern nation. Not sure the point of your ludicrous question but I neither bullied nor was I bullied. And I'd hardly consider Ancient Babylon more than a uber-primitive sketch on "civilization."
July 30, 2012 at 8:55 pm, Chase S. Gilbert said:
Ben, you must be a genius.
July 30, 2012 at 8:58 pm, Chase S. Gilbert said:
And do your homework, British Mandate era "Palestine" was described as a combination malaria-infested swamp and infertile desert scape. I'd say what Israel has accomplished should be of inspiration(!!!!!) to every Arab or Muslim nation who's still struggling after 1400 years (see Morocco for one) to develop basic quality of life.
July 30, 2012 at 9:14 pm, Ben Reicht said:
It's just exhausting for me to read such comments like yours over and over again:
"…after all, can anyone name a singular muslim or arab nation who's prospered without the benefit of thievery, corruption, or natural resources? jews turned an arab wasteland into a thriving nation."
Parts of our western civilisatons originated from arab or muslim achievments. And thats not difficult to know or to learn in our day and age.
Despite this, Israel had and has your country, mine and a lot of others as a support so that they could thrive and prosper after WW2.
To compare their situation with a nation which is caged in for a few decades now, is just stupid.
July 30, 2012 at 10:03 pm, Graham Tabor said:
That's hard to do when the occupier keeps ripping your shit down.
July 31, 2012 at 9:38 am, Amy Nim said:
You are a horrible person with absolutely no knowledge of history. Like. I can't even find the words to explain to you how wrong you are. How about you look up *anything* about the Islamic Golden Age?
July 30, 2012 at 6:58 pm, Christian Anthony Ganem said:
Obama may have his faults. Just as every President and person does. But this fool managed to insult two countries. He basically just reinforced the stereotype of the Jewish people as a whole and their knack for handling money. Really? Not to mention disturbing a population that was pushed off of their own land by what is factually their own people. Yes, occupiers! So he's an anti Semite to the fullest extant. because contrary to popular belief. The Jewish people are "not"the only Semitic people in the world. Way to go Mitt wit!
July 30, 2012 at 7:06 pm, Christian Anthony Ganem said:
Ya know, it's real shame that most of the world's problems could arise and survive from the most trivial and pettiest of things. Religion! It saddens me that due to beliefs, an entire region can't recognize that they're all brothers and sisters. The multitude of interpretations of the same beliefs, from the same prophets, same books, cannons, teachings and saints and political advantages that taken from the most ignorant of blisses. Speaks that there truly is no bottom, to the depth of depravity that man is capable of.
July 31, 2012 at 1:40 am, Ricky Crummett said:
Christian Anthony Ganem You sir, have won my respect through your words.
July 31, 2012 at 3:37 pm, Christian Anthony Ganem said:
Likewise sir and thank you!
July 30, 2012 at 7:02 pm, DREGstudios! Art & Design said:
It was a less than stellar week abroad for “Mitt the Twitt.” Romney should be more knowledgeable of foreign policy since he knows every corner of the world he can hide his money! He’s already has international financial ties which run all the way from Switzerland to the Cayman Islands. Never mind that he’s never been involved with politics outside of the US- only his millions of dollars have. Read about the role of Mitt’s money and his Magic Mormon Underwear are playing in the polls at http://dregstudiosart.blogspot.com/2012/05/mitt-romneys-magic-mormon-underwear.html where you can see for yourself the true power of both on display in full color!
July 30, 2012 at 7:31 pm, Nathan Alan VanStory said:
There is no occupation, you can't have a people driven out of their land, and when they reclaim it start throwing rocks and blowing themselves up. Palestine is a fallacy.
July 30, 2012 at 7:52 pm, Eric Casey said:
You hear that Native Americans? Nathan's land is all yours.
July 30, 2012 at 8:16 pm, Nathan Alan VanStory said:
Its true, I belong back in Israel with my ancestors. Too bad ours too dangerous for my family. Unlike the people you talk about, I feel terrible about being on someones land and apologize for what happened here even though I had no part in it. But if the natives tried to reclaim, I wouldn't blow myself and others up claiming it is mine.
July 30, 2012 at 8:24 pm, Eric Casey said:
But if others decided to blow themselves up over it, I'm sure you'd love to be
lumped in with them with sweeping generalizations and racist stereotypes.
July 30, 2012 at 7:44 pm, Chase S. Gilbert said:
Britney, can't you name one? One singular Arab nation?
July 30, 2012 at 7:55 pm, James Hammett said:
yeah egypt.
July 30, 2012 at 8:39 pm, Britney Brooks said:
It's kind of hard to do so when the entire region has a history of US/Western Europe imperialism and intervention. Nonetheless, as someone else has pointed out, the Middle East is considered the Cradle of Civilization, and if you are honestly unaware of the contributions to culture, science, technology, and other areas made by Arabs, then you are beyond help.
July 30, 2012 at 8:42 pm, Chase S. Gilbert said:
James, you must be joking. Good one. Yes, Egypt has no corruption, no thievery. Of course.
July 30, 2012 at 8:45 pm, Chase S. Gilbert said:
Brit, almost every country in the world has a history of imperialism and colonialism. Poor excuse.
July 30, 2012 at 8:47 pm, Chase S. Gilbert said:
Mow beyond calling me names, can you name a single Arab country that has even BASIC human rights?
July 30, 2012 at 8:54 pm, Britney Brooks said:
Question: why are you expecting to find ANY country at all that has prospered without thievery, corruption, or natural resources? How about YOU tell ME one single country, anywhere in the world, without any of those three things? That seems like it would be a more fitting question.
July 30, 2012 at 9:05 pm, Chase S. Gilbert said:
Of course, but come on, let's be honest? The middle east is consistently the worst possible example of civilization. No bell curve, no excuses, just reality.
July 30, 2012 at 9:10 pm, Britney Brooks said:
So the only possible answer to why the Middle East struggles is to chalk it up to Arabs being racially inferior? Really? I'm not denying that the Middle East is riddled with problems, I'm not sure anyone here is. But saying that the difference is cultural is an unbelievably bigoted, ignorant, and frankly racist statement to make.
July 30, 2012 at 9:11 pm, Chase S. Gilbert said:
It is NOTHING to do with race!! However, it has EVERYTHING to de with ideology.
July 30, 2012 at 9:14 pm, Chase S. Gilbert said:
After all, disagreeing with nazism in 1939 hardly made people anti-German racists!
July 30, 2012 at 9:16 pm, Britney Brooks said:
I'm assuming you're referring to Islam? What in the Islamic religion precludes Muslim nations from being as "successful" as Israel?
Also, when you say right off the bat that the difference between Israelis and Palestineans is "intelligence," how is that not a racially-charged statement?
July 30, 2012 at 9:19 pm, Chase S. Gilbert said:
Israelis read a different book. Race, skin color, place of origin are moot.
July 30, 2012 at 9:23 pm, Britney Brooks said:
Like I said, apparently you know enough about Islam to chalk differences between Israelis and Palestineans up to "ideology," so what exactly is it about Islam that precludes Muslim nations from being as "successful" as Israel?
July 30, 2012 at 9:43 pm, Chase S. Gilbert said:
How about Koran-mandated inequality between genders, and a universal rejection of non-Muslims?
July 30, 2012 at 9:50 pm, Britney Brooks said:
Oh, you mean like the Bible mandating that wives obey their husbands, and demanding that nonbelievers are stoned to death? Kinda like that?
Obviously I'm aware that this pertains to Christianity, but it's obviously relevant that the Koran is not the only religious book with mandated ienquality between the sexes and a universal rejection of nonbelievers.
July 30, 2012 at 9:53 pm, Charlotte Epps-Fletcher said:
Israel is going to be the cause of a 3rd world war and possibly the end of our civilization. Why? because they are so greedy. Different cultures have different issues. With the Jews, it's always been their greed and the disrespect they have towards Arabs.
July 30, 2012 at 9:58 pm, Chase S. Gilbert said:
How about the fact that the Koran only encourages education and half the population? And rather than encourage questioning and self-analysis, as in the Torah, it literally encourages submission…
July 30, 2012 at 9:58 pm, Chase S. Gilbert said:
And how about a crippling fear of non-Muslims?
July 30, 2012 at 10:01 pm, Graham Tabor said:
The reality remains: you're an idiot. Plain and simple. Fuck you, you ignorant, racist, apathetic, ethnocentric fuck.
July 30, 2012 at 10:16 pm, Ben Reicht said:
and all the glorious western nations have no corruption?
ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNO-TOAD!!!
July 30, 2012 at 10:17 pm, Ben Reicht said:
and I'm tired again….. so…
July 30, 2012 at 8:31 pm, Mitthers said:
In a recent speech comparing the difference in personal wealth between Israeli and Palestinian people, people that are divided by a high-security border, he implied that the reason is cultural. Basically, it's just the Palestinian's fault, and has nothing to do with the guarding of resources.
I wonder of he feels the same way about Mexico?
July 30, 2012 at 9:45 pm, Charlotte Epps-Fletcher said:
Mitt Romney didn't let me down. He continues to make an Ass of himself. Where is he going next. I can't wait. Fox "news" said, and all's he has to do is keep his mouth shut, like just don't talk.
July 31, 2012 at 12:26 am, Cyndee Hanna said:
you are right…and how insane is that…people are actually considering putting some ass in the white house who doesn't know shit, and that the basic consensus is ..he shouldn't open his mouth. OMG… why the f**k are they letting this idiot travel ANYWHERE???
July 30, 2012 at 9:50 pm, Charlotte Epps-Fletcher said:
People have the right to live the way they want to live. Maybe somebody should come here to the United States and take us over for lack minding our own business, being simply rude or what ever else you can come up with. There are plenty of countries that see fault with us, but we live with such snobbery thinking were the best and brightent. There are truly great things about every culture and nation and because someone wants to live differently, doesn't mean you have the right to take over like the jews have done to the Palistinians. One might think that with all the suffering the Jews have endured, they might respect other people. But instead, because of their money and power and greed, they are doing to the palistinians what was done to them, only on a lesser degree, I think.
July 30, 2012 at 10:11 pm, Chase S. Gilbert said:
Oh, you mean biblical passages that have been unenforced for centuries? And greed?! Really?? Israel is maintaining a land the size of New Jersey, while the Arab world surrounds with tens of thousands of times the size?
July 30, 2012 at 11:15 pm, Darrell Delph said:
Considering the high concentration of Jewish people in the northeaster region of the United States, I am surprised we just didn't give New Jersey to them as the promised land. It would have cut down on a lot of tensions in the middle east if the just lived here.
July 30, 2012 at 11:43 pm, George Kafantaris said:
With Syria imploding from within and Iran due to go down the same path, Israel should now stay out of both Iran and Syria. Left alone these two will better serve its interests than anything it can do with air strikes.
Indeed, Israel often does more harm than good with force. And being our adopted child, it invariably drags us in. This is reason enough for us to mind what it's up to. So no encouragements, please Mitt.
Did you forget that our foreign policy debate ends at the water's edge?
So does our political fundraising.
Bad form.
July 31, 2012 at 1:37 am, Ricky Crummett said:
Mitt Romney is a racist…..enough said.
July 30, 2012 at 11:48 pm, Guerrilla Monkey – Today’s bookmarks said:
[...] Mitt Romney follows up insulting London with straight-up racism in Israel [...]
July 31, 2012 at 5:49 am, Jonathan Brehm said:
I would fucking kill for a Wendy's baconator right now.
July 31, 2012 at 2:42 pm, Karon Adams said:
You know, the palestenians are insulted that Irael exists. who cares. let them go back to throwing rocks. quite frankly, Israel should just leave them be and let them destroy themselves. they seem to be doing an excellent job. Stand behind Israel (as o will NEVER do) and stop Iran before they become a real international threat!
September 05, 2012 at 6:43 pm, Katherine Southard Reece said:
Actually Obama is a great supporter of Israel.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/05/opinion/the-truth-about-obama-and-israel.html
July 31, 2012 at 12:06 pm, Mitt Romney loves Israel’s universal healthcare | Death and Taxes said:
[...] a disaster. We all know he came across like George W. Bush mixed with Patrick Bateman with a little racism mixed in for good measure. And we know he turned off most of Europe in a big way—German [...]
August 02, 2012 at 1:30 pm, Author Romney referenced in his ‘culture’ insult doubts Romney even read the book | Death and Taxes said:
[...] Romney’s comment on Monday that Israelis are richer than Palestinians because of their superior culture seems to be sticking to GOP’s main man. And for good reason—beyond just being a crazy thing [...]