Posted on 02/05/20
| News Source: JPost
Former governor of Vermont and one time Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean sought to lecture Jews on what it means to be Jewish on Tuesday. Remarking on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s role in US President Trump’s peace plan he tweeted “in other words, Israel embraces ethnic cleansing. This is a complete betrayal of Tikkun Olam and a betrayal of what it means to be a Jew.” Dean sought the Democratic nomination in 2004.It’s not the first time Dean has sought to tell Jews what it means for them to be Jewish. In July 2019 he slammed Israel for “losing its soul and purpose,” claiming that “the nobility of the Jewish people conferred by their terrible suffering is being squandered by cheap bigoted political crooks.” Dean does not tweet similar things about other minority groups, for instance attacking Armenians for what Armenia does or the Irish for Ireland’s policies or Chinese-Americans for China’s actions. He doesn’t appear to lecture other religious groups on the meaning of their religion either, such as telling Buddhists or Muslims what “it means” to be a member of their faith or born into the group.
A search of Dean’s other tweets reveals a growing obsession with American Jews. In October 2019 he wrote with interest in Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz, “I know he would create an opportunity to improve Israel’s standing among young American Jews.”
He tweets articles about Israel with comments such as “this is why Israel has lost the moral high ground among so many young American Jews,” as he did in March 2019. In October 2018 he wrote “this is why young American Jews are losing interest in Israel.” In November 2018 he wrote that it would be “better for Israeli relations with Democrats and American Jews for Israeli voters to fire Netanyahu. We would never trust him and you shouldn’t either.” Dean doesn’t seem to make similar comments about other US allies, such as Turkey, regarding who they should vote for or whether Turkish Americans should or should not have an interest in Turkey based on who voters their choose. Read more at JPost