FreeBecon Reports: Arab American leader James Zogby called the Democratic Party’s contested platform regarding Israel meaningless and bashed the party for “doing something so dumb” as to reinsert language declaring Jerusalem the Jewish state’s capital after a noisy and contested floor vote.
“You don’t try to ram [an amendment] through on the floor and when you lose” proceed anyway, Zogby told a group of Muslim delegates Thursday during a “Gala Reception/Luncheon for Muslim Delegates” held on the sidelines of the Democratic National Convention.
Zogby slammed Obama and the Democratic Party for reconsidering its exclusion of language in the party platform that specifically referred to Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, a policy declaration that appeared in both the 2004 and 2008 iterations of their platform.
The omission of several pro-Israel passages from the Democratic Party’s official platform led to widespread criticism this week, forcing party leaders to offer an amendment explicitly referring to Jerusalem as the capital of Israel—a routine action that devolved into a floor fight among many delegates who opposed the pro-Israel measure.
Zogby, cofounder of the Arab American Institute, also dubbed the Republican Party as “the guys who want to blow up the earth and bring Jesus back.”
During his speech to Muslim leaders at the lunch, which was hosted by Rep. Keith Ellison (D., Minn.), Zogby went on to chastise the Democratic Party for capitulating to pro-Israel interests.
“When you read the language of the platform [regarding Israel] it’s inconsequential,” he said. “This is language that means almost nothing if you look at it up close.”
Referring to reports that Obama viewed the disputed platform prior to the convention, Zogby was indignant.
“When they tell us the president did it, … this guy is way to smart to do something so dumb,” Zogby said.
