Seventh Mailing

Google Groups finally broke me and I have switched platforms. Our new platform is Buttondown, which, already, seems much easier to use. I hope that our problems in onboarding new members are behind us.

Several hours ago I set out to mail you this link:

For those who have not seen it yet, I predict this will be seen by future historians as a watershed speech in Israeli history. As John Harris, the founding editor of Politico observed:

“By Emanuel’s lights, Oct. 7 and the Gaza catastrophe that followed proves there is no escaping the Palestinian question. But rather than the familiar “two-state solution” between Israel and Palestinians, he supports a “23-state solution.” In other words, using U.S. and Western pressure to persuade the nations of the Arab League that the economic modernization and regional security they crave is contingent on them taking more ownership of the Palestinian problem, including an end to Palestinian violence. Whether a 23-state solution is a clever rhetorical line, or the basis of real policy, is too early to know. It depends a lot on what happens in the closing two years of the Trump administration and whatever follows.

That’s why Emanuel’s speech is fascinating. He is a thoroughly political creature, as much or more than the skilled politicians he served in the White House.
Netanyahu’s reported insult of Emanuel as self-loathing, as well as numerous criticisms of him as an irritant in his memoirs, certainly justify a reaction of “screw you.” A fully honest reaction, however, would be “thank you.”

Emanuel’s presidential ambitions so far are defined by two pillars. One is the essential plausibility of his resume: In addition to a big-city mayor, he was a key figure in winning the speakership for Nancy Pelosi as a member of Congress, a White House chief of staff and ambassador to Japan. There’s no one in the gathering field who has such a diverse range of experiences and personal associations, or moves as confidently or as restlessly in policy debates. The other pillar is the essential implausibility, amid prevailing political currents, of his nascent candidacy: He is an establishment centrist who is deeply mistrusted by many of the more left-leaning, insurgent and increasingly Israel-skeptical activists who reasonably believe their energy will power the party’s next generation.

Netanyahu is a useful foil, and a potential bridge between the two pillars. Emanuel can accurately tell younger Democrats: Trust me, I have been at this fight longer than you have, and I have the enemies to show for it.”

Look for the next two mailings on Wednesday and Friday.