Minnesota 6th District Congresswoman Michele Bachmann
On Israel:
“I have been a long time supporter of Israel. The first time I went to Israel was the day I graduated from high school. I spent a summer working on Kibbutz Be’eri near Beer Sheva in 1974. I’ve been 4 times in Israel – 3 times as a Member of Congress. I loved Israel – from the moment I first landed.
As a young girl from Anoka, I was shocked at the level of security in Israel.
We worked on the kibbutz from 4 am to noon. We were always accompanied by soldiers with machine guns. While we were working, the soldiers were walking around looking for land mines. I really learned a lot in Israel.
I was delighted to go back as a Member of Congress, and see all the changes. To see how it has developed – it is nothing short of a miracle! To see a rose bloom in the desert. In 60 years, Israel has achieved first world, or nearly first world, status.
I am honored to be in a position where I can help Israel. I have a tremendous love for Israel, and great admiration for the Israeli people. I am a Christian, but I consider my heritage Jewish, because it is the foundation, the roots of my faith as a Christian.
On Iran:
[Photo: Wikipedia]Iran is a very serious situation. With each day that we’ve failed to have sanctions, our choice is more difficult. Iran has been an aggressor. It has been unwilling to deal diplomatically with the issue. We need to be apprised [of the situation] and not underestimate the intent of the leaders [of Iran] to do damage to the United States and our friend Israel.
Israel has always been a friend to the United States, and in the United States, it is in our best interest to maintain that stability, for democracy.
Uh, yeah. Thanks Rep. Bachmann.
If you’re interested in more perspectives from our Congressional delegation, you can watch the video of my interview with Rep. Erik Paulsen here: http://tcjewfolk.com/aipac-conference-article-minnpostcom/
Rep. John Kline’s statement is here:
http://tcjewfolk.com/first-report-from-aipac-are-we-there-yet/
And you can read Rep. Tim Walz’s comments from our inteview with him in Leora’s MinnPost article on the conference here: http://www.minnpost.com/community_voices/2010/03/23/16852/an_inside_look_at_the_pro-israel_aipac_conference
Or get the full list of our columns from AIPAC Policy Conference: http://tcjewfolk.com/every-article-tcjewfolk-article-aipac-policy-conference/
Of course Michele loves Israel. They’ve spent over $40,000 in the past three years shuttling her and her family over there for free to lobby her for more money for Israel. What a fraud.
Ahab, save the cynicism. How many gentile girls from Anoka spend a summer working on a kibbutz? Her love for Israel seems genuine to me, rooted in her experiences as a teen and in her faith. We Jews are so accustomed to being hated, we don’t know what to make of someone who offers friendship. There is a reason why we are called a “stiff-necked people” in the Bible.
While I can appriciate Mrs. Bachmaan’s experience on a kibbutz and her love for Israel, it’s just about every other thing out of her mouth that makes me wince.
I lived on Kibbutz Be’eri 1964-1967 I also went there after my senior year in high school…it was a defining time in my life and still has an effect on my character. I don’t know much about you as a congressperson but I feel close to you as someone who has shared an experience that I have also had.
Richard Carlan
[email protected]
Bachmann’s support for Israel may be genuine, but in every other way imaginable, her behavior is antithetical to everything Jews should stand for. She has zero commitment to social justice, she stirs up hate, and probably violence, among her vicious thug Tea Party followers and, given her many ludicrous comments about Obama, she’s probably a racist, too. As Jews, we need to ask ourselves whether we are so desperate for support for Israel that we will accept it even from the most monstrous sources.
What a totally ignorant, repulsive statement from “Motown Transplant” — claiming Michele Bachmann is “probably a racist.” What a perfect example of “hate speech” from the left — calling a public official with whom you don’t agree a “racist,” without offering a scintilla of evidence in support of such an outrageous smear (“Motown” couldn’t offer any evidence because that slander is so completely false there is no evidence to support it). Michele Bachmann has fought against racism and anti-Semitism all her life, and will continue to do so. Perhaps “Motown” should seek help for his/her irrational hatred.
Lefties consider her crazy, I consider her the hottest Congresswoman in the House of Representatives (is that wrong?). She is a former volunteer at Kibbutz Be’eri, a place where I have been many times, so now I like her even more. You go girl!
Despite her professed ‘love’ for Israel and the Jewish People, the body of Michelle Bachmann’s comments and deeds suggests that ‘with friends like her, who needs enemies’? Why, I’d bet that some of her best friends are Jewish…
So how has the Obama Administration supported Israel?
“Social Justice” Isn’t that what makes it harder for Jewish college graduates to get into graduate professional schools?
Would Michele Bachmann bow to “The Guardian of The Two Holy Mosques” (Mecca and Medina)?
“probably stirs up violence” “probably a racist, too”
Refresh me; what standard of proof is that? I didn’t know there was one (a lot) lower than “preponderance of the evidence”
Rep. Bachmann is a true supporter of Israel. I had no idea that she visited Israel in 1974. How many Jews can say they had family members visit Israel immediately after the Yom Kippur War and volunteer on a Kibbutz? That is unbelievable evidence of support for Israel. Hey critics, she was not a politician in 1974. I forgot that as a Conservative she is persona non-grata to Jews in the Twin Cities. Maybe this is the reason I no longer call the Democrat Party my home. JFK and RFK are rolling in their graves.
Michelle Bachmann appears to be a well educated and thoughtful woman. For those of you opposed to her, whether Jew or Gentile need to ask your self, “Will I have more freedom under Obama of Bachmann?” Obama wants control over every aspect of your life, and that my friends ain’t freedom, that’s tyranny.
There is no mention online of there being landmines near Kibbutz Be’eri in 1974… and what kibbutz would send foreign volunteers to work in the fields to be guarded by soldiers, with guns, who are looking for landmines… something doesnt add up in this story.
Glad Michele Bachmann likes Israel… doesn’t make me like or trust her. We should be scared of strange bedfellows!