Having started his term as New York City Mayor in January, Bill de Blasio has gotten to work in the traditional fashion: making sure the powerful groups that got him elected are happy. Last month, de Blasio held what was supposed to be an off-the-record (do those exist any more?) speech to his supporters at AIPAC, the very powerful pro-Israel political lobby. A reporter managed to get in and covertly record some of the event before being kicked out by security. So what does the new mayor tell AIPAC when he thinks no one is listening?
Some of it was to reassure Israel that America will always have its back:
“There is a philosophical grounding to my belief in Israel and it is my belief, it is our obligation, to defend Israel, but it is also something that is elemental to being an American because there is no greater ally on earth, and that’s something we can say proudly,” de Blasio told a gathering.
But it was when de Blasio added that he and his office will personally have its back that the head scratching begins:
“City Hall will always be open to AIPAC,” he said. “When you need me to stand by you in Washington or anywhere, I will answer the call and I’ll answer it happily ’cause that’s my job.” [source]
Is it really the job of the Mayor of New York to “answer the call” whenever the pro-Israel lobby wants something?
It was that question that led MSNBC’s indomitable Chris Hayes to confront the Mayor himself over the issue.
http://youtu.be/2FGQjaF-omIrest at http://iacknowledge.net/chris-hayes-calls-out-de-blasio-is-defender-of-israel-really-part-of-your-job-description/
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