Anybody who thought that newly-elected New York mayor Bill de Blasio was going to show any independence from the Jewish lobby has had their hopes dashed with the news that he has announced that “defending Israel is part of his job.”
According to the New York Capital News agency, De Blasio made the remarks to a private New York event of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
“Part of my job description is to be a defender of Israel,” de Blasio said.
“There’s no greater ally on earth, and that’s something we should say proudly,” he said at the Jan. 23 event.
“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, held at the Hilton in Manhattan.
According to the report, De Blasio “made no mention of his usual stump-speech themes, like income inequality, expanding paid sick leave and hiking taxes on the wealthy for universal pre-kindergarten.
“Instead he focused entirely on the city’s allegiance with Israel and the difficulties faced by the nation, eliciting several rounds of applause from the audience,” the report said.
De Blasio referenced three trips he has taken to the country, including one with wife, Chirlane McCray, and 16-year-old son, Dante.
He concluded the closed-door event with an open invitation to AIPAC:
“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.”
* Significantly, the AIPAC event was omitted from the mayor’s public schedule distributed to the press corps. The mayor said it was because AIPAC wanted the dinner to be closed to the media.
In the wake of the AIPAC speech, De Blasio promised to provide a “clearer understanding” of his schedule and speeches.
