Emanuel: I’m not the go-between for Israel, White House
If Israeli government officials have a message for President Barack Obama, they can deliver it directly, Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Tuesday, downplaying his private meeting last week with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak.
Chicago Sun-Times columnist Lynn Sweet and the Israeli press have reported that Barak used Emanuel to deliver a message to Obama that Israeli Prime Minis- ter Benjamin Netanyahu is not attempting to interfere in the U.S. presidential election to benefit Mitt Romney.
Romney and Netanyahu are old friends from their days together as Boston business consultants.
On Tuesday, Emanuel was asked for the first time to comment on his private lunch with the Israeli defense minister, which took place last Thursday at City Hall.
The mayor tried to play down the importance of the meeting, even as he dodged the all-important question about whether or not he had been used as a diplomatic conduit to Obama.
“There’s no need to think that Rahm Emanuel [should be the messenger]. If the government of Israel has something to say, they know how to reach the White House and they know how to reach officials there. I’m not” the go-between, the mayor said.
He added, “The defense minister and I have known each other since the day he was the prime minister. … He had a meeting with me scheduled for six months ago. It got canceled. He was in the states for the United Nations and he asked for a meeting. It was an official visit. We had a good meeting. That is about all that really happened.”
The mayor was asked about Israeli press reports that Barak had delivered a message that Netanyahu had no intention of playing presidential politics. Instead of confirming or denying those reports, Emanuel segued to his own political message as one of Obama’s chief fund-raisers.
“When it comes to a message that they’re not gonna get involved in the election, it fell on deaf ears because I’m gonna get involved in the election because I want to see President Obama [re-]elected.”