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ADL CONNECTION IS SUDDENLY A LIABILITY FOR A COURT NOMINEE
MondoWeiss
Nov 27 2013
Philip Weiss on November 27, 2013 29
This is astonishing. From the JTA, Ties to the ADL are proving to be
a problem for a Massachusetts court nominee. The nominee has "a long
track record in civil rights advocacy." But his organization tried to
dismiss the Armenian genocide at a time when Turkey and Israel were
getting along; and progressives are calling him out for his PEP-ness,
progressive except Palestine.
A nominee for the top court in Massachusetts is facing opposition in
part because of his affiliation with the Anti-Defamation League.
Joseph S. Berman, 49, a regional leader of the New England ADL and
a commissioner for the national ADL since 2006, was nominated as a
judge for the state Superior Court in October by Gov. Deval Patrick.
At an emotionally charged hearing last week, Marilyn Pettito Devaney
of the Governor's Council - the elected eight-member panel that is
voting on the nomination - said she had the votes to deny Berman
the appointment.
Devaney, who lives in Watertown, a Boston suburb with a large Armenian
population, added that if she belonged to a group that denied the
Holocaust, she would resign...
Robert Trestan, director of the New England ADL, said "the attack"
on Berman and the ADL was a surprise.
Yes, as Bob Dylan said, a change in the weather is known to be extreme.
Jeffrey Robbins, photo at his law firm's site
Berman gets a character reference here from a Boston attorney whom
we quoted yesterday, speaking at a pro-Israel fundraiser for Obama
on the west coast, repeatedly criticizing the Obama administration
for its Iran and Israel policies.
Berman was among the most persuasive leaders urging the group to
acknowledge the massacre as a genocide, according to Jeffrey Robbins,
chair of the New England ADL, who testified at the hearing.
Berman, a partner at the Boston firm Looney & Grossman, is a commercial
litigation lawyer with a long track record in civil rights advocacy.
Robbins, quoted in the Hill yesterday:
He said that, in pursuit of a deal, the administration took "crude,
petulant and harmful swipes at Israel" that were "difficult to
understand from a friend."
Robbins also criticized Secretary of State John Kerry's claim that
Israeli officials were disparaging the emerging deal without being
fully briefed on its details.
"Stuff that seems aimed of fomenting a view of those who are concerned
about Israel as somehow obsessive-compulsive or worse," he said.
http://mondoweiss.net/2013/11/connection-suddenly-liability.html
From: Baghdasarian
MondoWeiss
Nov 27 2013
Philip Weiss on November 27, 2013 29
This is astonishing. From the JTA, Ties to the ADL are proving to be
a problem for a Massachusetts court nominee. The nominee has "a long
track record in civil rights advocacy." But his organization tried to
dismiss the Armenian genocide at a time when Turkey and Israel were
getting along; and progressives are calling him out for his PEP-ness,
progressive except Palestine.
A nominee for the top court in Massachusetts is facing opposition in
part because of his affiliation with the Anti-Defamation League.
Joseph S. Berman, 49, a regional leader of the New England ADL and
a commissioner for the national ADL since 2006, was nominated as a
judge for the state Superior Court in October by Gov. Deval Patrick.
At an emotionally charged hearing last week, Marilyn Pettito Devaney
of the Governor's Council - the elected eight-member panel that is
voting on the nomination - said she had the votes to deny Berman
the appointment.
Devaney, who lives in Watertown, a Boston suburb with a large Armenian
population, added that if she belonged to a group that denied the
Holocaust, she would resign...
Robert Trestan, director of the New England ADL, said "the attack"
on Berman and the ADL was a surprise.
Yes, as Bob Dylan said, a change in the weather is known to be extreme.
Jeffrey Robbins, photo at his law firm's site
Berman gets a character reference here from a Boston attorney whom
we quoted yesterday, speaking at a pro-Israel fundraiser for Obama
on the west coast, repeatedly criticizing the Obama administration
for its Iran and Israel policies.
Berman was among the most persuasive leaders urging the group to
acknowledge the massacre as a genocide, according to Jeffrey Robbins,
chair of the New England ADL, who testified at the hearing.
Berman, a partner at the Boston firm Looney & Grossman, is a commercial
litigation lawyer with a long track record in civil rights advocacy.
Robbins, quoted in the Hill yesterday:
He said that, in pursuit of a deal, the administration took "crude,
petulant and harmful swipes at Israel" that were "difficult to
understand from a friend."
Robbins also criticized Secretary of State John Kerry's claim that
Israeli officials were disparaging the emerging deal without being
fully briefed on its details.
"Stuff that seems aimed of fomenting a view of those who are concerned
about Israel as somehow obsessive-compulsive or worse," he said.
http://mondoweiss.net/2013/11/connection-suddenly-liability.html
From: Baghdasarian