Hillary Clinton criticism sparks Israeli anger

Submitted by anthony on Sun, 2011-12-04 18:36

Article here. It seems Mrs. Clinton conveniently forgot to mention Israeli men have a higher legal retirement age. Excerpt:

'Israeli ministers reacted angrily on Sunday after local media quoted U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as saying she feared for the future of Israel’s democracy and the rights of women in the Jewish state.

Clinton’s remarks, reportedly made Saturday behind closed doors at the Saban Forum in Washington, made headlines in most Israeli newspapers, which reported them without explaining how they obtained the comments.

Top-selling Yediot Aharonot said Clinton had expressed concern about a slew of “anti-democratic” bills proposed by right-wing members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

And the newspaper said Clinton had described shock at hearing that some buses in Jerusalem were gender segregated and some religious Israeli soldiers refused to attend events where women would sing.

The comments sparked a quick backlash in Jerusalem, where Israeli ministers holding a weekly cabinet meeting accused Clinton of hyperbole.

Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz called Clinton’s remarks “totally exaggerated,” Israeli media reported.'

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... or other such things, does she? Seems she always has something to say about problems like this in other countries affecting women in biased ways but not men, either in the US or anywhere else. She really is a shining example of feminist hypocrisy at its worst.

But aside from that, as I understand it, the Sec'y of State ought to be a diplomat/policy maker and executor who is primarily concerned with matters of state: trade agreements, defense relations, potential external threats to the nation's security in numerous ways (not all military), and so on. She's complaining about buses and choirs and what goes on with them? Ugh. I'd rather hoped we were paying her to be concerned with those other things and not waste her rhetorical ammo on how the Israelis manage their buses. She gets paid too much (by we, the taxpayers, no less) to be carrying on this way.

Don't get me wrong, I don't agree with gender-based segregation policies. I think they are wrong. I just think it isn't in the Sec'y of State's purview to make it a matter of diplomatic upset, especially when the country in question and the US are dealing together with other very delicate and very significant matters.

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Submitted by Matt on Mon, 2011-12-05 00:36

If Madame Secretary is so troubled by segregated buses, she must be positively appalled that certain fitness facilities grant membership to only one gender. Others charge the same dues for men and women, but certain sections of the building contain equipment that only one gender is allowed to use.

Oh, but wait. This doesn't count, because men are the ones facing this discrimination, and this is occurring right here in the U.S. I'm sure this doesn't trouble her in the least. That was foolish of me.

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Submitted by StayingFit on Mon, 2011-12-05 23:56