Rahm Israel Emanuel (born November 29, 1959) is an American politician
Emanuel was chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee for the 2006 elections.
After the Democratic Party regained control of the House, he was elected as the next chairman of the Democratic Caucus. He is the fourth-ranking Democrat in the House, behind Speaker Nancy Pelosi,
Leader Steny Hoyer and Whip Jim Clyburn. On November 6, 2008, Emanuel accepted an offer from President-elect Barack Obama to become the White House Chief of Staff in Obama's administration,
which begins on January 20, 2009.
Emanuel is an influential member of the New Democrat Coalition, and a prominent proponent of
economic liberalization. He is noted for his combative style and his political fundraising abilities.
Rahm Emanuel was born in Chicago, Illinois. His first name, Rahm (רם), means "high" or "lofty" in Hebrew, while his last name, Emanuel (עמנואל), means "God is with us." According to Emanuel's father, his son is the namesake of Rahamim, a Lehi group combatant who was killed. Rahm’s surname was adopted by his family in 1933, after Rahm’s paternal uncle, Emanuel Auerbach, was killed in a skirmish with Arabs in Jerusalem.
Emanuel's father, Benjamin M. Emanuel, is a pediatrician who was born in Jerusalem
and was a member of the Irgun , a militant Zionist group, which some claim to be a terrorist organization, that operated from 1931 to 1948 during the British Mandate of Palestine. His mother, Martha Smulevitz, worked as an X-ray technician and was the daughter of a local union organizer. She became a civil rights activist; she was also once the owner of a Chicago-area rock and roll club. The two met in Chicago in the 1950s. Emanuel's older brother, Ezekiel J. Emanuel, is an oncologist and bioethicist, and his brother Ari Emanuel is a talent agent in Los Angeles who inspired Jeremy Piven's character Ari Gold on the HBO series Entourage. Emanuel himself is the inspiration for the character Josh Lyman on The West Wing. Emanuel also has a younger adopted sister named Shoshanna, 14 years his junior.
When his family lived in Chicago, he attended Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School, a Jewish day school. After his family moved to Wilmette, he attended public school: Romona School, Wilmette Junior High School, and New Trier West High School.He and his brothers attended summer camp in Israel.At some point during his high school years, while working at an Arby's restaurant, Emanuel severely cut his right middle finger. He sought medical attention only after suffering severe infection as a result of the wound, resulting in the partial amputation of the finger.
He graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1981, and went on to receive a master's degree
in Speech and Communication from Northwestern University in 1985. While still an undergraduate, he joined the congressional campaign of David Robinson of Chicago.
Emanuel's wife, Amy Rule, converted to Judaism shortly before their wedding.
They are members of Anshe Sholom B'nai Israel, a Modern Orthodox congregation in Chicago.
They have three children, son Zachariah and daughters Ilana and Leah.
Emanuel is a close friend of fellow Chicagoan David Axelrod, chief strategist for the 2008
Barack Obama presidential campaign. Axelrod signed the ketuba, a Jewish marriage contract,
at Emanuel's wedding, an honor that goes to a family friend or distant relative
Rabbi Asher Lopatin of Anshe Sholom B'nai Israel Congregation is quoted as saying:
"It's a very involved Jewish family"; "Amy was one of the teachers for a class for children
during the High Holidays two years ago." Emanuel has said of his Judaism:
"I am proud of my heritage and treasure the values it has taught me."
Emanuel's family lives on the North Side of Chicago, in the North Center neighborhood
Emanuel trains for and participates in triathlons.
Clinton's most serious primary rival, Paul Tsongas (the New Hampshire Democratic primary winner in 1992), later withdrew, citing a lack of campaign funds. Richard Mintz, a Washington public relations consultant who worked with Emanuel on the campaign, spoke about the soundness of the idea: "It was that [extra] million dollars that really allowed the campaign to withstand the storm we had to ride out in New Hampshire [over Clinton's relationship with Gennifer Flowers and the controversy over his draft status during the Vietnam War ]." Emanuel's knowledge of the top donors in the country, and his rapport with potential donors within the Jewish community helped Clinton amass a then-unheard-of sum of $72 million.
Following the campaign, Emanuel became a senior advisor to Clinton at the White House from 1993 to 1998. In the White House, Emanuel was initially Assistant to the President for Political Affairs and then Senior Advisor to the President for Policy and Strategy. He was a leading strategist in the unsuccessful White House efforts to institute universal healthcare and many other Clinton initiatives.
One of his proudest moments during the Clinton administration "was an event that touched his political sensibilities and his personal ties to Israel: the 1993 Rose Garden signing ceremony after the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization ("PLO"). Emanuel directed the details of the ceremony, down to the choreography of the famous handshake between Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat."
Emanuel was named to the Board of Directors for the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation ("Freddie Mac") by then President Bill Clinton in 2000. His position paid him $31,060 in 2000 and $231,655 in 2001. During the time Emanuel spent on the board, Freddie Mac was plagued with scandals involving campaign contributions and accounting irregularities. The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) later accused the board of having "failed in its duty to follow up on matters brought to its attention." Emanuel resigned from the board in 2001 when he ran for congress.
Emanuel's father was an Israeli immigrant and Rahm had dual Israeli-U.S. citizenship, but relinquished his Israeli citizenship when he turned 18. He did not serve in the Israeli army, but was a civilian volunteer assisting the Israel Defense Forces for a short time during the 1991 Gulf War, repairing truck brakes in one of Israel's northern bases
Emanuel supported the October 2002 joint Congressional resolution authorizing the Iraq War, differentiating himself from all nine other Democratic members of the Illinois Congressional delegation (Sen. Richard Durbin, Reps. Bobby Rush, Jesse Jackson, Jr., Bill Lipinski, Luis Gutiérrez, Danny K. Davis, Jan Schakowsky, Jerry Costello and Lane Evans) elected in 2002. In his first term, Rahm Emanuel was a founding member and the Co-Chair of the Congressional Serbian Caucus.
The position of Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chairman (DCCC) was assumed by Emanuel after the death of the previous chair, Bob Matsui. Emanuel led the Democratic Party's effort to capture the majority in the House of Representatives in the 2006 elections.
Emanuel still is close to Bill Clinton, and talked strategy with him at least once a month as chairman of the DCCC. He declared in April 2006 that he would support Hillary Rodham Clinton should she pursue the presidency in 2008. However, Emanuel's loyalties came into conflict when his home-state senator Barack Obama expressed interest in the race; asked in January 2007 about his stance on the Democratic presidential nomination, he said: "I'm hiding under the desk. I'm very far under the desk, and I'm bringing my paper and my phone."
After his role in helping the Democrats to win the 2006 elections, Emanuel was believed to be a leading candidate for the position of Majority Whip. Nancy Pelosi, who became the next Speaker of the House, persuaded him not to challenge Jim Clyburn, but instead to succeed Clyburn in the role of Democratic Caucus Chairman. In return, Pelosi agreed to assign the caucus chair more responsibilities, including "aspects of strategy and messaging, incumbent retention, policy development and rapid-response communications". Caucus vice-chair John Larson remained in this role instead of running for the chairman position.
Emanuel has maintained a 100 percent pro-abortion voting record and is generally liberal on social issues[. He has aligned himself with the centrist wing of the Democratic Party, the Democratic Leadership Council.
According to The Nation, Emanuel is "seen as a strong Israel partisan.”
In June 2007, Emanuel condemned an outbreak of Palestinian violence
in the Gaza Strip and
criticized Arab countries for not applying the same kind of pressure on the Palestinians
as they have on Israel.
At a 2003 pro-Israel rally in Chicago, Emanuel told the marchers Israel was ready
for peace but would not get there
until Palestinians "turn away from the path of terror".
On November 6, 2008, Emanuel accepted the position of White House Chief of Staff
for Barack Obama.
After Emanuel submits his resignation of his congressional seat, Illinois Governor
Blagojevich must set the
date for a special election within five days, and the election must take place
within 115 days.
Republican House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio criticized
Emanuel's fierce partisanship stating:
"This is an ironic choice for a president-elect who has promised to change
Washington, make politics
more civil and govern from the center." Republican National Committee
spokesman Alex Conant
issued a statement saying "Barack Obama's first decision as president-elect
undermines his promise
to 'heal the divides'." However, Senator Lindsay Graham, Republican
of South Carolina disagreed,
saying: "This is a wise choice by President-elect Obama. He's tough
but fair -- honest, direct and candid."
Israel's oldest daily newspaper, Haaretz, headlined the news as follows:
"Obama's first pick: Israeli Rahm Emanuel
as chief of staff." Ira Forman, executive director of the
National Jewish Democratic Council,
said "It's just another indication that despite the attempts to imply that
Obama would somehow appoint
the wrong person or listen to the wrong people when it comes to the
U.S.-Israel relationship ... that was
never true." Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic opined that Emanuel would be
good for the
Israeli-Palestinian peace process because if Israeli leaders make
excuses to President Obama
for not dismantling settlements, "Rahm will call out such nonsense,
and it will be very hard for right-wing
Israelis to come back and accuse him of being a self-hating Jew."
Palestinians and Arabs elsewhere expressed dismay at Obama’s
appointment of Emanuel.
Palestinian American Ali Abunimah of Electronic Intifada
speaking on Democracy Now! said
Obama’s appointment of Emanuel sent the signal he would
not be taking “more balanced,
more objective, more realistic advice that could change
the course from the disastrous
Palestine-Israel policies of the Bush and Clinton administrations.”
In an article
headlined “Our Man in the White House” in the Hebrew daily
Maariv Emanuel's father, Benjamin,
was quoted as saying, "Obviously, he will influence the President
to be pro-Israel.
Why shouldn't he do it? What is he, an Arab? He's not going to
clean the floor of the White House."
The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee called on
Rahm Emanuel to repudiate
his father's comment, saying it viewed "this characterization of an
Arab as an unacceptable smear."
On November 13, 2008 Rahm Emanuel issued a statement doing so.
Several organizations
have alleged that the Irgun, for which Rahm's father Benjamin had
passed "secret codes before
the creation of Israel, was a terrorist group which had carried
out deadly attacks
against Arabs and the British.
The BBC was reporting within days of Obama's election that sections o
f Iranian opinion,
earlier "thrilled by the stunning election victory, seeing it as offering
hope of a radical
change in US foreign policy and relations," were now pointing out
that "one of Mr Obama's
first actions was to appoint as his chief of staff Rahm Emanuel,
whose background reportedly
includes volunteer service in the Israeli army."