Jerusalem – White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and his family dined on seafood at an Eilat restaurant and left the bill for the Israeli Tourism Ministry, according to reports in Israeli media. The report was met with consternation by MK Dr. Michael Ben-Ari of the National Union, who wants the bill sent back to Emanuel.
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Emanuel is in Israel on a private visit with his parents, his wife, his children and other family members, to make preparations for his son’s upcoming Bar Mitzvah. Upon arrival in Israel Friday, the Emanuels headed for Eilat, where they dined on seafood at a restaurant. After the (unkosher) meal, which included cheviche (citrus marinaded seafood), calamari (fried squid), various fish, salads and hamburgers, the bill was handed over to a Ministry of Tourism representative who accompanied the Emanuels.
Ben-Ari fired off a letter to the Attorney General in which he said: “I was amazed to hear that following the sumptuous meal at the ‘Boston’ restaurant Emanuel handed the bill to a Ministry of Tourism representative who was present. In my humble legal opinion there is no possibility of making the State of Israel pay for such a meal, as part of a private visit by the White House Chief of Staff and his family.”
“The public coffers are not up for grabs and the fact that the gentleman [Emanuel] sponsors anti-Semitic policies in the White House is certainly no justification for digging into the public coffer at the expense of the old lady in the corridor of the hospital,” Ben-Ari added – in a reference to the shortage of hospital beds in Israel, which is attributed to budgetary problems.
“I ask you, sir, to immediately cancel the debiting of the Ministry of Tourism’s account and to promptly send the bill directly to Mr. Emanuel’s private home,” he added.
It is not known where the Bar Mitzvah ceremony will take place. Nationalists have said that they will prevent Emanuel from celebrating at the Kotel, but there have been reports that the ceremony will be held at Robinson’s Arch, which is slightly removed from the Kotel and which serves Reform and Conservative communities.
The media-savvy Emanuel made no attempt to keep his family’s culinary experience in Eilat — at the expense of the Israeli taxpayer — from becoming known to the Israeli media and even posed for a picture with the restaurant’s chef. The event might therefore be interpreted by some as a deliberate message by Emanuel, in keeping with a line of theatrically insulting messages to Israel delivered by the White House since it came under Emanuel’s direction. The most notorious of these was the photograph released by the White House of President Barack Obama speaking to Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu with his feet propped up on his desk and the soles thrust at the camera.
Make him pay
(unkosher) meal ??? I thought he is orthodox ….??*&&*%&$^#!
#$%^&*()_+
This fish story stinks to high heaven
Chill pill is in order here!
Send Rahm back to where he came from. After all he wouldn’t mind the destructon of the State of Israel so why the warm welcome? Let him celebrate in Washington.
Chutzpadig. He fits right in.
That’s what happens to someone who does not have an ounce of yiras shomayim. He can come to Israel and knowing that his every move is being watched by many and yet had the odacity to sit with his entire family and eat treif. It takes a lot for someone to steep that low. He is a disgrace. He can stick that bar-mitzvah and he knows where because its worth didley.
How can a Jew visiting Israel for his son’s bar-mitzvah be “interpreted by some as a deliberate message by Emanuel, in keeping with a line of theatrically insulting messages to Israel delivered by the White House”?
why does arutz sheva post a negatvie article, why do they point out its nonkosher. that returnat isnt treif. while it maybe not be under the eida, its a far cry from treif. arutz sheva lost my respect a being a serious news outlet.
Loz leben he is part of a kind and generous administration!
did you think he kept kosher???
Open up VIN – and what do I see
another tale about good ole Rahmy
So like last time
Here is a brand new rhyme
About Rahm
The man who is such a sham:
Rahm is such a sham
Claims to be a religious dude
and then eat traife seafood
Swears he is a good yehudi
and then gorges on Calamari
That Rahm, he is such a sham
Flies to Israel first class
After kicking them in the —
Wines and Dines there
And whines and whines about them here
Fresses up like a shrek
and leaves them with the cheque
That Rahm, he is such a sham
Thinks the world revolves him
And does everyone around him in
I’m so tired of this faker Jew
Who is ready to throw me and you
Under the bus
Without a fuss
That Rahm, he is such a sham
Everytime about him a story we hear
It makes you want to shed a tear
How a person can fall so low
In pursuit of their ego
To our people he brings great shame
and desecrates our Jewish name
That Rahm, he is such a sham..
He is such a sham that Rahm
I thought he’s orthodox?
A Chicago Cheapskate.
The Kosel is in occupied East Jerusalem, did he get permission from Abbass?
The meal? well after all he is an israeli.
He he still reserve age? Maybe they could hold him back from leaving for the draft or draftdodging?
Throughout history Jews have been paying tribute to their oppressor’s in hope that they will find favor in their eyes, what is wrong with paying for a very powerful man in Washington’s little fish bill?
One second, before criticizing Mr. Emanuel (family name originally Auerbach from Jerusalem), don’t the nationalists qualify for a special “Sinas yisrael” prize for trying to prevent him and his family from celebrating at the Kotel? We all have different opinions on political decisions, but the doves believe that their policies will lead to better safer lives, just as the hawks do. And no one owns the kotel, or has the right to threaten violence against Jews who wish to pray there. So, maybe the Arutz Sheva crowd need a little Ahavas Yisrael as well as the Emanuel brigade.
To number 13 I love your poem it made me laugh. Thank you.
(reply to #9 ) his menu is quoted in the article, so you can’t say its kosher
I expected maybe a restaurant without a teudat kashrut, but calamari? He knew that the bill for the meal would become public. Couldn’t he hold off on seafood until after he got back from Israel?
He is entitled to eat where he wants in EY, kosher or treif. He is equally entitled to have the bar mitzvah at har habayis, the kosel or on the beach in Tel Aviv. EY is a democracy and a yid from the U.S. has the same rights as a chashuve rav.
I looked at the menu for this Boston restaurant on their website. its is definitely 100% treif. They serve calamari (squid).
you are what you eat. It therefore logically follows that emmannuel is TRAIF.
#13 , fantastic poetry!! I really had a good laugh
the latest modern moshke working for the puretz from nigeria/uganda to the pleasure of of the pritzim from past and present communists.
He went to Isreal for Fish because here they are all Oily because of his boss
Im not sure what he considers himself, but doesnt he belong to a orthodox shul? the one with the rabbi that gave him a heter to use his blackberry on shabbos cuz a financial crisis is pikuach nefesh?! maybe his rabbi gave him a heter to eat squid!
I visit Eilat every year for vacation. there is a sign at the entrance to the Boston Grill that it is not kosher and that it is open on Shabbos. BTW, their nightly entertainment is goooood!! no, not what you think…. it’s old style klezmer music.
the israely MKs need to get a “real” job and not be busy with such non-sense
Being a Chicago politician means never picking up a check. Sweet gig, if you don’t have a functional set of ethics to get in the way.
I love that poem
This is a man who makes more then anyone of us & expect the Israeli Tourism Ministry to pick up his bill. It was not even a buisness trip! WHAT A CHUTZPAH!!!! What a disgrace!!!
I find it interesting that although this news item was originally reported by many news outlets in Israel (Ynet, Haaretz, etc) and the US (USA Today, San Diego Times, Philly online, etc) – as a quick Google search will show you…
All of these links are either removed, or the story was updated and any mention of the Eilat Restaurant story was deleted from it.
So that leaves VIN and Arutz 7 as the only news-related sites currently still mentioning this story.
Any (and all) other mentions of this event are only on personal blogs – who note the Arutz 7 report as the “source”.
If it really did happen as the above story says:
1. if he really was escorted by a Ministry of Tourism Official (whilst on a private visit), and
2. if he really did eat at a US-based chain restaurant with such exact details of his menu (kosher or not), and
3. if he really did walk away from the table and refuse to pay – – –
why has nobody else mentioned this?
Why was it not on the news in Israel (I have asked several relatives and friends in Israel)
Nor on the news in the USA?
Nor in any print media here nor there?
teshuva teshuva teshuva . sould do the israeli state for publishing lies about a yid who doesn`keep the Torah as if the israeli state would be based on Torah , mitzvoth and its inhabitants be all zaddikim who are shomer mitzwes and all because they don`t like that jews worldwide speek out against the state of israel . soon they will say that every yid who is against medinas isroel is an antisemite . who knows suddenly they put world yidden into herem and say that they aren`t anymore jews because they don`t support medinas isroel .
anyway what are traiffe restaurants doing in this state . they sell chametz on pessach sponsored by the state even if indirectly , pork meet is sold since long ago they just take higher taxes for it and so on .
this is no jewish state !
to #60 – the state IS BASED ON TORAH AND MITZVOS even though there are those who dont live their life like that, although the majority of jews in israel consider themselves religious to a certain extent
soon you will be telling us that your beloved america is a jewish state
and by the way, those who speak good of the land are being mekayem a mitzvah in the torah so you might want to turn you views around. Israel is still our only beloved homeland we have