Obama and Israel: He's "Forgainst It"

How will Obama handle his Jewish problem? He has to pander to the pro Zionist Jews of America and at the same time talk about dismantling support for Israel in order to appeal to his "progressive" followers. How he handles this one is very telling about his "judgment". He just refused to condemn Israel for ghettoizing the Palestinians. Who is he really? He sounds like another Hillary who will say or do anything at all to get elected, like someone who courts the disaffected and the disenfranchised, and promises them the false hope of inclusion, which will never happen at all in this country. His Jewish problem is like Sarah Silverman's Hollywood mogul who says: "I'm forgainst it".

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Comments

[belladawna]

08:42 PM on 02/07/2008

going with the less of the two evils!!! hillary is still going to win.
she's a better choice than mccain. hillary vs. mccain and god help us all if she doesn't win. she , but i'm just saying.

[Justtellthetruth]

10:03 AM on 02/03/2008

Obama may be playing political games, but HILLARY is already bought and paid for. She supports removing Palestinians from Jerusalem, and making it the undivided capitol of Israel, Per Mother Jones.

She gets at least 5 to 1 PAC money from AIPAC over Obama, Per Mother Jones.

She stumped for the Disastrous, Avoidable, ill conceived Israeli war against Lebanon which the Israeli people, through official investigation, have deemed a complete mistake for Israel. It was a total disaster for the US as well. lets face it, If its foreign policy related and Hillary backs it, its going to be a total disaster!!!!

[RolaPhoenicia]

10:36 AM on 02/02/2008

I had hoped Obama would do what he said and bring change to American foreign policy but, Obama is quickly becoming a bleak reminder that it’s the entire corrupt and compromised political structure and lobbying system that needs to be demolished, so that a new day can begin.

http://rolaphoenicia.blogspot.com/

[plutopie]

10:13 AM on 02/02/2008

I've been trying to hold out hope that Obama could actually resist 'The Israel Lobby' as defined by Walt and Mersheimer and actually throw the entire weight and force of American power behind forcing Israel to obey the UN Resolutions, Geneva Conventions, and International Laws she is currently violating and that underlie our disastrous Middle East foreign policy.

Barak's lastest disheartening development was his infamous letter last month to our UN Ambassador urging him NOT to pressure Israel to stop the current war crimes of collective punishment that Israel is currently committing in Gaza (see letter at link below) a letter probably written in coordination with the foreign policy snake Dennis Ross - a notorious neocon-enabler (like Thomas Friedman of the NYTimes) who's always on the make to sell the disastrous and stagnant Bush/Likudnik policy and Clinton policies of the last decade and a half.

here's a link to Obama's letter to our neocon UN Ambassador Khalilizad with a link following the text

===
verbatim transcript of letter below:
====

Dear Ambassador Khalilzad,

I understand that today the UN Security Council met regarding the situation in Gaza, and that a resolution or statement could be forthcoming from the Council in short order.

I urge you to ensure that the Security Council issue no statement and pass no resolution on this matter that does not fully condemn the rocket assault Hamas has been conducting on civilians in southern Israel.

All of us are concerned about the impact of closed border crossings on Palestinian families. However, we have to understand why Israel is forced to do this. Israel has the right to respond while seeking to minimize any impact on civilians.

The Security Council should clearly and unequivocally condemn the rocket attacks. If it cannot bring itself to make these common sense points, I urge you to ensure that it does not speak at all.

Sincerely,

Barack Obama

http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3790/1/Obama-supporters-speak-out;-he-writes-to-U.N.-on-Israel

[denver]

09:58 AM on 02/02/2008

WELL I'm no fan of Rosanne Barr but at least she sees the bullsh..t these candidates spu all of them pander and makes you wonder if any have any true convictions other than winning and obtaining power.I was reading rolling stone magazine and the writer Matt Tiabbi and hewas very harsh on both Hillary and Barack,saying in his article that they are both in the shadow concervitives who are pretending to care about the blue collar so they can captur the White House and pay off their corporate friends and according to his view he thinks Obama is winning the "feed you the bullsh..t rhetoric".Then he goes on to say how sad it is that they are both pretendiing to care about the Edwards voters and wonders which one will pretend good enough and convince people they care about the poor.
Now I dont agree with his summery of the democrats,but my point is he is one jounalist pointing out that Barack is not this beakon of truth and compassion,that if you examine his record in public and private he is infact a twin of Hillary with his views and policy stances.

[aznurse]

09:50 AM on 02/02/2008

What is the alternative? According to you, Obamas' no good, Hillary's no good. Are you suggesting McCain, Huckabee, Romney? Ron Paul?
After this election, the US is going to get hit in the face with the pie of reality. We may not even be a "super" power anymore.
BTW: Poland supports a US missile-defense plan after receiving assurances that Washington would help with other defense needs. This is despite oppositon from Russia and a majority of Poles. I wanted to mention this, cause I didn't see it posted anywhere today. Thanks

[goldcoastsailor]

09:49 AM on 02/02/2008

It's about time U S politicians cut Israel loose. What have they ever done for us except drag us into their never ending dispute with the Arab world. People are finally waking up to the huge influence they have bought from our legislators. Hilary is very experienced in taking their money. How about America first for a change.

[Boobaloo]

09:32 AM on 02/02/2008

"He has to pander to the pro Zionist Jews of America and at the same time talk about dismantling support for Israel in order to appeal to his "progressive" followers...He just refused to condemn Israel for ghettoizing the Palestinians"

====

I agree with you wholeheartedly Ms.Barr.

Obama is starting to sell us out to Israel, just like all the other politicians who are owned by pro-Israeli and Zionist lobbies.

[clevelandchick]

08:47 AM on 02/02/2008

Roseanne,

Love ya but don't single out Obama. That's not fair at all. AIPAC has a grip on all of our politicians, Hillary being one of the top receipients of their campaign dough largesse.

Just ask Cynthia McKinney, she is one of the few politicians that was brave enough to speak out against AIPAC and the ghettoizing of Palestine and they gunned for her from day one. Got her taken out of office twice.

Why I prefer Obama over Hillary on this issue is that:

a.) See the first paragraph - AIPAC money to HIllary. As another commenter pointed out she's #3 out of all politicians of each party in donations from them.

b.) I see Hillary as the one more likely to engage in military intervention on Israel's behalf. I see Obama as one more likely to engage in diplomacy to prevent military intervention.

Hillary is definitely the more hawkish of the two. My very very Republican older brother told me he wants Hillary to win the Nom and that he'd vote for her over McCain in the general because get this...."McCain's A Liberal" HA!

He likes Hillary because he believes she would be more likely to use military force to 'protect America and Israel'. He's probably right.

[KennyFox]

08:40 AM on 02/02/2008

This years election is not about Israel, its about America. You going to vote for a president based on how much he loves Israel? If that is the case, maybe you should move to Tel Aviv and vote for the Israeli leaders themselves, who should take care of Israel. No?

[ShoshanaNY]

08:34 AM on 02/02/2008

This is absolutely ridiculous. Barack Obama's position on the Israeli-Arab conflict is clear, and has been perfectly clear since the beginning of the campaign.

It disturbs me when people comment on this issue without truly knowing the context and history of this conflict. While Israel's actions are certainly not perfect, this situation does not fit the "aggressor/underdog" scenario that allows us to pass judgment easily and put this into a neat little box. Let's not be the liberal equivalent of the right-wing pundits; we're smarter than that.

[LeonBNJ]

08:00 AM on 02/02/2008

America has always supported Israel since it's existance for a number of important reasons, most of all to have a place where Jewish people can control the goverance of, in the place of their most holy sites, so 'never again' another Holocoust. Absolute and uncritical support is not always in the interests of the USA and other countries but it necessary to attract Jewish and Evangelical Christian votes and huge amounts of campaign cash. It is like Abortion in that for some critical voters is the single issue that can make them support you or your opposition. This means all canidates tend to have very similar and absolute and solid support of Israel.

[VivaZapata]

07:44 AM on 02/02/2008

Damn my own prejudice at being surprised by Barr's really incisive explanation of this global problem which is at the core of the United States' diminishing standing in the world and which issues forth so much animus, but don't blame Israel alone. The US hack politicians use the Zionist position for the oil corporations' need of keeping the region destabilized. I have long maintained that the Bushonians would never consider their maneuvers in the Middle East to be a mistake; for their purposes, "Mission Accomplished" was in fact the right pronouncement.

[indc]

06:53 AM on 02/02/2008

Where in the Constitution of the United States does it require US taxpayers and politician to support Israel?

I am concerned about this country and our people first.. Israel has received more than a trillion dollars of US taxpayer money. Enough Already!

[KaAp]

06:52 AM on 02/02/2008

I am very troubled by some of these posts. So many people are so misinformed about Israel and the Palestinian situation. Obama's approach to the Israeli-Palestinian problem is sophisticated, nuanced, and quite sensible.
The large problem I see in the US regarding Israel are the evangelical Christians who basically want to get to heaven off the backs of Jews and Palestinians (bringing about Armageddon ...) ...
I also agree with the poster who wrote Jews are a small percentage of the US population do not vote as a bloc and generally have a complex often problematic relationship with Israel. Senator Lieberman does not represent all Jews in his position, he represents Senator Lieberman.
I also think that any information coming out of the area must be read critically since so many passions both historic and contemporary overt covert and ideological are written and spoken.
I appreciate Senator Obama's position ... since it goes well above and beyond hyperbole ...