2008 Woodie Awards
Obama The Reborn Zionist? Truth or Dare
Many Jews are worried that Barack Obama's current pro-Israel rhetoric reflects more pandering than principle. They've got good reason to be worried.
Noach Lerman
Issue date: 11/3/08 Section: Opinion
There are some time-honored traditions in American presidential politics. Candidates will claim a taste for local beef, regional specialties and Iowa-produced ethanol. They will maintain that they are strong on defense yet gentle with babies. And they will declare their undying support for the State of Israel.
As Barack Obama has struggled to connect with Jewish voters, a number of leading Jewish columnists have attempted to bolster the freshman Senators' pro-Israel bona fides. In his article "Best for Israel? Don't Believe It", Gary Rosenblatt argues that all three remaining presidential candidates would approach Mideast policy in much the same way, reassuring pro-Israel voters that they "can feel comfortable with each [Sens. Obama, Clinton and McCain]. Thomas Friedman suggests that voters should "knock off the churlish whispering campaign about what's in [Obama's] heart on Israel." Obama also seemed to strike all the right chords in his 2007 address to the AIPAC conference. His lofty oratory led Haaretz Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner to declare that "at least rhetorically, Obama passed any test anyone might have wanted him to pass. So he is pro-Israel, period."
Yet doubts remain among many Jewish voters. And despite some of the above kosherizing of the freshman Senator from Illinois, many of his past statements, current associates and general ideology are troubling. They may not establish dispositively that Obama is anti-Israel. But in an age when politicians often have great incentive to don pro-Israel garb, these clues to Obama's true beliefs should certainly disquiet anyone interested in Israel's fate.
Part of the problem has been a few perplexing comments, including an Obama declaration reported in the Des Moines Register that "nobody is suffering more than the Palestinian people." After this statement was publicized and many were miffed, Obama later clarified that he had in fact intended to blame plight of the Palestinian people on their own leadership, not Israeli brutality or injustice. Leaving aside the issue of whether the Palestinians are suffering more than say, Darfurians, the substance of Obama's speech was far more ambiguous. He did criticize Palestinian terrorism. Yet immediately before trumpeting the plight of the Palestinians, he insisted that Israel "look at some of the settlements in the West Bank," giving the impression that Israel was primary responsible for Palestinian suffering.
As Barack Obama has struggled to connect with Jewish voters, a number of leading Jewish columnists have attempted to bolster the freshman Senators' pro-Israel bona fides. In his article "Best for Israel? Don't Believe It", Gary Rosenblatt argues that all three remaining presidential candidates would approach Mideast policy in much the same way, reassuring pro-Israel voters that they "can feel comfortable with each [Sens. Obama, Clinton and McCain]. Thomas Friedman suggests that voters should "knock off the churlish whispering campaign about what's in [Obama's] heart on Israel." Obama also seemed to strike all the right chords in his 2007 address to the AIPAC conference. His lofty oratory led Haaretz Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner to declare that "at least rhetorically, Obama passed any test anyone might have wanted him to pass. So he is pro-Israel, period."
Yet doubts remain among many Jewish voters. And despite some of the above kosherizing of the freshman Senator from Illinois, many of his past statements, current associates and general ideology are troubling. They may not establish dispositively that Obama is anti-Israel. But in an age when politicians often have great incentive to don pro-Israel garb, these clues to Obama's true beliefs should certainly disquiet anyone interested in Israel's fate.
Part of the problem has been a few perplexing comments, including an Obama declaration reported in the Des Moines Register that "nobody is suffering more than the Palestinian people." After this statement was publicized and many were miffed, Obama later clarified that he had in fact intended to blame plight of the Palestinian people on their own leadership, not Israeli brutality or injustice. Leaving aside the issue of whether the Palestinians are suffering more than say, Darfurians, the substance of Obama's speech was far more ambiguous. He did criticize Palestinian terrorism. Yet immediately before trumpeting the plight of the Palestinians, he insisted that Israel "look at some of the settlements in the West Bank," giving the impression that Israel was primary responsible for Palestinian suffering.
Viewing Comments 1 - 5 of 5
Ezra Pounderman
posted 11/04/08 @ 2:09 AM EST
McCain gave $500,000 to Rashid's organization.
Why did Lermer forget to mention this?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashid_Khalidi
John L
posted 11/04/08 @ 2:38 AM EST
One other detail it might be worth mentioning is the 2004 interview Obama gave to the Chicago Jewish News (http://chicagojewishnews.com/story.htm?sid=1&id=181907) in which he criticized Israel's security fence, which had already at that time saved many Jewish lives, calling it a "wall dividing the two nations. (Continued…)
Aaron
posted 11/04/08 @ 7:52 PM EST
In this piece Mr. Lerman exemplifies the ever increasing self-absorption of the American Jewish community and particularly that of the Orthodox within it. (Continued…)
eric
posted 11/05/08 @ 5:38 PM EST
i live on the 4th floor basicly. my lower back and but hurt very much from the old chairs. Can something be done? 50,000 dollars a year, no wi-fi, and no nice chairs = unacceptable. (Continued…)
Josh
posted 11/07/08 @ 1:46 PM EST
I consider myself a neutral person, deciding each issue on a case by case basis. Although I did lean towards Mccain in the end, I felt would be president should start off with a clean slate, with a 0-0 win loss record, whether it being Obama and Mccain. (Continued…)
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