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Barack Obama Is Good For The Jews
By Adam LeBor / January 8, 2008
As I'm writing for an American website, I will start with a declaration of interest. Pecuniary interest, even. I will personally benefit if Barack Obama is the next President of the United States. I placed a bet—enough for a decent dinner for two, even in NYC—with the British bookmakers Ladbrokes last month and got good odds on him winning: 8-1. Post Iowa, that has now slipped to evens, while poor Hilary, once the favourite at 4-7, is now slacking at 11-4. As for betting on the New Hampshire primary, it's not even worth it—Obama is running at 1-16.
But there is more at stake here than my bank balance. More even than the future of the most powerful nation on the planet. For Barack Obama is good for the Jews. How so? Let us start, contrarily, Jewishly, by considering the case for the prosecution. His surname rhymes with the first name of America's enemy number one. His middle name matches that of Iraq's former dictator, who was extremely bad for the Jews, launching scud missiles at Tel Aviv during the first Gulf War and paying handsome bonuses to the families of deluded Palestinians who blew themselves up across Israel. His grandfather was a Muslim, which arguably means under Islamic law that his father was a Muslim, and, as there is no op-out clause under Islam, possibly that BO himself is technically also a Muslim. He spent much of his childhood in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country.
And then let us demolish that same case. Let's consider his first name: Barack. Barack is Arabic for "Blessed". It is essentially the same word as the Hebrew "Baruch". The ‘ch' in Hebrew becomes a ‘k' or ‘ck' in Arabic, so that Shalom Aleichem = Salaam Aleykum. So he practically has not just a Jewish but a Hebrew name. And just as his name straddles the Muslim-Jewish divide, so can he. Although he is now a Christian, Obama does not deny his Muslim heritage. He celebrates it, as he should. His passion for social justice, his time as a community organizer in Chicago working with the marginalized and underprivileged, his work on easing immigration and providing universal health care—all these are classic areas of Jewish social concern.
Behind the scenes, Obama has for years worked with Jewish philanthropists, such as Robert Schrayer in Chicago and Alan Solomont in Boston, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reporter Ron Kampeas. He is also on good terms with two of the top Jewish lobbyists in Washington: Rabbi David Saperstein of the Reform movement and Nathan Diament of the Orthodox Union.
Obama told the JTA in 2004: "Some of my earliest and most ardent supporters came from the Jewish community in Chicago." Three years later he said: "My support within in the Jewish community has been much more significant than my support within the Muslim community. I welcome and seek the support of the Muslim and Arab communities."
And here is the crux of the matter: Obama's ties with the Jewish community and his Muslim heritage can be two pillars of a much needed bridge: between Jews and Muslims, not just in the United States, but globally. Imagine how an African-American president with a Muslim name would help demolish stereotypes across the Arab and Muslim world.
At the same time, Obama has made clear his commitment to Israel's security in speeches to both AIPAC and the National Jewish Democratic Council. But he has not shied away from spelling out some harsh truths—especially among those Jewish lobbyists who demand a blank check for Israel. Obama told AIPAC that Palestinian needs must be considered when a final peace deal is made. Israel cannot be asked to take risks with its security, he told the NJDC, but nor can the status quo of fear, terror and division continue. There have been blips as well. Obama said that "No-one has suffered more than the Palestinians", a surprising statement when one of his foreign policy advisers is Samantha Power, who has been vocal on the need for action on Darfur. But he clarified this by explaining that nobody had suffered more than the Palestinians had from the failure of their leadership.
An Obama presidency could also help recalibrate the relationship between American Jews and Israel. Most American Jews, like Jews everywhere, want to be proud of Israel. And there is much to be proud of: its lively democracy, vibrant civil society and the very fact that the Jewish state exists. But many of us are not so proud of the continuing land-grab on the West Bank, and the web of checkpoints and obstacles that further atomize what is left of Palestinian society and its economy. Just a few days after the charade at Annapolis, Israel announced the expansion of the Har Homa neighborhood in Jerusalem on appropriated (read: stolen) Palestinian land, paid for largely by US taxpayers. Hopefully, President Obama would show real commitment to a just, two-state solution—a policy that would be welcomed by a substantial number of Israelis. What's more, his Jewish campaign supporters even have cool Barack yarmulkes: "Obama ‘08." Let's hope so.
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Ethnic cleansing, what a novel idea!
I ma a Jew, Today after the terrorist attack in Jerusalem, both Hillary and Mccain condemned the attacks but we have neot heard from Nobama yet! Wait a minute may be Deval Patrick is putting speach for him! Nobama is NOT GOOD FOR JEWS!
You would have never written for Obama if you would have cared for the existence of Israel and the Jewish people! Hwo can you say those words? Obama will be the worst thing ever can happen to Israel ! The reason is so simple, all those muslim ties and his trinity church, his ambition to starta talk with Iraninan president and Syria will elad all those terrorists to find enough currage and attack on Israel and the Jewish people! what will Obama do, he will retaliate! what will happen than? AlQaida will do the worst attack in US soild! People whi think Obama presidencey will be pieces is totally wrong and out of their mind! Obama himself may be a good guy but his Islamic background and especially his church and the way he looks at world does not simply balance things with srael, Middle East and the United States! himself is the wrong candidate to begin with! McCain or Hillary NOWAY NOBAMA!
Adam: Obama did not vote either for or against the bill to label Iran's Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization. Hillary voted for. Obama later said he would have voted against. Thus is from Haaretz's Rosner's blog which is not connecting at the moment. Do you find this vote intention at all troubling, given Iran's stance?
Regards,
Inna
If Adam was an Anti-Semite he would hate Arabs too and not only Jews. A Semite is a person who speaks a semetic language. Hebrew and Arabic are semetic languages. The word Semite is used improperly in in the modern age where it only refers to Jews.
I for one see Isreal/Palestine as a holy land turned unholy for it has been dirtied up with blood of the innocent.
I doubt very much that God cares who the land belongs to now. He must be cursing his creation for forgeting His overall message of Love, Peace and Brotherhood.
So nitpick the Torah, the Bible and the Quran to justify killing another person, but I doubt those pages won't be able to soak up all the blood and guilt you'll have.
I read one message that said, "Arab Nazis." Some Arabs are Nazis probably most likely in one area which is hating Jews. Before you start calling everone a Nazi, I ask you to look at the tactics of the Isreali government. Don't they seem to be following the plans of the Nazis? First you push the people out of their homes, then you relocate them into the worst areas and then put up a wall around them. You then monitor they movements and control all their food, water and electricity. The state of Isreal seems to be practicing Nazi tactics while Arabs are following their ideologies. When did words become louder than actions?
The expressed fantasy delusion of the Left for other people is both paternalistic and narcissistic.
Just to stress this point – on Michael Totten's blog, Lisa Goldman was exclaiming that she felt so elated that when she went topless on the beaches of Egyptian Sina, that the Bedouin tribesmen acting as their horse handlers and guides would just sit back and smoke, implying that this act would get them to be less misogynistic towards their women in general.
On the countrary, this is a grand illusion of the post-colonial clueless left that thinks everybody else is as idealistically stupid as they themselves are. That there are no underlying real forces in society. That if we leave a person to his own will, there is something "good" and "exalted" in human nature or in social dynamics that will allow society to function smoothly, freely and justly. This romantic notion of the "noble savage" is so paternalistic, racist, even chauvinistic and devoid of empirical reality, and loaded with cheap rationalization that it is hard to even figure where to begin demystifying it.
Just suffice to say - send the police home never to come back, and you will soon see how idealistic that Bedouin is.
The post-colonial leftists, incidentally none of them or few of them having productive competitive jobs, just socially mandated jobs or fluff cultural jobs, should be mugged by reality and get off their utopian dream horses.
Thanks to the "Muslim apostate" who is here to remind us of the nature of our enemies.
That the left deals in a form of "nuanced and cheap idealism" is one way of expressing what all right-thinking people have long since realized: it is better to look at the world as it is, with hopes for the future, instead of pretending that reality does not exist so as to imagine an idealized reality on one's mind that is not at all wished for by the other side. The expressed fantasy delusion of the Left for other people is both paternalistic and narcissistic.
This is why these matters are best left to people who understand the score. Hamas is not the same as the people of Iraq. There is real hope for some form of freedom for the liberated people of Iraq, given our right-headed war against the jihadists. For Pakistan–far less hope. For the people leaving in Gaza–no hope at all for the foreseeable future. For the captive Lebanese–hope only with radical regime change in Iran and Syria.
It is the twisted mind of the Left that sees the real hope in Iraq as a complete waste of time and the 'not a chance in hell' hope for the violent "Palestinians" as a hope worthy of grand Israeli concessions. This is because the Left demands Israel be sacrificed under the altar of political correctness without regard to the nature of her adversaries.
As a Muslim apostate (a proud one and eat your hearts out you illiberal post-colonial leftists on this board, cause there is nothing you can do about it) let me tell Adam that if he thinks Islam is so dandy that he wishes a Muslim president on a free country, then he should pack and get the halibut out of the liberal democratic west and go and live in Iran or Gaza or S. Lebanon – or STFU. And I know what I am talking about, while you don't have a clue.
Anonymous, after Bush sides again with the Arabs against Israel's legitimate interests–you are simply uninformed and an obvious ideologue who stands against all reason.
All facts stand against you on all the points you have raised.
Thanks for the response, Adam and it is pleasant that you see the hatred. My problem with your points concerns the logical implications of your admission.
First, I raised the point since you spoke in terms of overcoming stereotypes and not in terms of overcoming the violence and the hatred. If you acknowledge the hatred–how is this a separate issue?
Further, it makes no sense to identify a so-called "tactical" matter and the suburb of Har Homa displaces no Arab and is totally legit. At a moment when Israel is willing to make dangerous concessions–why is it tactical to abandon a totally legitimate dwelling that is on the correct side of the Jerusalem city limits and has appropriated no Arab land or any Arabs?
Can't we just build a big wall around the whole middle east and let all the religious nutters fight it out. As a secular brit, I am sick of getting the dregs of other countries' religious problems sloping over here bringing their deluded fairy tales with them
Adam the Bore is most definately an anti-Semite BUT Adam Lebore is not and by joining the two together you just reinforce the crap spewed above that all critics of Israel are anti-Semites.
Mr. Lebore may choose to avoid my comments or questions because he really is standing on wobbly legs but to accuse him of being anti-Semitic really weakens your own arguments.
As for the Bore, damn those Jews who built the Temple beneath the Mosques.
The Arabs are the intrusion in the Jewish world. Jerusalem belongs to the Jews! The Koran doesn't mention Jerusalem once. All the land in Judea and Samaria belongs to the Jews. There is no such thing as "Palestinian" land. The Arab occupiers aren't indigenous to Israel nor are they "Palestinian." Everyone who lived in Palestine, just another name for Israel, was called a Palestinian. Golda Meir was one of the most famous Palestinians.
Keep on appeasing your Arab Nazi boyfriends, Adam. You're a Judenrat pig. The truth is that the Arab invadors and occupiers want to murder all Jews and destroy Israel.
http://smoothstone.blogspot.com/2005/02/palestine-is-a-myth.html
Thank you Adam! First of all I agree with the opinions above about the importance of Barack's views and the symbolism embodied in his name, race and background. I feel that he is the best chance for defusing the horrible tensions and the ineffective position Bush dragged the US into.
I was already leaning for Obama (like how he appeals to both democrats and independents, while not trying to be a "centrist"; hope he will stand up to the likes of the oil and drug corporations). But hearing reports recently on how people in the Muslim world and also many other countries cannot believe he may be elected, how they are sure that the money, white and "Zionist" elements in America will never let it happen… I just feel like proving them wrong!
Views and convictions, character, charisma and symbolism – these together are a great combination!
Israel deserves all the rockets and terror she gets because it is an alien intrusion into the Muslim world. Jews have no right to live in historic Palestine because it is not theirs. If it was holy to them, they would not consider dividing Al Quds (Jerusalem). After all, the real mother in Solomon's story did not say-divide the child
You write with disdain of the Likudist party and I point out to you that is was the Likud party that made the peace.
It has nothing to do with comparing it to the West bank. I don't know if it was a \ misread on your part or that you chose to ignore my point. If I'm not mistaken, somewhere upthread you were annoyed at people misquoting or not understanding what you had written and now you do the same thing yourself.
Quoting Yogi Berra, "Deja vu all over again."
Old Timer is correct. What is 50% Jewish?
The one thing I just do not understand from our Jewish community is the concept that being Jewish is equivalent to being an ethnic group. In the Middle East there are 4, possible major 5 ethnic groups to which people belong. They are divided along the lines of language groups and are: Semitic, Hamitic, Indo-European, Turkish, and possibly the Caucasian. Within each of these language groups one can find Judaism, Christianity, Islam, as the three major religions with all their sects, and one can also find some lesser/minor religions, Yazdanism, Baha’i, and Zoroastrianism.
So when someone says they are Jewish they are stating that they are not Christian, nor are they Muslim, nor Buddhist, nor Shinto, nor are they any of the other religions of the world (including Agnostic).
What does it mean to be 50% Jewish? What does it mean to be 0.3967 Jewish? Does the first person mean that 50% of the time they are Jewish and the rest Christian, Muslim, or some other religion? How about the person who is 39.67% Jewish – what religion are they the rest of the 60.33% time?
The person who identifies themselves as 50% Jewish in reality thinks in a perverted way. They mean that their mother was Jewish but their father was not (or vise versa). Both their parents could be German for countless generations but there is some underlying ethnic deifference due to religion. This ideology is full of crap. Mixing apples and oranges.
When a Jew comes to me and identifies themselves as Jewish I think who cares what your religion is! I don’t identify myself as Christian, or Muslim, or Jew as a criterion for my ethnic identity. I know in an instant that this person does not understand the concept/difference between ethnicity and religion. Only the Yezidi Kurds do the same – equate religious identification with ethnic identification. It is wrong.
Take a look in the mirror. Take a look at your families’ surname. You look German, or you look Russian, or you look Polish, or you look Ethiopian, or you look Turkish, or you look Czech. Some of the Jews look like their ancestry is from the Levantine, some from Western Europe, some from Eastern Europe, some from the Southern Europe, some from Africa, some from the Middle East. The truth of the matter is that we are all mixed. It happens when people have been breeding during several thousand years of invasions and upheavals.
Iran love the Jews!
http://www.ivygateblog.com/images/mahmoud
Sorry Adam, but the Sinai was tough to give up. It produced enough oil to make Israel independent and it was no harder to control than Gaza. In fact, since it was sparse, it was much easier to control. Yet again most people supporting your hypothesis ignore the facts as they are, meaning that there is no way that the current situation will lead to peace. Every area that Israel has abandoned has become a launching pad of rockets and terror. Southern Lebanon and Gaza were test cases. Sorry, the test failed and Jewish lives are at risk. None of you peace worshipers ever state just what you envision life would be for Israel if you got your wish. I ask you point blank – just how do you envision life in Israel if they revert to the 1948 armistice lines? Seriously, if all the land were to go back to the Arabs today, will there be peace tonight? And what about the steadfast demand for the right of return. Is Israel also to give up being a Jewish state for peace, since the Arabs have demanded that just as strongly as they have demanded Jerusalem and the 1967 lines.
Gabyspoppy: It's true, as you say, that Likud returned Sinai to Egypt and made a peace deal with Egypt under the terms of the Camp David accords. But I don't think it is realistic to compare the Sinai desert with the West Bank. The Sinai desert is a vast amount, of, well, desert: difficult to keep strategic control over, demands long communication lines, is harsh terrain for settlements (apart from a few along the beaches) and simply does not trigger the same passions as the West Bank, with Hebron, East Jerusalem etc. The Sinai was a millstone and Israel was well rid of it.
In addition it is a fact that under Likud governments, and today under Olmert, there has been a relentless expansion of settlements on the West Bank and around Jerusalem, that is reducing Palestinian controlled territories to a patchwork of 'swiss cheese' as President Bush today said, and has rendered almost impossible any chance of a viable Palestinian state. It is important to note that many of the hundreds of checkpoints and roadblocks do NOT control access in and out of Israel.They control Palestinian freedom of movement (or lack of it) between Palestinian towns, such as between Ramallah and Nablus. This not about security for Israel, but security for settlers. Do Jews have a right to live on the West Bank? As much as anyone has a right to live anywhere. Do they have the right to continually appropriate vast amounts of nearby Palestinian land in the name of 'security' because they have just decided to reclaim another hill in the Judean desert? No, they do not.
visit: adamlebor.com
I favor Obama because he has Zbigniew Brezinsky and Jimmy Carter as advisors. They will advise him that a Jewish state is the primary threat to world peace. Jews must forego a Jewish state and allow the right of return of the Palestinians, who unlike the Jews, have a historic claim to Palestine. Jews should go to their countries of origin and make Judaica and klezmer music. Then all will be fine
brilliant comparison!
To think that a person's name has anything to do with what kind of person they are is idiotic, and dangerous.
I'd think of another example, but you found the perfect one!
And I'm 0.3967 Jewish.
""I am half Jewish, though I do not practice the religion."
There is no such thing as being half (or any other fraction) Jewish. You or I don't get to make the rules as to who is or is not Jewish whether we want to or not."
That's correct if you are refering to the traditional Jewish religion. That is not correct if you are referring to others uses of the words Jew and Jewish. See, e.g., German racial laws approx. 1933-1945; Israel law of return 1970 amendment, etc).
Would you not agree that Barry Goldwater was half Jewish? He thought he was.
I just want to comment on a few things you have said:
"I am half Jewish, though I do not practice the religion."
There is no such thing as being half (or any other fraction) Jewish. You or I don't get to make the rules as to who is or is not Jewish whether we want to or not.
"we must be allowed to express that without fear of being labeled anti-Semitic. But that doesn’t happen in America. If you purport that there is a potential “different way” the chorus of condemnation rains down upon you"
Nice broadbrush comment. I'll say the same thing to you I said to Adam. You aren't going to change the minds of those people who do that so why bother making that caveat prior to being condemned? I am always wary and suspect of those that do that.
"The wall is bad."
It hardly makes your argument valid when statistics prove that terrorist actions have been reduced BECAUSE of that "bad wall" (which by the way is nothing more than a chicken wire fence in most places) Anecdotal evidence also proves it hasn't prevented other such attempted attacks, but it sure has reduced them. If you you believe the wall is "bad", what is your plan to achieve the same results? Try to be realistic with your answer, the lives of my family and friends in Israel is on the line today.
BTW to be fair, I do agree with many (not all) of the other comments you made.
So many posts to respond to so let's do this one at a time. Adam you said,
" Firstly, check out the website where you are reading this article: it's Jewcy. Not AIPAC news or Likudniksforagreaterisrael.com."
You spend time writing a thoughtful essay (whether I agree with it or not) and then find it necessary to toss in the bogeyman AIPAC/Likudist comment. Why not leave that crap for idiot's like Silverstein rather than lower yourself to that level? Do I have to remind you that the peace treaty signed between Israel & Egypt was completed by a "Likudist"? I recently wrote a piece elsewhere comparing monies contributed by AIPAC to monies given by other "special" interest groups that make AIPAC monies almost meaningless.
You also state in the above mentioned post:
"What I see, again and again, here and in other US media is an apocalytic obsession as soon as any criticism of Israel's policies is voiced."
Another trite and meaningless statement used by people to curtail intelligent debate and also unworthy of your efforts. I'm sure there are some people who view criticism of Israel in that light but you aren't trying to reach them anyway. So why make the statement?
Some Jews used to say of Barry Goldwater that it would be appropriate that the first Jewish President of the United States was an Episcopalian. I guess then that it makese sense that our first Muslim President is a Reformed Protestant.
Supposedly when Barry was told that no Jews were allowed at the golf club he was about to enter, he said I'm only half Jewish so I'll just play the back nine. I guess Obama could use that joke too with some of our commenters here.
hey, we already have a muslim (Zalmay Khalilzad) representating the United States at the United Nations, so we might as well have a muslim president and a muslim Supreme Court judge too!
David NF – thanks for your further comments. You write: "Jews are not faced with mere stereotypes–they are faced with
systematic hatred. All good lefties like you should be very concerned
about hatred and violence but when it is directed at Jews, it does not
seem to register since perhaps we deserve it."
The first part of your claim is absolutely correct. I am well aware of the hatred and anti-Semitism that is the daily diet of the much of the Arab media, especially newspapers, the Nazi-like caricatures, the programmes on Saudi television, the Syrian televison series that resurrect the blood libel.
The second part of your claim is not correct. I am very concerned – angered, outraged, even – by this hideous bigotry. So concerned that I dealt with it at some length in my book about Jaffa, 'City of Oranges', looking at the impact of the wider Arab media on growing Islamicisation in Jaffa. It has registered, I have recorded it, and nobody deserves this kind of hatred, Jews or non-Jews. Of course, it is part of a larger trend in the Arab world to demonise Jews in the largely government controlled media as a means of keeping the population from wondering why their own lives are so miserable under the motley collection of monarchies and dictatorships that run the Arab world. This is certainly a topic worth exploring in a separate post.
All that said, I think it is crucial to distinguish between tactical and strategic issues. It would be useful, for example, if Israel did not expand the settlements in Jerusalem at Har Homa as a tactical move, both because it is morally right and because it would boost the Palestinian government at a time when it is struggling with Hamas for influence. That specific issue should not be decided on wider macro-questions of Arab anti-semitism.
visit: adamlebor.com
"P.S. Note to Republicans: Even relatively sane candidates like McCain play footsie under the table with Christian Fundamentalist wing-nuts like Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell who only support Israel because they're hoping to bring about The End Times."
You sound like the the rich guy hanging onto a cliff while accusing the farmer who's trying to help him of only doing it for money reward.
David Freeman you are a fool. I am no more anti-semetic than you are. It is so easy to throw a volley labling someone anti-semitic if you do not like their opinion. Nothing I said was anti-semetic.
America went to war on Isreali's behalf – plain and simple. Furthermore I do not preach the destruction of Israel – I just asked the question as to why is it not in the America's interest the destruction of Israel – a statement made by another author.
What America has done for Israel.
1) America does support Israel blindly. Case in point one example - Israel's recent war in Lebanon in which the USA not only gave the green light but also looked the other way and blocked UN resolutions on the subject. When was the last time America voted against Israel in the UN?
2) Al-Queda. There was no Al-Queda in Iraq prior to the American invansion of Iraq. Now there are hundreds if not thousand of these criminals roaming the Mesopotamina plain. Saddam if nothing else eliminated all threats to his power structure – and you can bet your life Al-Queda was not on his dinner invitation list. They are there because America is in Iraq. When America leaves – they will find another place to terrorize – maybe even Israel. This war made them stronger.
3a) Iraq war – Fake intellengence reports given to the CIA drew America into this mess. This fake intellegence was most probably had part of its creation by the Israeli intellengence structure. Don't you remember the speeches by our President on the weapons of mass distruction that Iraq has? Of coarse Americans are easily fooled because most of them are honest and trusting by nature and do not know the dirty politics and dishonest words in the daily life of middle easterners leaders.
3b) Iran – Funny those same drums are beating now with the same intensity against Iran. Glad to know that honest people (true Americans who love their country) in the CIA and State Department have been able to release the report that Iran had stopped its weapons program years ago. Up to the report being released to the press – our president was sounding the war cry just as he had done with Iraq. Lying to the American public and the world that Iran is currently developing nukes.
3c) Israel intellegence must have known of this (because they can not be in a position not to know) and held back the information from the world and America just hoping that some event would trigger an American strike against Iran. The Israeli silence on such an important subject for Americans (risking American soldiers lives, the price of oil, the cost of the war and the deficit, etc…) tells me that the Israeli government is the same as the Iranian government - one that hopes for the distruction of another country but in Israels case it does not expound its opinion in the open .
You have to ask yourself who has the most to benfit from the destruction of Iraq and Iran. There are only two answers to this question and they are Turkey and Israel.
4) The silence from our State Department to the continuation of the illegal settlements in the West Bank. No other comments needed here – it says it all.
5) As of April 2005, the amount of foreign aid given to Israel is conservatively estimated to be $105 Billion. This does not include grants, waiver of loans, interest on money, the laundry list goes on and on and on. http://www.wrmea.com/archives/April_2005/0504016.html
There is nothing anti-semetic about any of the above. They are just facts. The truth of the matter is that there are 3 million Jews in the USA. That is about 1 out of every 100 Americans. None of them want America to give up the support for Israel. Then there are the fundemantalist Christians who believe (as one poster wrote) in some devine nature of Israels existance. They too do not want America to give up support for Israel. Finally there is the commitment that America has made to the Jewish nation – not to let them have another Holocaust. Any of those reasons would have been acceptable as an answer – but you are too blinded by your unwavering support for Israel to see what the consequences of Americas support of Israel has cost America.
Question for you – how quickly would Israel sign a peace treaty with the Palestinians if the US cut off all aid ($ and military) to Israel?
Anonymous is incorrect on all counts. America is in Iraq because the American people, through their elected representatives voted to put us there. To indicate that America went to war on behalf of Israel is not only antisemitic (since it is sensationally untrue)–it is without foundation.
President Clinton beat the "regime change" drum often and hard during his administration since kicking out the inspectors was another international provocation on top of a whole list of international provocations. A few liberals protested that they did not wish to give Pres. Bush a blank check to invade Iraq or any other nation–most of the Dems were pleased to give the President that mandate because they heard from the American people that it was the right thing to do. Taking the war to the terrorists was the call and the people said yes–knowing that there was NO imminent threat and knowing that Sadaam H was years away from making a nuclear weapon. We said yes based upon the still indisputable facts of the situation. It was better to go in and pay the price than to not go in and pay the price of watching terror grow unfettered in Iraq. Further, the capturing and killing of hundreds of AlQeuda and thousands of terrorists has been a huge boon for the civilized world. The war has been a very productive affair and has produced big dividends for the world. It has spawned pro-American voices all over the globe and pushed out anti-American ones so that Germany is now much more pro-American and France and has brought unity for America and our allies. More importantly, we have wounded the terrorists in a substantive way.
Bush offers no "blind support" for Israel and has offered a two-state solution to a people with no standing to demand one–set up a conference in Annapolis which was one-sided against one of our best allies in the world and helped destroy confidence in Israel.
Why might I even bother to argue with someone who is open about how it is DESIRABLE to allow for the Arabs to destroy the state of Israel?
The anonymous poster is a fraud and a coward–preaching genocide and downplaying the heroism of our troops interested in making peace in the world.
Yes, we have to go on-line and tell people that genocide is not good. Peace is preferable to war, America is noble and the terrorists are evil.
At this point— up is still up and down is still down but if we allow the LEFT any more room to operate–all might be lost.
John:
This is the same thinking as why Islamic extreemist go to Jihad against infadels – because God "told them so", "it is written", "the words of the prophet", etc …
Invoking God's word as the foundation of ones existance is a cop-out from the belief of the equality of all humans with one and another. Invoking God as to the reason why Israel exists makes Jews sound superior, better than the rest of us, "the chosen people" mentality.
In the last 1500 years or so – why has not God materialized to anybody? Why has he done so only between the ~ 5000BC (Adam& Eve, Noah, Moses, Jesus, …) and 700AD (Mohammad)? More people are suffering now than ever before in the history of mankind. Where was God during the Holocaust? Where was God during the Armenian Genocide? Where was God in WWI or WWII or during Stalins rein of terror. Where was God during the Native American Genocide? WHERE WAS GOD DURING ALL THE PAST GENOCIDES?
Funny – when you need God the most – when man is killing man – God is nowhere to be found.
You need to put up a GOD WANTED POSTER – DEAD OR ALIVE. He has been missing for some time now.
"So tell me why is it in America's interest to not let the Arabs destroy Israel?"t
Becuase America is essentially a Christian nation and as Pat Roberston has said:
"evangelical Christians support Israel because we believe that the words of Moses and the ancient prophets of Israel were inspired by God. We believe that the emergence of a Jewish state in the land promised by God to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was ordained by God.
We believe that God has a plan for this nation which He intends to be a blessing to all the nations of the earth.
Of course, we, like all right-thinking people, support Israel because Israel is an island of democracy, an island of individual freedom, an island of the rule of law, and an island of modernity in the midst of a sea of dictatorial regimes, the suppression of individual liberty, and a fanatical religion intent on returning to the feudalism of 8th Century Arabia.
These facts about modern day Israel are all true. But mere political rhetoric does not account for the profound devotion to Israel that exists in the hearts of tens of millions of evangelical Christians.
You must realize that the God who spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai is our God. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are our spiritual Patriarchs. Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel are our prophets. King David, a man after God's own heart, is our hero. The Holy City of Jerusalem is our spiritual capital. And the continuation of Jewish sovereignty over the Holy Land is a further bulwark to us that the God of the Bible exists and that His Word is true."
Question:
Why is it "America's interests are not served by allowing the destruction of Israel and coddling the Arabs"?
1) America has gone to war against Saddam Hussein for Israel and has lost 4000 American soldiers for Israel. That is more soldiers lost than Israel has lost in any recent war. What has America gained from this war? Nothing but more hatred in the Islamic world (data – American popularity in Turkey is the lowest of all countries and they are supposed to be our allies). Nothing but a 2 trillion dollar war debt draining our ability to handle real problems here at home.
2) America's blind support for Israel in all matters – including UN votes and support. America looking the other way towards illegal occupation of the West Bank by the Israeli government and its continued agressive land grab policy against the Arabs.
3) Huge flux of money from America to Israel. Israel is the biggest pork barrel funded project in the USA government. The American government should cut off the free ride sugar daddy attitude they have to Israel.
4) Destruction of Israel = coming of Jesus for the second time.
So tell me why is it in America's interest to not let the Arabs destroy Israel?
LeBor gets it right on every count, but misses one: Obama has enough charisma and credibility that he might even win some of the anti-Zionist wing-nuts of the Left over to supporting a sensible two state solution.
P.S. Note to Republicans: Even relatively sane candidates like McCain play footsie under the table with Christian Fundamentalist wing-nuts like Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell who only support Israel because they're hoping to bring about The End Times. And is it really good for Israel to ally itself to a political party in which the only common denominators are xenophobia, homophobia, and a complete indifference to ecological catastrophe?
Thanks for actually responding, Adam–unlike most of the other people who create flaming postings and then just let their stink bombs sit there.
You protest–"who is talking about the destruction of Israel??-not me!!" In fact, this is the daily conversation, the operative plan of action in the minds of the Arabs in most quarters. The fact that individual Arabs have pleasant and peaceful relations with the Jews of Israel has to be besides the point. If the Arab side accepted your preconditions, there would be no conflict. This is why I asked you to wake up to the context of the conflict. It is fine to think outside of the box–even if this is a hackneyed cliche. So what is your novel approach? You failed to respond to my criticism of your belief in "destroying stereotypes." Jews are not faced with mere stereotypes–they are faced with systematic hatred. All good lefties like you should be very concerned about hatred and violence but when it is directed at Jews, it does not seem to register since perhaps we deserve it. But it seems painfully obvious that this is the problem and if the civilized world fails stay united behind a stand that honors live and let live–this conflict will not end.
True, I might be a proud Jew but my belief here has little to do with the fact that I want Israel to prosper. Unless we honor peace, we shall not have it–that is a belief for everyone. This is not a conflict that is about poverty or an occupation of problematic settlements. The conflict was far worse when there was no "occupation" in pre-1967.
Contrary to some commenters, I think a person is a "Self-Hating Jew" when he or she condemns Israel to violence for several more generations by not being open to new ideas for peace.
Fact 1: Palestinian numbers, and specifically Palestinian extremist numbers, are increasing at a faster rate than the Jewish population of Israel. The Palestinian's higher birthrate is well known. Would anyone have thought that Hamas would be able to rout the party of Arafat in elections, then militarily in Gaza, 10 years ago?
Fact 2: Iran is steadily gaining influence in the Middle East at the expense of the U.S. and Israel. Iranian Revolutionary Guard speedboats recently taunted American warships for several minutes before speeding away laughing – saying in English "You will explode soon." Not the behavior of people terrified of the U.S. At current levels of deployment, the U.S. will RUN OUT of troops to rotate into Iraq by spring, meaning numbers in Iraq will be decreased. Threats of the U.S. invading any country bigger than Grenada are beyond laughable at this point. And Israel's recent war in Lebanon demonstrated beyond doubt that Arabs can defeat Israeli ground forces, which no one thought possible given Israel's very successful war record up to that point.
Fact: Muslim Middle Eastern economies are growing rapidly thanks to $100 a barrel of oil, at a time when the U.S. economy may be slipping into prolonged recession (consumers have PILES of debt to pay off, making it years before they can borrow to fuel consumption).
In other words, Israel and its main ally's position is weakening as its enemies' and potential enemies' positions are becoming stronger. The time to negotiate is NOW before it's too late and the Muslims think they can win all of Israel's land militarily.
Barack Obama's Muslim background, which includes NOT JUST his name, but his experiences in Indonesia (which is more experience with Muslims than 99% of Americans can claim), as well as his ties to the Jewish community (He said he gets more support from Jews than Muslims! An Anti-Semite in the making? I doubt it.), allow for American arbitration of the Arab-Israeli conflict by someone who is a FRIEND of Jews and UNDERSTANDS Muslims. It's in the interest of all Jews who love Israel to LOGICALLY debate the merits of Barack Obama as a peacemaker, as the author of this website article does, because the next U.S. President needs to accomplish peace in Israel/Palestine instead of ignoring the issue for 6 years…
Israel is not to blame for the arabs problems, though they share some responsibility (with past Palestinian leaders) in creating the abominable living situation of the Palestinian people. There is a difference between being held to blame and contributing to a bad situation.
I'll leave it at that.
I said it is in America's interest to not let Israel get destroyed. Yet, I cannot see how it is thinking new when you simply espouse the same tired Arab line since 1967. Look at Gaza. This is what happens when Israel withdraws. There have been few new ideas, just rehashing the same b.s. that Israel is to blame for all of the woe of the Arabs. Sometimes I find this view so utterly racist that I boil. The arabs are able to make their own decisions and they are not children that lack reponsibility for their actions. The wall exists because the arab side sends in their children to murder Israelis. Period. The wall is a life saver much like a door to a house in a bad neighborhood.
Adam,
Thanks for your original post and this thoughtful response. One would
like to believe that peace in the Middle East
is possible, but responses like these serve to make me skeptical.
I am half Jewish, though I do not practice the religion. I won't pretend to
be a great defender of Jews. I believe that there must be room in this
world and that region for a Jewish homeland, safe and secure. But I
reject the notion that Israel's
interests are automatically America's
interests. Absolutely not. If that were the case, we should just
make Israel
the 51st state and be done with it. They are an independent nation and
where we agree we should support one another. Where we differ, we must be
allowed to express that without fear of being labeled anti-Semitic. But that doesn’t happen in America. If you purport that there is a potential “different
way” the chorus of condemnation rains down upon you (apparently even if you are
Jewish).
The wall is bad. Settlements are
bad. Pursuing policies that punish all
Palestinians for the crimes of extremists is bad. The Israeli people want peace, many are
willing to give a little to get a little.
But it won’t happen as long as the United
States pursues a policy of “Israel
first, second and last.”
The United States should
continue to work aggressively to ensure that the state of Israel continues to exist. We
should strive to help our friends in Israel acquire security and
peace. But as others point out here, we
must also combat the abject poverty that allows extremist ideologies to
flourish in the neighboring countries. This malevolence that exists in
the Islamic world towards the U.S.
and Israel
has as much to do with envy as anything. They see that we
"have" and they "have not" and they resent us for it.
They should resent their leaders, but they are repressed by their leaders and
swallow the propaganda whole.
I don’t apologize for the extremists.
The poverty and oppression they suffered does not excuse their hateful
ideology. But I also do not believe that
analyzing the situation and trying to understand the roots of that hatred is
tantamount to condoning or excusing. I
believe that it is the first step in developing an effective strategy for
combating that ideology.
Does anyone truly believe that an ideology was defeated using violent
force? Ideologies are defeated by
attacking their root cause. Israel is not
the cause of this hatred. Poverty and
oppression are. The solution won’t be
easy and it won’t happen overnight, but methodically working to undo those root
causes will be good for the United States,
good for the people in the Islamic world and ultimately good for Israel.
Lastly, let’s put to rest this bogus notion that Barack Hussein Obama is in
some way a Muslim. He was born of a
Kenyan father and white American mother raised by white family in Hawaii (the least
extremist place on Earth). He only saw
his father once after he left the family.
A name does not a Muslim make.
So, let the attacking begin…
I do not think you are a coward and have not said as much, I do think you are either blinded by leftism or simply naive to the extreme. Just today 12 rockets have been fired from Gaza. A home Sderot was hit. You want thinking out of the box – here it goes. Give all peaceful people in Gaza a week to depart and then level what ever remains. Follow in the West Bank and then declare peace. The Arabs will never love the Jews – but they will respect force.
Interesting piece, even more interesting responses.
Tired and stale! That is what you all are! Tired and stale!
Another playboy Mick in the White House? Good for Israel or not, no thanks.
OK, Gaby'sPoppy has a point. Let's address some of the arguments in the above posts. Firstly, check out the website where you are reading this article: it's Jewcy. Not AIPAC news or Likudniksforagreaterisrael.com. We like to think out of the box and offer something a little more innovative and challenging. And then, people, please read what I actually write, not what you think I wrote.
Consider JW's comment above: "America's interests are not served by allowing the destruction of Israel and coddling the Arabs". Hallo? Who is talking about the destruction of Israel? Not me. I am merely arguing that not writing a blank cheque for the ever expanding settlement programme might help bring about an eventual peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians. This is mainstream thinking in Israel, at least on the liberal-left, or are all those Israelis also 'self-hating cowards' as well?
Nor did I say, as DNF claims that "Israel is the problem in the Arab states refusal to accept a Jewish state in their midst". Of course the Arab states should make peace with Israel accept it, embrace it even. The resulting cultural, political and economic fusion could reshape the world. (remember Muslim Spain?)
What I see, again and again, here and in other US media is an apocalytic
obsession as soon as any criticism of Israel's policies is voiced. The
Arabs all want to kill us! They hate us! Well, maybe some of them do.
But why let them set the agenda? Let's think creatively here.
visit: adamlebor.com
are not served by allowing the destruction of Israel and coddling the Arabs. There is a huge disconnect on the left (and by the "real politik" crowds) about Islam and its history. For decades now any "moderate" leader in the Islamic world has been killed or attempted to be killed. The strongmen and zealots are what survive. The muslim world for the majority are illiterate and mis-educated on purpose. It allows for the easy control of the populace.
Furthermore, you ignore what has happened in Gaza. Israel handed over disputed land to the Arabs. Did they live happily ever after? Is Gaza a thriving democracy at peace with itself and Israel? Why no, because peace is not on the agenda for the "Palestinians". The destruction of Israel and the death of the Jews are what they want. Hell, they shout it daily and publish it in their newspapers. Yet, western leftist (and too many of my fellows Jews) simply will not re-evaluate their failed hypothesis and see the issue clearly and without emotion.
Likewise the irony of "shooting the messenger" rather than addressing the post.
Goose, gander – pot, kettle anyone?
- of being called a 'coward' by someone who signs themselves….Anonymous
visit: adamlebor.com
This coward is getting ready when the Islamicfacists completely take over Britain, their already half-way there. Adam is making sure his lips are firmly planted on the Islamic and anti-semitic British media because he wants to be accepted by these Jew-haters. He would have supported Hitler during the Holocaust to save his Jewish ass.
Israel hasn't stolen land from anyone! It's the Arabs who have stolen land from the Jews for the past century. Palestine is just another name for Israel. The Jews reclaimed what is rightfully theirs.
Sorry, Adam LeBor–please wake up. The Arab world is at war with Israel and the West for very specific reasons and not simply because of stereotypes. If only we had a Prez. named Barack Hussein Obama–then they would not hate us?? I need to maintain my dignity to not be sarcastic in the face of this kind of naive thinking.
I thank you for pointing me to the fact that Obama once played basketball with Nathan Diament–if only this was meaningful.
I have explained the many ways in which electing this extremist would be bad for America and bad for the Jews. Your counter argument consists of mostly making my points even more valid since you insist that Israel is the problem in the Arab's refusal to accept a Jewish state in its midst. Forcing America to be more pro-Arab will bring great pressure on the pro-Israel side of the American electorate and a forced "recalibration" against Israel and in favor of additional Israeli concessions to the violent gang led by Hamas will surely make a tough situation much more violent and bloody. It raises the question of whether or not this man will stoke violence in the region–after Americans have done such great things to bring peace to the entire region with a noble sacrifice.
This poorly informed rookie of a diplomat wants to piss away our efforts "immediately" and Israel is in the line of fire. This is so clearly NOT in the interests of the Jewish state it verges on perfect clarity–in fact, even those Israelis who came up to Condi Rice and asked to be "hurt" (the masochistic tendencies among the Jewish people is legendary)–I suspect even they do not wish to be totally destroyed. It is not the job of the people of America to harm Israelis.
Why should Americans pay for benefits for a group of people with no legitimate claim to statehood, occupying land over which they should have no sovereignty? Some Israelis want them to have it in the vain hope that their violence can be mollified and bought off. It seems to me that objective outsiders should want to bestow statehood on an aggrieved people like the Kurds or at least to these Arabs in Israel for some legitimate purpose.
But Obama has a good sounding name in the eyes of the terrorists!! I suppose this takes the cake.
Peace will come when the Arabs put down their weapons.
I think this article is brilliant. The author details how Barak Obama may bridge the gap between the Palestinians and the Israelis and "demolish stereotypes across the Arab and Muslim world" – just because of his heritage.
It is very sad to see the hostile reactions to this article by some in the Jewish community. IMHO – these Jews are caught in the same old way of thinking – trapped in a gravitation well of thought that leads no where except into the black hole of oblivion. None of them want to think outside the box and even the possibility that a name can change the way people think in the Arab world. That a name can offer hope for non-American as well as Americans.
Now lets think of America first (not Israel as some of those repsondants did). For America – peace in the Middle East is one of the essential pillars in the elimination of the Islamic terrorist threat to the USA and Europe. The current situation of non-peace by both parties to the conflict fuels radical Islam. Another pillar that fuels radical Islam is the continuation of Israel's policy of land appropriation. Another is poverty. There are several more.
If America is to eliminate the radical Islamic extreemist threat to this and other countries it must create a lasting peace between Palestine and Israel and eliminate poverty in the Palestinian homeland as it has done in Israel. Peace is the best policy for a secure Israel and a safe America?
Having an Arabic name and all that it signifies to the Arab and Islamic world does break down walls that hinder possibilities of peace between Isreal and Palestine. So what's in a name can change the world! Too bad some Jews prefer to see it otherwise.
…any of the other candidates are so much better.
Was this post paid for by Hillary Clinton's people? If Adam LeBor is representative of the sorts of people who support Obama then by all means, sign me up for the Clinton campaign.
———————————
I blog at Jewlicious.com
"And
then let us demolish that same case. Let's consider his first name:
Barack. Barack is Arabic for
"Blessed". It is essentially the same word as the Hebrew
"Baruch". The ‘ch' in Hebrew becomes a ‘k' or ‘ck' in
Arabic, as with Shalom Aleichem = Salaam Aleykum. So he practically
has not just a Jewish but a Hebrew name"
Same with Bin Laden. "Bin" is closely related to "ben," and it means the same thing! Son. How awesome is that? We have so much in common!
"So he [Bin Laden] practically
has not just a Jewish but a Hebrew name"
Let's vote for him!
There is not record and why should we take a chance.
Many of the other candidates are known quantities, Mike Huckabee Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson, John McCain, Rudy Giuliani and Hillary on the Democratic side. Soe why take a chance with Obama?
Look, I read your post and I am still amazed that there are Jews that do not understand life and death? What land did Israel steal? Do you understand that when you speak of stolen land you are buying the "Palestinian" side exclusively. A fair glance at history will show that Israel has every right to the land it conquered in a DEFENSIVE WAR!!! The arab side turned down partition and launched a war that they lost. The then launched a war in 1967 which they lost and repeated this same idiocy in 1973. Not able to win the war on the battle field, they turned to propaganda, terror and the left for new tactics. As a Jew I AM PROUD OF Israel and understand that – the wall has prevented suicide bombers from killing beyond the green line. I understand that turning over Gaza has been seen for what it is - a foolhardy gesture that puts more Jews at risk. I also see that far too many of my co-religionists are simply and reflexively more leftists than they are Jews.
So instead of going with a John McCain who has been one of Israel's strongest defenders on Capitol Hill for a generation, or Rudy Giuliani who threw that 10 million dollar check back in the face of the Saudi prince after 9/11-
let's go with Hussein Obama because his Muslim ties can help us bring peace to the Middle East. Because after all, that has worked out SO WELL in the last 59 years. I mean, he wants to cut the military, ensure defeat in Iraq and grant victory to Al Qaeda, speak with the Iranians with no preconditions. I mean, what could possibly be BETTER for the Israelis than all those positions?! Obama is good for the American liberals- but decidely NOT for the Israelis..
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