I've written previously about why Obama will be good for the American Jewish community and American-Israeli relations. But Israelis for Obama says it best:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2VFRt5W4FM
Andrew has created shirts and other supplies with the Jews for Obama logo. A portion of the cost will be donated to the Obama campaign. If you are interested, please go to this website:
http://www.cafepress.com/newvirginia
Like Barack Obama, Joe Biden is pro-Israel. Joe's 36 year record in the Senate reflects his view that Israel is a critically important American ally. The pro-Israel community simply couldn't hope for a better team.
Here's an interview Joe gave to Shalom TV just last year (transcript is below):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAZmO80dLfE
The attached image is from this week's Israeli TV Guide called Rating.The headline at the bottom (red/white letters with a blue/white star) reads: ROCKSTARand the text reads: Barack Obama, possibly your next president, is the biggest star in America. A non-political interview.
Princeton University journalism professor Daoud Kuttab writes in today's Jerusalem Post that Senator Obama has "come to his knees" to grovel at the feet of AIPAC. Clearly upset to learn that Obama meant what he said when he told people he was pro-Israel, Kuttab angrily asks:
What happened to the nominee who was going to change the way Washington was run? What happened to the promise of "I will tell you what you have to hear, not what you love to hear"?
Kuttab then points out that Obama doesn't need a certain something from the Jews:
It wasn't as if Obama needed Jewish money or votes. This was the first presidential run which succeeded in circumventing large donors, priding itself on a million donors, each giving less than $100. But then suddenly he was kowtowing to a sector of America whose major source of power has been its ability to raise large funds.
I've got an Op-Ed in today's Houston Chronicle. Here it is...
June 13, 2008, 9:30PMCritics of our Israel policy are outside mainstreamOne wonders what the real motives of the objectors are
By GEOFFREY BERGCopyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
Some have criticized our presidential candidates' positions on Israel as being in lockstep with the "hawkish" views of the Jewish state and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the pro-Israel lobby.
On this page and others, critics have suggested that some coercive force is at play, compelling all of our would-be presidents to toe a conservative Israeli line. These critics point in particular to speeches given by the candidates at AIPAC's recent policy conference in Washington.
That view is demonstrably false and says more about the malevolence or ignorance of those who hold it than it does about either the candidates who spoke or the audience that listened.
I posted this back in March, but given all of the attention some of the 9/11 truth nutcases, anti-Semitic dolts and other mental patients who have apparently infiltrated my.barackobama.com have received from blogs like LGF and others lately, it bears repeating. So here it is:
Pro-Israel for Obama welcomes open, vigorous, substantive debate about Israeli policies. Don't like Israel's response to Palestinian rocket fire from Gaza? Fine, say so. Upset about Israeli settlement policies? Criticize away. Want Senator Obama to take a certain position on the Middle East or the peace process, have at it.
But if you don't think Israel has the indisputable, inalienable right to exist as a Jewish state, you are not welcome here. We are past that debate. Israel is as legitimate as France, Canada or Thailand. Discussion of whether Israel is entitled to its very existence is far outside the bounds of what we are willing to discuss.
Senator Obama gave a terrific speech to AIPAC on June 4, 2008. Contrary to rumors floating around the internets, Obama reaffirmed his strong support for Israel, commitment to its security and opposition to Palestinian rejectionism. Obama also promised to work for peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors -- long before the end of his term in office.
Watch the video here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=0cOJNC2EuJw or read the full transcript below.
The National Jewish Democratic Council has sent out a very helpful pdf laying out in detail why Jewish voters ought to support Senator Obama. It's available here: http://njdc.typepad.com/obamavsmccain.pdf and reprinted in full below. In essence, the paper describes Senator Obama's 100% pro-Israel voting record and contrasts Obama's views on abortion, stem-cell research and a host of other issues with Senator McCain's. Obama's position, of course, mirrors that of the vast majority of Jewish voters. Feel free to forward to your friends, neighbors and bar-mitzvah partners.
I was thrilled to have the chance to see Senator Obama speak in person at the Israeli Embassy event last Thursday for Yom Ha'atzmaut. I shook his hand, and he autographed my kid's shirt! We were able to attend because our synagogue's youth choir was asked to sing at this event.
His speech knocked it out of the park for support of Israel -- it was the right audience of over 1000 dignitaries and Jewish community VIPs, it was the right place, the Israeli Embassy event at our Nation's Capitol, and it was the right time, Yom Ha'atzmaut!
What better way to begin to connect to the Jewish Community?
I was surprised that I did not see a whole lot of news coverage of this event after the fact. A bit on CNN, not much else. Anyone else see this on TV?
See the speech we saw up close and in person here: Obama: Anniversary of Israeli Independence
The despicable Jimmy Carter was in the Middle East meeting with people who would like to be in charge of the next Holocaust -- the same people who have gotten off to a running start by murdering hundreds of innocent civilians in cold blood for no reason other than that they were Jews.
At the same time, Barack Obama was meeting with the descendants of the last Holocaust to condemn Carter's stupidity:
By Ellen Wulfhorst
PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Democratic White House hopeful Barack Obama on Wednesday disagreed with former President Jimmy Carter's overtures toward Hamas, saying he would not talk to the Islamist group until it recognized Israel and renounced terrorism.
The Illinois senator, campaigning in Pennsylvania which holds the next presidential voting contest on Tuesday, told a group of Jewish leaders he has an "unshakable commitment" to help protect Israel from its "bitter enemies."
"That's why I have a fundamental difference with President Carter and disagree with his decision to meet with Hamas," Obama said. "We must not negotiate with a terrorist group intent on Israel's destruction. We should only sit down with Hamas if they renounce terrorism, recognize Israel's right to exist and abide by past agreements."
"Hamas is not a state. Hamas is a terrorist organization," he said.
Senator Obama remembers quite a bit more Hebrew from his bar-mitzvah than most. Go here to check out his blog in Hebrew: http://www.tapuz.co.il/blog/userBlog.asp?FolderName=Obama
So if you believe Israel has no right to exist, go away. There are plenty of places on the internet for you to share your misguided views with those who may want to hear them. We don't.
Senator Obama has made his position on Israel clear: it is America's only dependable, democratic ally in the Middle East and our commitment to it is unshakable. Like Senator Obama, we are pro-Israel and that is one of the reasons we support him for president.
So fire away, have fun and share your wish to commit genocide against Israel elsewhere.
It is critical that you stay at your caucus until it ends tomorrow night so that you can help defeat an anti-Israel resolution which may be proposed by supporters of Dennis Kucinich. A Democratic Party official confirms that at the end of tomorrow's Texas Caucuses (at least in the Houston area), after many people have left, Kucinich supporters may propose a despicable anti-Israel resolution in hopes of turning our party into a platform for their anti-Israel venom.
The resolution would have the Democratic Party state that the US no longer supports Israel in its quest for peace with its Arab neighbors. Instead, the resolution seeks to single out Israel and blame it for what is, according to no less a Democratic figure than Bill Clinton, the Palestinains' fault. Senator Obama has similarly pointed out that the Palestinians refusal to give up their maximalist demands is the cause of the continuation of this conflict and has opposed resolutions similar to what Kucinich's supporters propose here.
Some of the dirtiest attacks against Barack Obama are being carried out by Jewish bigots in the US and Israel, and if Obama is the Democrat's candidate for president, which looks very likely, these smears are going to get a lot worse.
It's not a whispering campaign, it's not anonymous; Marc Zell, co-chairman of Republicans Abroad in Israel, put his name to an article in The Jerusalem Post's Web edition last week that brands Obama as a Muslim anti-Semite.
"Obama and the Jews" begins: "Less than two weeks before the critical primary elections in Ohio and Texas, Democratic voters have made it very clear: Barack Hussein Obama is for real."
Why would a Republican activist mention Obama's middle name, especially in the first sentence, especially to readers of The Jerusalem Post? Everyone knows the reason, but I'll spell it out anyway: To reinforce the false impression that Obama is a Muslim, knowing that many readers, Jewish and Christian, will hate and fear him for that reason alone.
Zell, of course, knew what he was doing.
From Barack Obama:
"I will carry with me to the White House an unshakeable commitment to the security of Israel and the friendship between the United States and Israel. The US-Israel relationship is rooted in shared interests, shared values, shared history, and in deep friendship among our people. It is supported by a strong bipartisan consensus that I am proud to be a part of, and I will work tirelessly as president to uphold and enhance the friendship between the two countries."
See the entire interview below.
