Internal Memo Takes on Obama’s Approach to Middle East

3 Comments

1. 

   RustyPipes on January 22, 2008 at 9:00 pm

   Interesting article.  I am particularly intrigued by the specific timeline of some of the events mentioned which the article does not make clear:  

   A confidential memo questioning Senator Barack Obama’s potential approach to Middle East policy was circulated earlier this month among staffers at a major American Jewish organization.

   In one section, the memo said that Obama’s approach to Iran’s nuclear program “raises questions,” while another portion suggested that Obama expected more from Israel than the Palestinians in resolving the conflict between the two.

   The memo, a copy of which was given to the Forward, was written by Debra Feuer, a counsel for the American Jewish Committee, and also contained a discussion of the Republican winner in the Iowa caucuses, Mike Huckabee.

   After receiving questions from the Forward about the memo, top officials at the American Jewish Committee sent a letter to the Obama campaign on Sunday stating that “no element” of the letter “should be considered a position of the American Jewish Committee” and expressing “regret” that it became public.

   Specifically, how many of these events took place before Jan. 15 and did they have any bearing on the drafting of this letter which was signed by the Executive Director of the AJC, among other leaders?

   January 15, 2008

   An Open Letter to the Jewish Community:

   As leaders of the Jewish community, none of whose organizations will endorse or oppose any candidate for President, we feel compelled to speak out against certain rhetoric and tactics in the current campaign that we find particularly abhorrent. Of particular concern, over the past several weeks, many in our community have received hateful emails that use falsehood and innuendo to mischaracterize Senator Barack Obama’s religious beliefs and who he is as a person.

   These tactics attempt to drive a wedge between our community and a presidential candidate based on despicable and false attacks and innuendo based on religion. We reject these efforts to manipulate members of our community into supporting or opposing candidates.

   Attempts of this sort to mislead and inflame voters should not be part of our political discourse and should be rebuffed by all who believe in our democracy. Jewish voters, like all voters, should support whichever candidate they believe would make the best president. We urge everyone to make that decision based on the factual records of these candidates, and nothing less.

   Sincerely,

   William Daroff, Vice President, United Jewish Communities

   Nathan J. Diament, Director, Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America

   Abraham Foxman, National Director, Anti-Defamation League

   Richard S. Gordon, President, American Jewish Congress

   David Harris, Executive Director, American Jewish Committee

   Rabbi Marvin Hier, Dean, Simon Wiesenthal Center

   Rabbi David Saperstein, Director, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism

   Phyllis Snyder, President, National Council of Jewish Women

   Hadar Susskind, Washington Director, Jewish Council for Public Affairs

   Writing this letter was, of course, the right thing to do.  However, vicious rumors have been circulating about Obama for months; so I am curious about why the letter was published now, rather than at another time.

2. 

   shergald on January 23, 2008 at 7:53 am

   The AJC along with the Zionist Organization of America lie within AIPAC’s sphere of influence and is part of the right wing Neocon/Likudnik proIsrael lobby.

   Hillary Clinton is already setup to receive political support from this lobby, as she is also on the Neocon/Likudnik bandwagon and is distinctly antiPalestinian. For example, she co-authored the Anti-Palestinian Terrorist Act, voted for Kyl-Lieberman, proposed resolutions concerning Palestinian textbooks (that were false and nothing more than propaganda), and holds positions that are Likudnik in essense, like the nondivision of Jerusalem, and so forth. Although she supported two states in 1998, she has not supported the Road Map as far as anyone can tell, and needless to say is quiet about the “occupation,” the ongoing “colonization” of Palestinian lands in the West Bank, and the seige of Gaza, which is a humanitarian crisis.

   Obama’s more recent statements about Israel-Palestine toe the lobby line.

3. 

   shergald on January 23, 2008 at 8:16 am

   As a further note, a few nights ago on the Charlie Rose Show, Rashid Khalidi, U of Chicago professor, stated that it was not the Bush administration that created the impasse that exist concerning a Palestinian state, but the Clinton administration. By that he meant the ruse of Oslo and the spread and doubling of settlements in the West Bank and Gaza during the 1990s. Camp David/Taba was a deception (given the precondition: “settlements are off the table”) and Clinton had to know that. Furthermore, he was part of his advisor, Dennis Ross’ propaganda effort to place the blame on Arafat (“the generous offer”). At Taba, Clinton offered the Palestinians a verbal paper tiger (no written communications were permitted), and it opened the door to the Second Intifada.

   The Clintons are no friends of the Palestinians nor do they seem to support something like the Road Map or Bush’s recent statements concerning the occupationm and continued settlement, which he said must stop.