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A whole speech about Islam, and President Obama didn’t use the word “terrorists” even once?
Obama’s conservative critics, along with some media observers, are up in arms — which is a real testament to how effectively the Bush administration linked the one word to the other.
Daniel Levy writes for TPM Cafe:
“Gone was the arrogance and lecturing….Out too was the purple finger version of democratization and even the traditional American condescension toward the Palestinian narrative.”
Robert Dreyfuss blogs for the Nation:
“Interesting, isn’t it, that…the only criticism of the Cairo speech is coming from (1) the neocons and their allies, and (2) Osama bin Laden, who is clearly panicking about Obama’s play for mainstream and conservative Muslim opinion. Strange bedfellows, indeed.”
Cartoon Watch and Obama’s weapon of mass appeal.
(Haaretz) – Time has passed and many heirs to Kahane have arisen – not only among a greedy and savage multitude but also among “the public’s chosen representatives” in the Knesset and government. The latter are busy preparing blatantly racist laws and sending armed police to thwart Palestinian-initiated international cultural events because the regime believes the Arabs of the Land of Israel, the native Palestinians, are not worthy of being called human beings. According to the writers of these laws, the Arabs are certainly not entitled to human rights, not to mention a cultural and intellectual life, and never mind property, land and a home, because thousands of years ago God promised this land to Abraham and his seed.
… we never imagined that those who call themselves disciples of Ze’ev Jabotinsky would impose terror and fear here using deranged racist legislation. We never imagined that they would use the destruction of the court system to try to prevent any possibility of achieving social justice and a humane attitude. This is something essential in every democratic society toward every man, woman and child, irrespective of origin, race, religion and sex.
For 42 years we have been occupying, oppressing and stealing lands that are not ours. To be free in our land do we need to become thieving Cossacks, uprooters of trees, burners of fields and harassers of women, the elderly and the very young? “We have this land, we have it,” goes the song, but what should have been said is “We have the power, we have it, we have the money, we have it, and we are allowed, we are,” to starve an entire population, imprison it and annihilate it using air strikes, cluster bombs and white phosphorous. Because we are the lords of the land and God has chosen us to rule. For the shame of it.
(Haaretz) – Uzi Landau said that a Palestinian state is tantamount to an “Iranian state.” Isaac Herzog appeared even more ridiculous when he said that the problem with the settlements is one of “public relations.” In essence, both were busy with the same problem: How can we manage to pull the new America’s leg as well? Israeli politicians have never before appeared as pathetic, as small as they did recent days, compared to the bearer of promise in Cairo.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."
