In the past, I've noted Obama's
troubling
statements on Israel and his ties to a number of Israel haters,
so it should come as no surprise that the LA
Times reports today that the Palestinian activist
community sees an ally in Obama.
Much of the article focuses on Obama's cozy relationship with
anti-Israel Columbia professor Rashid Khalidi, who is so radical
that he once served as a flak for the PLO.
In 2003, when a going away party was thrown for Khalidi before
he left Chicago for New York, Obama not only attended, but paid
tribute:
His many talks with the Khalidis, Obama said, had
been "consistent reminders to me of my own blind spots and my own
biases. . . . It's for that reason that I'm hoping that, for many
years to come, we continue that conversation -- a conversation that
is necessary not just around Mona and Rashid's dinner table," but
around "this entire world."
Well, what exactly is that conversation that Obama thinks is so
necessary to have around the world? Does the rest of the world need
to have a discussion about Khalidi's
contention that Israel is an "apartheid system in
creation" and a "racist state"?
The Times also cites Ali Abunimah, a
Palestinian activist in Chicago who has
insisted that during the 1990s Obama campaigned in the Arab
community and openly called for America to take a more "even
handed" approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Abunimah also
recalls Obama giving him private assurances that he would be more
outspoken about the Palestinian cause once a tough primary he was
in was over. Abunimah also posted a photo of Obama breaking bread with leading
anti-Israel intellectual Edward Said at an Arab community dinner in
1998.
Obama strategist David Axelrod, in the article is quoted as
saying, "In no way did he take a position privately that he hasn't
taken publicly and consistently...He always had expressed
solicitude for the Palestinian people, who have been ill-served and
have suffered greatly from the refusal of their leaders to renounce
violence and recognize Israel's right to exist."
But are we really to believe that when Obama was dining with the
likes of Said and Khalidi, that he was lamenting the failures of
the Palestinian leadership? I mean, did he privately say things
like: "Rashid, thank you for opening me up to my blind spots about
where to get a good plate of buffalo wings and for alerting me to
my own biases against the Cubs, but if only Palestinian leaders
renounce violence and recognize Israel's right to exist, we'd have
a chance for peace in the Middle East."
If this were an isolated example, it would be one thing. But we
now have a clear pattern from Jeremiah Wright's comments on down,
of Obama associating with individuals who are virulently
anti-American and anti-Israel. When pressed, he denies that he
shares any of the same views either by himself or through
surrogates. I don't see how much longer people can find him
remotely credible. I know I'm getting really sick of it. And I am
not
a knee-jerk Obama hater.
topics:
Israel
