Barack Obama and Israel

Steve Sheffey — November 14, 2008 – 4:10 pm | Democrats | Election 2008 | Israel | Republicans Comments (2) Add a comment

If it weren't for Republican smears against Obama, I might not have supported Obama as early as I did. Before the primaries, I was torn between Hillary and Barack. Then right-wing groups used guilt by association to question Obama’s commitment to Israel. I felt obligated to learn more about Obama. The more I learned, the more I liked him.

I'm not alone. Early polls showed Obama faring much worse among Jews than a Democrat should, but MSNBC exit pollingshowed that Obama won 78% of the Jewish vote, better than John Kerry. Obama's strong showing is no surprise. Obama national security spokeswoman Wendy Morigi said shortly before the electionthat "as President, [Obama] will ensure that Israel can defend itself from every threat it faces, stand with Israel in its quest for a secure peace with its neighbors, and use all elements of American power to end Iran's illicit nuclear program. No false charges can change Barack Obama's unshakeable commitment to Israel's security."

Obama chose Joe Biden as his running mate after winning the Democratic nomination. Senator Biden told the Forwardin 2007that "in my 34-year career, I have never wavered from the notion that the only time progress has ever been made in the Middle East is when the Arab nations have known that there is no daylight between us and Israel. So the idea of being an 'honest broker' is not, as some of my Democratic colleagues call for, the answer. It is being the smart broker, it is being the smart partner." Obama chose Rahm Emanuel as chief of staff after winning the Presidency. Emanuel is a pro-Israel Congressman whose father is Israeli. Emanuel served as a volunteer (non-combat) in the Israel Defense Forces during the first Gulf War.

The vast majority of Jews vote Democratic because they share the values of the Democratic party. In 2006, a vocal minority tried to woo Jews away by forecasting doom and gloom should the Democrats regain control of the House. Under the leadership of Nancy Pelosi, the last Congress proved to be firmly pro-Israel. "As Pelosi said in 2007, "America's commitment to Israel is unshakable...Let us be very clear: Iran must not be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon...There are those who contend that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is about Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. In truth, the history of the conflict has never been about the occupation. It is over the fundamental right of Israel to exist...The United States will stand with Israel now and forever."

The same vocal minority tried the same tactics in the Presidential election and failed again.

The leaders of the Democratic party, Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi, are progressive Democrats, and true to their values, they are firm supporters of Israel. The entire Democratic leadership - Obama, Biden, Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, and Harry Reid - is firmly pro-Israel. There are fringes in both parties who are questionable on Israel (the similarities in viewpoints on Israel between the far right and far left are striking, and Michael Lerner is already whining about Obama’s choice of Emanuel), but the Democrats running the country are, to a person, all strong friends of Israel.

There will always be some Democrats who disagree with the Democratic party’s positions on Israel. No Democrat agrees with the party on everything; we have every right as Americans to disagree. But when Republicans attempt to use those isolated voices to divide our community and achieve electoral success by smearing the Democrats on Israel, we must remind voters that the Democrats who represent the Democratic party are the Democrats who lead the Democratic party, starting with Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi.

The Republican Jewish Coalition has been dieing an intellectual death ever since, in their quest to make the world safe for plutocracy, they questioned Joe Lieberman's commitment to Israelwhen he was Al Gore's running mate. Barack Obama - a proud, liberal, progressive Democrat—is already proving to all open-minded Americans that we Democrats are firmly committed to Israel's safety and security.

 

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