Campaigns are about establishing important distinctions between candidates and educating the public about issues. Now that she’s in a corner, Hillary Clinton ought to call Barack Obama about his ideas re Israel/Palestine. Many of her supporters clearly believe that Obama will adopt a more evenhanded policy in the Middle East, and some of the murmuring has come from big Jews, even Malcolm Hoenlein. Let’s have it out. Is Obama adviser Samantha Power too critical of Israel for America’s future? (No) Is Rob Malley, apparently some sort of consultant to Obama, too far out there? (No) Didn’t Obama offer comfort to American Arabs re Palestine in his Chicago days?
I say this as a (somewhat) enthusiastic Obama supporter. Let’s have the issue out. If there are real differences on this crucial issue, explore them. Inform the American people. One of the problems with the Israel lobby is that it’s so unspoken. In his speeches Obama loves to tell about going to Detroit and giving a speech in which he called for raising fuel-efficiency standards on cars. The room was silent, he says, speaking of the Motown lobbyists. And the Dems bash the religious right all the time. Let’s have this religiously-inflamed issue out in public. We’d all be the better for it…
