Yesterday Obama spoke to 100 Jews in Cleveland. The Obama campaign released this transcript, now published in the NY Sun. A few key passages:
1. Strongly hinting that he is likely to shift U.S. policy and calling on the diversity of opinion in American Jewish ranks…
I think there is a strain
within the pro-Israel community that says unless you adopt a unwavering
pro-Likud approach to Israel that you’re anti-Israel and that can’t be
the measure of our friendship with Israel. If we cannot have a honest
dialogue about how do we achieve these goals, then we’re not going to
make progress. And frankly some of the commentary that I’ve seen which
suggests guilt by association or the notion that unless we are never
ever going to ask any difficult questions about how we move peace
forward or secure Israel that is non military or non belligerent or
doesn’t talk about just crushing the opposition that that somehow is
being soft or anti-Israel, I think we’re going to have problems moving
forward. And that I think is something we have to have an honest
dialogue about.
2. Having the standard enlightened person’s response, on his one trip to Israel, and then alluding indirectly to the Israel lobby:
one of the things that struck
me when I went to Israel was how much more open the debate was around
these issues in Israel than they are sometimes here in the United
States. It’s very ironic. I sat down with the head of Israeli security
forces and his view of the Palestinians was incredibly nuanced because
he’s dealing with these people every day. There’s good and there’s bad,
and he was willing to say sometimes we make mistakes and we made this
miscalculation and if we are just pressing down on these folks
constantly without giving them some prospects for hope, that’s not good
for our security situation. There was a very honest, thoughtful debate
taking place inside Israel. All of you, I’m sure, have experienced this
when you travel there. Understandably, [here’s the lobby part] because of the pressure that
Israel is under, I think the U.S. pro-Israel community is sometimes a
little more protective or concerned about opening up that conversation.
3. On the leakage of Jewish Democrats to the other side.
to the extent that there’s been bleeding over into the Republican Party, it all has to do with this issue of Israel. [But George Bush, Obama went on, has been bad for Israel…]
A few responses. Obama clearly has studied the progressive critique of Israel. You can tell because he’s fluid. He knows the issues here and he touches on all of them, but not with any of the emphases I would like. Still: he knows the stations of the leftwing cross. Point 3 is his response to the Liebermans of the world. Well he is not going to make the Liebermans happy and there is going to be more bleeding in the months to come.
I don’t think you can read Ali Abunimah’s piece on Obama, in which he says that Obama abandoned his pro-Palestinian talk after he lost a race for Congress in 2000–
Over the years since I first saw Obama speak I met him about half a
dozen times, often at Palestinian and Arab-American community events in
Chicago including a May 1998 community fundraiser at which Edward Said
was the keynote speaker. In 2000, when Obama unsuccessfully ran for
Congress I heard him speak at a campaign fundraiser hosted by a
University of Chicago professor. On that occasion and others Obama was
forthright in his criticism of US policy and his call for an
even-handed approach to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
I don’t think you can read Michelle Obama’s 1985 thesis at Princeton assailing the goal of assimilation for black professionals… can’t read Michelle O’s statement about not being proud of her country till now… can’t read Obama’s statement on not wearing a flag pin in the time after 9/11…
without concluding that Obama is schooled completely in progressive values. He’s a leftist at heart, I better keep that secret.
