Only in Haaretz. Rashid Khalidi becomes a lightning rod figure in the presidential race, he is smeared up and down our printing presses, and who does a piece debriefing him on the business? Akiva Eldar. Wow. Eldar says that Khalidi was "disappointed" with the Obama campaign, even as he supported it. A few points. On Obama and the lobby:
"It proved once again that to be of Palestinian origin and to be
publicly opposed to the occupation and critical of U.S. policy is
grounds for public defamation as a 'terrorist.' It attests to the
survival of McCarthyite tendencies in the U.S. media and politics. It
also reaffirmed that Arabs, Muslims and Palestinians specifically are
still the 'other' in American society. A higher percentage of
Arab-Americans voted for Obama than any other ethnic group besides
African-Americans, and they voted in record numbers too, I believe, and
yet they are still pushed aside, almost literally. For instance, two
Arab-American women in hijab were removed from the camera's gaze at one
of Obama's rallies during the election. Obama did not visit one mosque
or Arab community center throughout the entire two-year campaign, and
he never mentioned Arab- or Muslim-Americans in his speeches. Whatever
may have been the 'strategic' political reasons for these actions, they
show the kind of atmosphere we in the U.S. live in.
"This
situation is linked to the problematic notion that it is acceptable to
create a U.S. Middle East policy which caters to Israel - and
specifically to the Israeli right - and to the concerns of powerful
forces like the Israel lobby that are allied to the Israeli right, but
hardly at all to Arab- and Muslim-Americans."
Khalidi says we have a de facto one-state solution. May be too late, and Obama won't spend the political capital needed to get two. I particularly like this, aimed at Dennis Ross et al:
Those American officials who helped get the Palestinians and Israelis
into the mess they are in via a deeply flawed negotiating process, and
a cowardly refusal to confront occupation and settlement head-on when
it would have been far easier to do in the 1980s and 1990s, do not
deserve another chance to ruin the future of the peoples of this
region."
Because let us never forget: Bill Clinton ran in favor of the settlements in '92. That is the Stephen Douglas/Kansas/Nebraska of this hateful process: the ways that our country has favored a criminal and brutal occupation. And why? (Thanks to Rupa Shah)
About Philip Weiss
Philip Weiss is Founder and Co-Editor of Mondoweiss.net.
Obama is a weird dude. you can see why he was the compromise candidate at Harvard Law Review betw left and right. he's really nowhere, based on these early personnel decisions. i do find it humorous that the one black appointment so far was the gatekeeper for Clinton-Rich pardon. cant even get a black guy in there unless paid some Jewish dues. not to mention no possibility of Muslim official anywhere even tho he's half Muslim (does he have no regard for his father and his beliefs and background?) and they are a constituency not just in the world but right here in US of A
As usual, this is a misleading post. Khalidi was not smeared by the media, he was smeared by the McCain campaign. While Fox News and conservative bloggers had a field day with this story, most of the mainstream press ridiculed it–including Harper's, Time magazine, and a scathing editorial in the Washington Post.
The Jewish press didn't buy it either, including the JTA (Jewish Telegraphic Agency). In fact, despite all the news articles about Obama's "Jewish problem"–and despite the slimy scare tactics aimed at Jewish voters–American Jews overwhelmingly voted for Obama.
Khalidi has every right to be outraged, but this is ultimately a success story for American democracy–McCain's smear tactics were rejected by both the press and the electorate.
As for the broader issue of "McCarthyite tactics," I notice that Philip Weiss and other alleged progressives made quite a big deal over the fact that Rahm Emanuel's FATHER was a member of the Irgun. Be careful, Philip, about throwing rocks in glass houses.
I was particularly interested in Khalidi's opinion re: Dennis Ross and his hope that he is not included in any senior position to do with M/E policy. I would strongly agree. He is a disaster for Palestinians and for Israelis.
I am happy that Kurtzer is allegedly promoted to a position of envoy for the US in the M/E. He has recently co-authored a book slamming Ross's approach to M/E peacemaking during the clinton years.