A black man is in the White House, and on its first day the AIPAC policy conference has featured several black speakers. So far there's been Kenneth Flowers, a preacher from Detroit, a student government president from Morgan State college, and right now, Jarrod Jordan and Darius Jones, recent college graduates. The executive director of AIPAC, Howard Kohr, also gave a stirring testimonial about a Nigerian youth who lost his sister in the 1998 Embassy bombing and has since moved here and supports Israel–the camera found him in the crowd.
As Obama referred to the Jewish martyrs to the civil rights movement in his speech last year–Michael Schwerner and Andrew Goodman–two speakers today have referred to those fallen idealists too.
Something else I've noticed: a few speakers have quoted Obama's speech at the conference last year and mention his line that the U.S.-Israel relationship is "unbreakable." No one has quoted his statement that Israel must remain undivided. AIPAC is being careful about its signals about the peace process.
Wait, here's Newt Gingrich. Gotta run. "A world that destroys Israel will certainly destroy the United States."
Josh Block of AIPAC points out to me that AIPAC has reflected American diversity for years now. And that of 193 student body presidents on stage at the conference tonight, 43 of them are from historically-black colleges, Christian schools, and schools serving largely Hispanic populations.
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sammo, sammo-Uncle Sam's & Uncle Moshe's interests are identical. So what's new? That's like saying the Jewish establishment and Jesus were on the same wave length.
An undivided Jerusalem is in the DNC Democratic party platform! — wonder who got that in there…! link later… I thought the word was "unshakeable" i.e. you can't shake them off your trouser leg. http://arisfreedomswitch.blogspot.com/2009/04/oba... Love this twitter.
I have noticed something, too. Ever since Obama got elected the local Jewish newspaper in Houston has been featuring blacks, too. Like the professor at TSU (historically black college) who's grandfather (or something like that) was a Jew and she rediscovered her roots and discovered her love for Israel as well. She also learned Hebrew and from learning the ancient history of the Hebrews realized how much in common the Jews and African Americans have. Then there were several lectures and panels about how the Jews helped in the civil rights era. Conclusion: African-American struggle for freedom is the same struggle that the Jews in Palestine are going through now. (Huh?) Zionists are like chameleons. They take on the colors of whoever it is they are using for the end means at the moment.
A few short months ago, Obama was our hope not only for a just resolution of Israel-Palestine after so many years of horror, but the best hope for a livable world, a restoration of sanity, a rehabilitation of human dignity, creativity, love. And now? What would it mean to the world if Obama died tomorrow? It would provoke neither joy nor heartache. At most, a yawn. An endlessly exhausted, endlessly resigned yawn. We want to sleep now. The world is finished.
'As Obama referred to the Jewish martyrs to the civil rights movement in his speech last year–Michael Schwerner and Andrew Goodman–two speakers today have referred to those fallen idealists too.' In an article in the Forward, Daniel Trieman wrote about the 1968 New York City teacher's strike. He states that UFT leader Albert Shanker 'faced down threats, intimidation and occasional antisemitic rhetoric directed at him and his heavily Jewish union by supporters of the Ocean Hill-Brownsville board. The one immediate impact was a fraying of the relationship between the black community and the Jewish community in New York, and to a certain extent nationally. So the two stalwart allies in the fight for civil rights and a fair society were split apart on this question, which was very important politically.' http://www.forward.com/articles/13438/ Naturally, the Lobby is going to accentuate the positive. Nothing wrong with that, when you're sucking up to the powers that be. But it's a very mythologized, romanticized version of Black-Jewish cooperation they're peddling, notwithstanding the courage and sacrifice of Goodman and Schwerner. Have to agree with Saleema about the 'chameleon' thing. Fiesta Mart, which caters to the hispanic population of Houston, was cofounded by a talented Jewish merchant, the late O.C. Mendenhall. He kept a very low profile — almost invisible on the web to this day — while putting his hispanic wife Trini out front. Again, nothing wrong with that. But sometimes it pays to dig behind the facade. I'm thinking of AIPAC's anodyne logo with the intertwined U.S. and Israeli flags. They want it to represent allegedly conjoined interests. I see it as depicting a sleazy money/spying pipeline, sucking the marrow out of an enfeebled Uncle Sam, even as it claims to be a friend and 'ally.' How many KongressKlowns are making their obligatory appearance at the AIPAC confab this year — more than the usual 50 percent? The Rosen-Weissman case was tossed — just in time — so there's no shame, no shame at all. Would y'all pass me another heaping helping of that rubber chicken, please? BURP!
Careful rykart….
rykart, you should buy a motorcycle. Why get stuck in that crowded handbasket with everybody else?
911 Sham? AIPAC Bankers? Israel-first, dual-national? Extortion, blackmail, & bribery?
From: REPORT OF THE PLATFORM COMMITTEE RENEWING AMERICA’S PROMISE Presented to the 2008 Democratic National Convention – by the Platform Standing Committee Governor Deval Patrick, Former Attorney General Patricia Madrid and Former Discovery Communications, Inc. CEO Judith McHale,Committee Chairs (As Approved by the Platform Committee at its meeting August 9, 2008) http://www.demconvention.com/assets/downloads/200... [pdf] [pg. 41 of a 94 page PDF] "…Jerusalem is and will remain the capital of Israel. The parties have agreed that Jerusalem is a matter for final status negotiations. It should remain an undivided city accessible to people of all faiths…
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