Obama To Address UJC General Assembly
By Nathan Guttman
The chase is over, and United Jewish Communities is the winner.
Ever since he took office in January, major Jewish groups have been trying to land President Obama as a speaker at their annual conferences. So far, the furthest Jewish groups could reach in the administration were Vice President Joe Biden and the National Security Advisor James L. Jones.
Until now.
On Friday, the UJC, which is being renamed the Jewish Federation of North America, announced that Barack Obama would be their keynote speaker at the General Assembly, scheduled for the second week of November in Washington.
“We are honored to be hosting President Obama at the GA,” said Dede Feinberg, the North America chair of the General Assembly.
This will be Obama’s first appearance at a Jewish community event, although he did hold a small meeting with a small group of Jewish leaders in July.
Although not officially announced yet, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is also expected to speak at the GA. An announcement from Jerusalem confirming the appearance is expected in the next few days.
September 18, 2009, 2:53pm
President Obama's Rosh Hashanah Message
By Gabrielle Birkner
Four months after putting out a video commemorating the Persian New Year, or Norwuz, President Barack Obama is extending New Year’s wishes to the Jewish community in this video, posted on the the White House Web site Thursday:
August 20, 2009, 6:27pm
Obama and Bush: A Rosh Hashanah Double Standard?
By Daniel Treiman
Comparisons of President Obama to Hitler by health care town hall protesters have drawn widespread ridicule and outrage. Some conservatives though see a double standard: Where was all this outrage when President Bush was being compared to Hitler by some on the left?
But that’s not the only double standard that has some conservatives exercised nowadays. There’s also the Rosh Hashanah double standard.
U.S. News and World Report blogger Paul Bedard reports:
Washington Jewish Week and Politico tell us that Obama today reached out to about 1,000 Jewish leaders in his expanding campaign for healthcare reform. One of those on the call, Rabbi Jack Moline, tweeted through the call about what the president said. His Twitter page noted: Obama: “shanah tovah to all of you.”
That’s a reference to the Jewish new year, or Rosh Hashana, which starts at sundown September 18. It means “Have a sweet new year.” An associate said that the president was just being polite with the rabbis, and spokesman Robert Gibbs said that Obama was invited by the rabbis to join in on the call “as they get ready for their important holidays.”
But in September 2007, when Bush issued a holiday greeting a week early, he was roundly ridiculed for jumping the gun. The Washington Post said that there was “quizzical reaction” from even Bush’s friends.
A former Bushie who remembered the spat said: “Strange. When GWB sent out Rosh Hashana greetings a few days early, he was mocked. Obama is an entire month too early, and no big whoop.”
August 19, 2009, 10:35am
The President Is on the Line
By Jane Eisner
Every year, the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism sets up a mega-conference call for its rabbis — a sort of spring training for the High Holidays, with discussion about sermon topics, text study, and the like. And every year, the RAC invites guest speakers to participate.
This year, they scored a home run.
At 11 a.m. today, the nearly 1,000 rabbis who signed up for the call will get to hear President Obama offer his ideas for the Jewish new year. According to Kate Bigam, the RAC’s press secretary, “we made a leap” and tried to get on the president’s schedule. It worked.
Obama is expected to talk about 10 to 15 minutes in what is billed as a strictly private conversation, though how private that can remain with a thousand rabbis on the line will soon be tested. Bigam says it’s the first time a president has ever participated in this program.
What’s next? Shofar blowing in the White House?
August 10, 2009, 2:39pm
Obama Making Modest Inroads With Israeli Public
By Nathan Jeffay
The Fatah general conference, which has been extended to run until tomorrow, has been characterized by tough talk on Jerusalem. “Fatah will continue to sacrifice victims until Jerusalem will be returned [to the Palestinians], clean of settlements and settlers,” states a position paper which was adopted, according to reports. The paper apparently does not make a distinction between the eastern and western parts of the capital.
Interestingly, this comes as a poll shows that Israelis are currently strongly assertive about their rights over the whole of Jerusalem. The monthly Tel Aviv University War and Peace Index found that two-thirds of Israelis think that Israel should build anywhere it likes in Jerusalem, as it has the right to do so given its sovereignty over the whole city is indisputable.
Pollsters chose to survey on this topic after the U.S. State department protested plans to build housing on the East Jerusalem site of the Shepherd Hotel and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded that, whatever limitations it may agree to regarding building in the settlements, it can build where it likes in Jerusalem, including the areas captured in 1967.
This is a conviction that America and much of the international community rejects, claiming that construction in disputed areas of Jerusalem should stop as part of the overall demand on Israel to freeze construction in the territories. But according to this new poll, it resonates with two out of three Israelis. Only 27% of people surveyed, the overwhelming majority of them Meretz and Labor voters, oppose Netanyahu’s position while the rest do not know.
The pollsters also asked about President Obama, and where Israelis believe that he stands on the Middle East. Since they last polled on this question — in June, just after his famous speech to the Arab world at Cairo University — he is seen as less pro-Palestinian. In the latest poll, 46% of respondents said he is pro-Palestinian, down from 55%. Around a third of respondents believe he is neutral (31%, slightly down from 34% in the June survey). The percentage of people deeming him pro-Israeli has stayed constant — a tiny 7%.
Where they think his sympathies lie is the question of whether Israelis trust Obama, and here, he is making inroads. Two months ago only 26% of people surveyed responded that they trusted him compared to 68% who did not trust him to look out for Israel’s interests. Today the rate of those who trust him has risen to 38% while the rate of those who do not has declined to 60%.
Since the nongovernmental organization Breaking the Silence released testimonies from soldiers claiming misconduct during Operation Cast Lead, Israelis have been debating their trustworthiness, as discussed in this Forward article The poll found that the testimonies have made their mark on a considerable part of the Jewish public (on this topic, figures are for the Jewish public alone) — with 43% of respondents saying they believe them while 47% do not. Nevertheless, 76% see no need to resume investigations in to the operation and just 17% are in favor of doing so.
June 11, 2009, 10:59pm
Rev. Wright: Oops, I Meant ‘Zionists’
By Daniel Treiman
Real Clear Politics reports:
Reverend Jeremiah Wright corrected his comments in which he said “Jews” were not allowing him to speak with President Obama. Wright says he “misspoke” and it is actually the “Zionists” who are preventing him from talking with the President.
It was Martin Luther King Jr. who wrote: “When people criticize Zionism, they mean Jews — this is God’s own truth.” I always thought that King was perhaps painting with a bit too broad a brush, but his statement does seem rather apt in the case at hand.
RCP has the audio of Wright’s so-called explanation.
Here’s the Associated Press’s report on the Wright remarks.
June 8, 2009, 1:39pm
Offbeat Israel: Polling Israelis on Obama and Settlements
By Nathan Jeffay
Every month, Tel Aviv University pollsters gauge Israeli public opinion, and the Bintel Blog closely follows the results.
The latest poll, which was conducted last week just before Barack Obama’s speech, found that 55% of the Israeli public felt that the American president leans in favor of the Palestinians.
Few Israelis, 5%, said that he favors their county’s position, and 31% said they view him as neutral.
As Obama sets about changing America’s relationship with the Muslim world, 60% of Israelis do not trust him to protect Israel’s interests in the process.
Asked about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s trip to Washington, 65% of respondents said it was unsuccessful and just 19% deemed it successful.
Given all the international attention to settlements, the pollsters decided that in this month’s survey they would gauge opinion on this subject.
More Israelis feel that settlements are bad for the state’s interests than those who think they contribute: the figures were 48% and 43% respectively.
Nevertheless, Israelis tend to expect large settlement blocks close to the Green Line to remain part of Israel in any peace settlement (as do most analysts), and therefore 53% of respondents said Israel should not agree to evacuate all settlements, even if a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians hinged on doing so, while 41% said it should.
The figures were very different when it came to illegal outposts and smaller settlements that are among Palestinian towns and villages. Regarding these, just 29% of respondents were against evacuation while 53% were in favor.
May 15, 2009, 1:12pm
On the Eve of Bibi's U.S. Visit, Jewish Groups Fight it Out
By Nathan Guttman
There are only a few days left until Benjamin Netanyahu descends on Washington, and preparations within the Jewish community are in high gear. That means, of course, that it’s time for some inter-organizational fighting.
The first question is who will get to meet Bibi. The Israeli embassy is putting together a list of 40 communal leaders that will cram into the Blair House meeting room on Tuesday to hear the prime minister sum up his first visit with President Obama.
So far, based on a partial sample of Jewish organizations, all the major mainstream groups are in, as are some of the smaller political groups (Zionist Organization of America, from the right, and Americans for Peace Now, from the left). Notably absent is the up and coming dovish lobby J Street. Not a big surprise considering the group’s harsh criticism of the Netanyahu government and their call for U.S. pressure on Israel to move forward with the peace process.
Then there’s the substance.
All Jewish advocacy groups are pitching in to tell Congress, the administration and even the Israelis what exactly should be said and done at the May 18 meeting between Netanyahu and Obama.
AIPAC is lobbying for a Congressional letter supporting the White House’s drive for peace, but stating that “the parties themselves must negotiate the details of any agreement.”
J Street is pushing for a different letter, which calls for a policy that will “actively working to de-escalate conflict and advance peace.”
But that’s not all: Americans for Peace Now put out an action alert calling on its activists to urge Obama to “stick to his guns,” and not give up on the two-state solution. And the Israel Policy Forum out a letter, signed by former ambassadors to the region, encouraging Obama to take an active role in promoting Israeli–Palestinian peace.
So, which of the letters will the president have read as he sits down with Netanyahu in the Oval Office?
Given his extremely busy schedule this week, probably none of them.
May 4, 2009, 5:03pm
Offbeat Israel: Has Kiryat Gat Adopted the Iranian Flag?
By Nathan Jeffay
If there was an Israeli “Obama Girl,” chances are that she would be approaching middle age.
The American president may have been a big hit with young Americans, but in Israel, it’s apparently the young who are the most skeptical about him.
Bar Ilan University, together with the Anti-Defamation League, have polled Israelis on their attitudes towards Obama, and presented results in two categories: those under 42, and those over.
Among the older respondents, 41% said they felt the new U.S. president was capable of making the right decisions regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; the figure among younger respondents was just 32%. The pattern was similar when people were asked whether they believed President Obama would maintain friendly relations with Israel. Among older respondents, 41% said yes; among younger respondents, the figure was 34%. Obama’s policy on Iran also gets more approval among older Israelis. Some 60% of younger Israelis are against him talking to Iran, whereas 42% of younger respondents share that position.
Aside from the age factor, the survey provided interesting findings about the way Obama is viewed. Back in 2007, Bar Ilan research found that 73% of Israelis considered the U.S. president — then George W. Bush — friendly to Israel; the figure today for Obama was 38%.
The poll also asked people if they are in favor of an Israeli strike on Iran if that country’s nuclear program is not halted. Two-thirds of Israelis were; 15% were against such a strike.
On a lighter note: What do you think this flag looks like? It’s actually the municipal flag of the southern Israeli city of Kiryat Gat, but the resemblance to the Iranian flag isn’t lost on the city’s officials and residents.
At a council meeting yesterday, one councilman showed the Iranian flag and said it looks too similar to the municipal flag. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is unlikely to change his, even though Kiryat Gat’s came along first (56 years ago; Iran’s was chosen only after the Islamic Revolution of 1979). So the councilman said his city should come up with something new; some of his colleagues, however, gave him short shrift — saying that the city shouldn’t surrender its heritage just because of Iran’s taste in colors.
March 20, 2009, 2:31pm
To Iran, With Love — And Geopolitical Challenges
By Gabrielle Birkner
To commemorate the festival of Nowruz — marking the beginning of the Persian New Year — American President Obama and Israeli President Shimon Peres have each recorded friendly messages, embedded with challenges, for the people of Iran.
Obama, in his statement, also available with Farsi subtitles, said:
The United States wants the Islamic Republic of Iran to take its rightful place in the community of nations. You have that right — but it comes with real responsibilities, and that place cannot be reached through terror or arms, but rather through peaceful actions that demonstrate the true greatness of the Iranian people and civilization. And the measure of that greatness is not the capacity to destroy, it is your demonstrated ability to build and create.
His comments can be seen in their entirety here:
Peres in his message, broadcast on Israel Radio’s Farsi channel, said:
With great pleasure, I offer you this blessing on your holiday, a day of renewal that brings with it happiness and hope of a new day, of better days and a blessed new year.
… Unfortunately, the relations between our two countries have hit a low point, stemming from ideas that compel your leaders to act in every possible way against the state of Israel and its people. But I am convinced that the day is not far off when our two nations will restore good neighborly relations and cooperation in thriving in every way.
… At the start of the New Year, I urge you, the noble Iranian people, on behalf of the ancient Jewish people, to reclaim your worthy place among the nations of the enlightened world, while contributing a worthy cultural contribution.
January 22, 2009, 6:38pm
Obama and the Christian-Muslim-Jewish Nation
By Nathan Guttman
One staple of any great speech is that everyone hears it in a different way. For some, President Obama’s inaugural address was all about hope and optimism; for others, it was about the nation’s resilience. For the Zionist Organization of America’s Morton Klein, it was all about one sentence: “We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus and non-believers.”Turns out that it’s all about the sequence, and Klein, the ZOA president, feels that Jews were unfairly downgraded to third place. In a press release, Klein reads into Obama’s decision to put Muslims before Jews (and Hindus and non-believers) in his speech.
“Throughout its history, the United States has always been known as a nation based on Judeo-Christian values and heritages,” he argues, quoting former president Bush’s 2001 inaugural address in which he put “synagogue” before “mosque.”
According to Klein, it is not a matter of prestige but of numbers, and since Jews outnumber Muslims in the United States, they should rightly hold on to their second place. “This is not a Muslim-Christian-Jewish nation, it is a Judeo-Christian nation,” he told the Forward.
But if numbers and sequence do matter, here is a point Jewish observers who are worried about Islam beating Judaism for second place in the president’s eyes, should look at: A day after the inauguration, Obama attended the national prayer service, and guess what: There were three rabbis and only one Muslim representative.
January 12, 2009, 7:29pm
Helen Suzman, Barack Obama, and 100 Years of Black-Jewish Relations
By Gabrielle Birkner
Helen Suzman, the Jewish anti-apartheid activist who died earlier this month, was long critical of South Africa’s organized Jewish community for its policy of political non-involvement during the apartheid years. When the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) gave her a humanitarian award in 2007, she accepted the honor with the words, “It’s about time.”
As Claudia Braude points out in her appreciation of Suzman in this week’s Forward:
“For decades, the SAJBD maintained a cordial relationship with the apartheid government. Believing that Jews should not compromise their group interests by opposing the ruling powers, the board’s leaders discouraged criticism of apartheid. This contrasted strikingly with the stance that American Jewish organizations took, in varying degrees and forms, toward racial segregation in the American South during the 20th century. Civil rights was a cause they embraced, even at the cost of discomfiting Jews living in areas where Jim Crow laws reigned.”
Not that it’s clear-cut. Over the past century, the relationship between black Americans and Jewish Americans has been alternately symbiotic and fraught; that relationship is the subject of a spectacular photo essay in the most recent issue of Moment magazine. The feature comprises, among other photographs, images of Jewish academics who found work at historically black colleges after fleeing Nazi-occupied Europe; Reform movement leaders carrying Hebrew-language signs while partaking in Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famed March on Washington, and scenes from the riots in Crown Heights (and those from the cross-cultural reconciliation forums that the violence eventually spawned). Four pages are devoted to the President-elect, and his high-profile supporters and advisors. The prose that accompanies the photo essay ends with a quote from the speech Obama gave at last year’s AIPAC conference:
“There is a commitment embedded in the Jewish faith and tradition to freedom and fairness, to social justice and equal opportunity, to tikkun olam, the obligation to repair the world. I will never forget that I would not be standing here today if it weren’t for the commitment that was made not only in the African-American community, but also in the Jewish-American community. In the great social movements in our country’s history, Jews and African-Americans have stood shoulder-to-shoulder.”
Obama Breaks His Silence on Gaza, but Doesn’t Say Much
By Daniel Treiman
The Associated Press reports:
President-elect Barack Obama broke his silence on the crisis Tuesday, saying that “the loss of civilian life in Gaza and in Israel is a source of deep concern for me.” He declined to go further, reiterating his stance that the U.S. has only one president at a time.
Obama had been withholding comment on Gaza, with an aide explaining that President Bush is still responsible for American diplomatic policy. “During this transition period, we are not engaging in any action that could send confusing signals to the world about who speaks on behalf of the United States,” the aide said.
In the meantime, supporters of the Palestinians and of Israel were left stewing over Obama’s silence, angry at him for not speaking out. Of course, each side wanted him to say opposite things.
Many Arabs, of course, wanted Obama to call for an end to the Israeli offensive. “We want him to say something at least to stop the bloodshed,” said Suhail Natour, a Palestinian activist in Beirut told The Chicago Tribune. “Waiting until the 20th, with the bloodshed continuing, I don’t think is an acceptable way of confirming a new policy in the Middle East. Silence on this means complicity.”
Meanwhile, some pro-Israel activists — particularly those from the right end of the political spectrum — have criticized Obama for not weighing in on Israel’s side.
Reuters reports:
Morton Klein, president of the pro-Israel Zionist Organization of America, noted that Obama spoke out on Mumbai.
“And he’s acting almost as if he’s president when it comes to the economy, right? He’s not screaming ‘there’s only one president’ when he’s talking about the economic stimulus package,” Klein said.
Obama’s latest comments are sure to satisfy no one. Then again, anything he could have possibly said would have been sure to offend someone.
December 29, 2008, 9:22pm
Beyond Rick Warren's Invocation
By Gabrielle Birkner
The Orthodox Union’s Nathan Diament has some advice for Barack Obama. Writing in The New Republic, Diament — the OU’s public policy director — urges the incoming president to do more than offer religious voters symbols, like an inaugural invocation by Rev. Rick Warren. Obama, Diament writes, has an opportunity to “advance policies that are important to them” — and can do so without sacrificing Democratic Party principles on issues like abortion, gay rights, and school vouchers.
To that end, he suggests that Obama support programming aimed at reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies; ensure that religious schools and social welfare agencies can continue to receive federal funding, regardless of their policies on homosexuality, and make federal grants available to parochial schools expanding their pre-kindergarten programs or greening their campuses. He writes:
”In their faith-outreach efforts, Democrats were wont to quote the Book of James’ statement that ‘faith without works is dead.’ If there were a Talmudic commentary to the Christian Bible, it might suggest that having won the power to govern, Democrats ought now to reread this verse to say, ‘Without work, faith outreach will be dead.’”
July 29, 2008, 5:58pm
Babs on Barack: He’s Kosher on Israel
By Daniel Treiman
Entertainer extraordinaire and Hollywood liberal stalwart Barbra Streisand fields some questions from Politico on the 2008 presidential campaign. Among other tidbits, there’s this exchange:
POLITICO: There’s been a lot of discussion about Israel during this race so far. Should this issue have a major place in this year’s election?
STREISAND: Issues of foreign policy have a place in every election for President. As a woman, a Jew, and a strong supporter of Israel, I am confident Sen. Obama is committed to Israel’s safety and security.
Famed philosemite and McCain booster Jon Voight, however, is less keen on him (though not necessarily for reasons having to do with Jews).
July 25, 2008, 2:02pm
What Happens at the Kotel Doesn’t Stay at the Kotel
By Daniel Treiman
An Israeli newspaper has published what apparently is a photo of the note that Barack Obama placed in the Western Wall during his visit Wednesday. The Israeli tabloid Ma’ariv reports that the note — written on stationary from Jerusalem’s King David hotel, where Obama was staying — was taken from the wall and given to the newspaper by a yeshiva student.
The text of the note:
Lord,
Protect my family and me. Forgive me my sins and help me guard against pride and despair.
Give me the wisdom to do what is right and just.
And make me an instrument of your will.
The Jerusalem Post reports that the Western Wall’s rabbi has condemned Ma’ariv’s action.
Hat tip: Politico
UPDATE: The yeshiva student who removed Obama’s note has apologized, and the note has been returned to the wall.
July 21, 2008, 6:41pm
Obama’s Busy Day: Bibi, Shimon, Tzipi, Two Ehuds and a Pair of Palestinians
By Daniel Treiman
Barack Obama is going to be pretty busy on Wednesday.
His campaign has announced that he will be meeting in Israel that day with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, President Shimon Peres, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Likud opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu. As if that’s not enough for a day’s work, he’ll also be meeting with the Palestinian Authority’s president, Mahmoud Abbas, and prime minister, Salam Fayyad.
Politico’s Ben Smith thinks that Bibi Netanyahu is “[p]erhaps the most striking name” on Obama’s itinerary. Smith doesn’t elaborate, but perhaps his “perhaps” is due to a statement Obama made back in February referencing a certain Israeli political party of which Bibi is a member.
“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,” Obama told a Jewish audience in Cleveland. (That remark, incidentally, prompted to Ha’aretz’s Shmuel Rosner to opine that Obama had made “a questionable comment that can be seen as meddling in the internal politics of Israel.”)
As to Obama’s powwow with Netanyahu during his current world tour, however, it’s worth noting that the Likud-nik isn’t the only right-wing opposition leader with whom the presidential hopeful is meeting: He’s also sitting down with the leader of Britain’s Tories later in the week.
UPDATE: Obama’s busy Wednesday is getting busier: His aides say he also plans to visit the embattled town of Sderot, as well as Yad Vashem, and maybe even a stop at the Western Wall.
UPDATE II: Ha’aretz has more details of Obama’s itinerary for his visit to Israel and the West Bank. Given Obama’s packed schedule, it’s not surprising that many of his meetings look like they’ll be less than an hour long. It does seem, however, as if the presidential hopeful will be spending quite a bit of time with the woman who may very well be Israel’s next prime minister, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who will be accompanying him on a visit to Sderot.
July 16, 2008, 6:39pm
Rahm Emanuel: First Jewish Speaker of the House?
By Daniel Treiman
Politico examines the ambitions of Democratic powerbroker Rep. Rahm Emanuel, who is considered a possible Senate successor to Barack Obama in the event that the Illinois Democrat is elected president in November.
But Emanuel insists that he’s not interested in Obama’s Senate seat , which, Politico notes, begs the question, “What does Rahm really want, and what is his timetable for getting there?”
Politico reports that “before he was even elected to his first term as the congressman from the North Side of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel was telling friends that he had one goal in life: to become the first Jewish speaker of the House.”
Insiders apparently think that Emanuel’s dream is a real possibility. Politico’s John Bresnahan writes:
June 1, 2008, 11:44pm
Obama Digs Roth, But McCain Prefers Wouk
By Daniel Treiman
A few weeks ago, The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg — who has lately established himself as a key contender for the title of Mr. Jewish Journalist — grilled Barack Obama about Israel and other topics of Jewish interest. Now, he covers some of the same ground with John McCain.
Since Obama, in his interview, volunteered that he is a fan of the writers Philip Roth, Leon Uris and David Grossman, Goldberg grills McCain on his Jewish literary tastes. And while the two presidential hopefuls may have very different views on the potential utility of talking to Iran (“you don’t sit down face-to-face with people who are behave the way they do, who are state sponsors of terrorism,” McCain told Goldberg), at least they can agree when it comes to Leon Uris:
Quizzing Obama on the State of Israel — and the State of His Kishkes
By Daniel Treiman
The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg (who in the 1990s wrote for this rag) chatted this weekend with Barack Obama about Israel and Jewish issues.
Goldberg, who recently penned a widely discussed article for the Atlantic looking at Israel’s difficult choices through the prism of the tensions between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and writer David Grossman, finds that Obama has done some reading on the topic — from Leon Uris to “The Yellow Wind,” Grossman’s 1987 look at life in the West Bank.
Goldberg poses a smart question — one that has also been raised by another smart Jewish journalist — that cuts to the core of Obama’s challenges in the Jewish community. I’m talking about “the kishke question,” the implications of which Goldberg does a good job of summarizing:
Wright's Praise for Farrakhan Is ‘Ridiculous,’ Obama Says in Repudiating Pastor
By Daniel Treiman
Barack Obama took off the gloves in going after his longtime pastor over his appearance yesterday at the National Press Club:
Here’s a short snippet:
When he states and then amplifies such ridiculous propositions as the U.S. government somehow being involved in AIDS, when he suggests that Minister Farrakhan somehow represents one of the greatest voices of the 20th and 21st century, when he equates the United States’ wartime efforts with terrorism, then there are no excuses. They offend me, they rightly offend all Americans, and they should be denounced.
Will Obama’s remarks put the Wright controversy behind him? Here’s the verdict from the partisan peanut gallery:
April 28, 2008, 4:40pm
Where Jeremiah Wright Turns for Mideast Analysis
By Daniel Treiman
The Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s views on Israel have been an interesting footnote (and for Jews, far more than a footnote) in the larger controversy that has swirled around him. Many American Jews, it’s safe to say, have been angered by his strident criticism of Israel, as well as the publication of anti-Israel polemics in his church’s newsletter. Indeed, Barack Obama, in his speech responding to the Wright controversy, went out of his way to criticize his former pastor’s “view that sees the conflicts in the Middle East as rooted primarily in the actions of stalwart allies like Israel, instead of emanating from the perverse and hateful ideologies of radical Islam.”
Now, Wright is giving us a glimpse into his preferred source of information when it comes to Israel. In his press conference today at the National Press Club, Wright was posed the following question:
Sorry, Rev. Wright, You’re No Barbara Jordan
By Daniel Treiman
The Rev. Jeremiah Wright is back in the spotlight — this time of his own volition. Those hoping for contrition, or even a little bit of self-reflection, will be sorely disappointed. In a PBS interview with Bill Moyers and a speech today at the National Press Club, Obama’s former pastor went after his critics — with a vengeance. At the National Press Club, Wright said that attacks on his sermons were actually “an attack on the black church.”“This is about Barbara Jordan,” he said. “This is about Fanny Lou Hamer. This is about my grandmamma.”
So apparently Wright — who fancies himself a prophetic voice — thinks that criticizing his sermons is akin to attacking the late Barbara Jordan, a beloved stateswoman who was the first African-American woman from the South elected to Congress. Since the Rev. Wright’s views and sermons are already fresh in our minds, let’s refresh our memories about Jordan’s brand of prophetic oratory.
April 22, 2008, 5:05pm
Wieseltier vs. Sullivan vs. Kristol: Jew-Baiting, Gay-Baiting, Red-Baiting… Yada, Yada, Yada
By Daniel Treiman
Readers of The New Republic know that Leon Wieseltier has an acid pen. But does he also have an itchy trigger finger?
Former TNR editor turned top-tier blogger Andrew Sullivan is fuming after Wieseltier, the magazine’s fiercely brilliant and eloquently mean literary editor, accused him of “Jew-baiting.”
“To be called a ‘Jew-baiter’ in the pages of a magazine I was once proud and honored to edit, and which I love and support, is an extremely wounding blow. It is also untrue and unfair,” Sullivan wrote on his blog.
Lieberman Volunteers His Services for Republican Convention
By Daniel Treiman
The Hill reports:
Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), the Democratic Party’s 2000 vice presidential nominee, is leaving open the possibility of giving a keynote address on behalf of Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) at the Republican National Convention in September.
Republicans close to the McCain campaign say Lieberman’s appearance at the convention, possibly before a national primetime audience, could help make the case that the presumptive GOP nominee has a record of crossing the aisle. That could appeal to much-needed independent voters.
McCain has yet to ask Lieberman to speak, either in primetime or elsewhere, at the convention. But if McCain thinks it will help make his case for the White House, as some of his allies suspect, Lieberman would be willing to speak on his behalf.
“If Sen. McCain, who I support so strongly, asked me to do it, if he thinks it will help him, I will,” Lieberman said in a brief interview.
Lieberman said he doubts McCain will ask him to give a keynote address, but acknowledges the subject has yet to come up in the two senators’ discussions.
A Lieberman aide said even though there are no plans for the Independent to give a speech at the convention, it is a “likely possibility” he will address the Republican audience in some form.
Hat tip: Open Left’s Chris Bowers
Update: Lieberman also is taking some swings at Obama, telling an interviewer that the Illinois senator has “some positions that are far to the left of me and I think mainstream America.”
April 1, 2008, 2:32pm
Obama at the Million Man March
By Daniel Treiman
A few right-wing bloggers have begun buzzing over a 1995 Chicago Reader profile of Barack Obama in which the then Illinois State Senate candidate discussed his participation in the controversial Million Man March, convened by Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.
The 1995 march drew hundreds of thousands of black men to the National Mall in Washington — and caused a degree of consternation in the Jewish community. The Anti-Defamation League, while expressing support for the march’s goals, took out newspaper ads in advance of the gathering, saying it would be “the largest event led by an anti-Semite in recent American history.” Nevertheless, many prominent black leaders participated in the march, and it was endorsed by the Congressional Black Caucus (although the NAACP withheld its endorsement).
The Chicago Reader profile of Obama, which is now linked to on the alternative weekly’s home page, notes that the then-aspiring politico “took time off from attending campaign coffees” to attend the 1995 march:
“What I saw was a powerful demonstration of an impulse and need for African-American men to come together to recognize each other and affirm our rightful place in the society,” [Obama] said. “There was a profound sense that African-American men were ready to make a commitment to bring about change in our communities and lives.
“But what was lacking among march organizers was a positive agenda, a coherent agenda for change. Without this agenda a lot of this energy is going to dissipate. Just as holding hands and singing ‘We shall overcome’ is not going to do it, exhorting youth to have pride in their race, give up drugs and crime, is not going to do it if we can’t find jobs and futures for the 50 percent of black youth who are unemployed, underemployed, and full of bitterness and rage.[“]
The (old) news about Obama’s participation in the march is resurfacing as the Illinois senator attempts to move beyond the controversy over the inflammatory rhetoric of his former pastor, Jeremiah Wright (an admirer of Farrakhan). Ironically, however, the Chicago Reader article actually provides some support for one of the claims that Obama has made while trying to address Jewish anxieties about his candidacy — namely, that he has a record of speaking out against antisemitism in the black community (a point he made in response to a recent televised debate question about Farrakhan).
Indeed, way back in 1995, the young Obama told the Chicago Reader:
”…Historically, African-Americans have turned inward and towards black nationalism whenever they have a sense, as we do now, that the mainstream has rebuffed us, and that white Americans couldn’t care less about the profound problems African-Americans are facing.”
“But cursing out white folks is not going to get the job done. Anti-Semitic and anti-Asian statements are not going to lift us up….”
Read the full Chicago Reader profile here.
March 21, 2008, 5:04pm
Obama Plays the Purim Card
By Daniel Treiman
A week ago, Media Bistro’s TVNewser blog reported that the Clinton campaign may have objected to the possible scheduling of a debate on the first night of Passover (although the blog was tentative on this point, suggested other possible motives and issued an update that the holiday’s first night was only one of the nights under consideration).
Meanwhile, Barack Obama is casting his lot with Purim (which, as the JTA notes, is “a holiday that has rarely if ever been commemorated by any other candidate or Congress member.”)
Yesterday, Obama issued the following statement:
Obama and Israel: The Verdict From the Jewish Weeklies
By Daniel Treiman
The unease in some sectors of the Jewish community about how Barack Obama would handle U.S. policy toward Israel has been a hot story for Jewish newspapers, and this past week several of their editors weighed in on the ongoing communal jibber-jabber.
March 4, 2008, 5:11pm
Barack Obama’s Jewish YouTube Campaign
By Daniel Treiman
Barack Obama’s campaign is taking its Jewish outreach strategy to YouTube with a pair of videos of him talking about Israel.
The first video is a recorded message to the people of Sderot, which was shown at the recent “Live for Sderot” fund-raiser in Los Angeles:
The second features excerpts of his recent remarks to Jewish leaders in Cleveland:
Hat tip: The L.A. Jewish Journal’s Brad Greenberg and Dikla Kodesh
March 3, 2008, 3:16pm
Is Bloomberg’s Right-Hand Man Hinting His Boss Would Play a Good Second Fiddle?
By Daniel Treiman
Last week, my colleague Aram David posted about a Daily News opinion article that made the case for why Michael Bloomberg would make an ideal running mate for Barack Obama. The question, of course, is whether the billionaire mayor would want to be anyone’s second fiddle.
Now, however, key Bloomberg aide (and longtime shadow presidential campaign manager) Kevin Sheekey has made some remarks that are being interpreted as having “promoted the idea of an Obama-Bloomberg presidential ticket,” as an article on NY1’s Web site put it.
Speaking to NY1’s Dominic Carter, Sheekey said:
…you were the one asking about an Obama ticket. I think the mayor is the ultimate swing voter. He is someone who the country is looking at to find out where they will go. He is one of the true independents in the country.
The NY1 article adds that Sheekey “pointedly did not rule out the mayor as Obama’s running mate.”
Bloomberg has long flirted with a president run (amidst a flurry of denials that convinced no one). Last week, Bloomberg finally put the definitive kibosh on talk of a White House run in a cutely titled New York Times Op-Ed “I’m Not Running for President, but …”
Obama, who had met earlier in the campaign with Bloomberg, chatted with the mayor after the publication of his Times article.
Hat tip: Gothamist.
February 29, 2008, 12:45am
Sly's for Sderot
By Daniel Treiman
The stars came out to support for Sderot this week. The L.A. Jewish Journal’s Dikla Kadosh was at the “Live For Sderot” concert/fundraiser at the Wilshire Theater in Beverly Hills. Also in attendance, she reported, were Sylvester Stallone, Mayim Bialik, Maria Conchita Alonzo, Valerie Harper and Hollywood’s No. 1 Judeophile, Jon Voight.
(Ha’aretz has video from interviews with Stallone and other participants here.)
But politics were also a part of the mix. Kadosh reports:
Obama, Farrakhan, Russert and Us
By Daniel Treiman
I confess, as a Jew, I was left squirming in my seat as I watched Tim Russert grill Barack Obama last night about what one TV commentator later casually referred to as “the Jewish issue.” How did Jews wind up being a campaign “issue”?
In part, it’s Russert’s fault. The “Meet the Press” host and debate moderator tossed out the issue of antisemitism before a national audience — and he did so clumsily. His line of questioning conflated a number of issues, mixing together Louis Farrakhan’s antisemitism, Obama’s pastor’s own kooky views and Jewish anxieties about Israel.
At one point, Russert correctly noted that Obama’s pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, has said that Farrakhan “epitomizes greatness” and has traveled to Libya with the Nation of Islam leader to meet Colonel Muammar Qaddafi. Then Russert proceeded to fire off the following muddled mess of a question: “What do you do to assure Jewish Americans that, whether it’s Farrakhan support or the activities of Rev. Jeremiah Wright, your pastor, you are consistent with issues regarding Israel and not in any way suggesting that Farrakhan ‘epitomizes greatness.’”
February 25, 2008, 2:40pm
Obama on Iran, His Pastor, Brzezinski, What Being ‘Pro-Israel’ Means to Him and Other Issues That Give Some Jews the Willies
By Daniel Treiman
Barack Obama met with Jewish leaders in Cleveland and spoke at great length on a number of topics that have sparked Jewish anxieties about his candidacy. The JTA has the transcript.
February 22, 2008, 2:06am
Hillary Wins Israel
By Daniel Treiman
Hillary Clinton may be losing primaries and caucuses left and right, but she apparently has a small reservoir of support among Democrats living in Israel.
Democrats Abroad has released the results of its “Global Presidential Primary,” and in Israel, Clinton managed to edge out Obama, with 190 votes to his 159.
Unfortunately for Clinton, Israel was more the exception than the rule. In fact, Obama won 65.6% of the 22,755 votes cast worldwide to Clinton’s 32.7%. Indeed, of the countries with at least a dozen people voting, the only other ones where Clinton triumphed over Obama were the Dominican Republic (where she did get a whopping 90.3% of the vote) and the Philippines.
According to Democrats Abroad:
These results determine the allocation of 4.5 delegate votes at the Democratic National Convention. Senator Obama won 2.5 delegate votes, and Senator Clinton 2 delegate votes. A further 2.5 votes will be determined at the Democrats Abroad Global Convention in April. In addition, Democrats Abroad holds 4 superdelegate votes. A total of 22 delegates, each with a half vote, will attend the Convention.
The Democrats Abroad Global Primary was conducted February 5-12, 2008. Balloting took place at voting centers in over 30 countries, by mail and fax, and for the first time, on the Internet through a secure online voting system. Online ballots were cast from 164 countries and territories, from Antarctica to Zambia.
For the full results from the “Global Primary,” download this PDF file.
Hat tip: Politico’s Ben Smith
February 6, 2008, 2:04pm
Clinton, Obama Split Connecticut’s Lieberman Dems
By Daniel Treiman
Plenty of folks are wondering where fans of Joseph Lieberman will end up politically now that the Connecticut senator has crossed the aisle to endorse the presidential bid of his Republican Senate colleague John McCain.
It’s a hard question to answer, but exit polls from the Connecticut’s closed Democratic primary shed a little light.
The 32% of Connecticut Democratic primary-goers who said they had a favorable opinion of Lieberman split almost evenly among Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Clinton received 50% of their votes, while Obama got 47%.
Unsurprisingly, among the 74% of Connecticut Republican primary goers who had a favorable view of Lieberman, McCain was the winner, taking 57% of their vote to 33% for Mitt Romney.
February 1, 2008, 4:30pm
AJCommittee's Honorary President Blasts Internal Memo on Obama
By Daniel Treiman
Last week, the Forward reported on an internal memo circulated among American Jewish Committee staffers that raised concerns about what Barack Obama’s policies would be on the Middle East. The AJCommittee distanced itself from the memo — which seemed to echo concerns about the Illinois Democrat’s candidacy that had been percolating in some pro-Israel circles (concerns that the Obama campaign has scrambled to allay, most recently in a conference call with reporters from Jewish media outlets).
Now, the AJCommittee’s honorary president, Alfred Moses, is blasting the memo in no uncertain terms in a letter published in today’s Forward.
January 31, 2008, 8:32pm
Marty Peretz: Obama's Kosher on Israel
By Daniel Treiman
Barack Obama has managed to elicit widespread concern among the pro-Israel community, concerns that he and his campaign have worked hard to allay, but with mixed results. That’s why I bet his campaign’s pretty pleased to have New Republic editor Marty Peretz — someone whose passion for defending Israel (and badmouthing the Palestinians) is beyond dispute — giving him his hechsher.
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