After months of being hit with accusations that he’ll be too weak in his support of Israel, Sen. Barack Obama faced the opposite assertion on Sunday from Ralph Nader, the consumer crusader who kicked off his third consecutive White House bid.
Nader told Tim Russert on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Democratic frontrunner Obama had been an advocate for the Palestinians before he ran for the Senate in Illinois, but has since shifted gears.
“His better instincts and knowledge have been censored by himself, and I give you an example: the Israeli-Palestinian issue, which is a real off-the-table issue for the candidates,” said Nader. “Don’t touch that, even though it is central to our security and to the situation in the Middle East. He was pro-Palestinian when he was in Illinois, before he ran for the state senate, during the state senate.
“Now he is supporting the Israeli destruction of the tiny section called Gaza, with a million and half people. He doesn’t have any sympathy for a civilian death ratio of about 300 to one, 300 Palestinians to one Israeli.”
In an interview from Israel where he is attending a global conference on anti-Semitism, Abraham Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League said Nader was “accusing
not only of pandering but of being controlled by pro-Israel forces. This is par for the course for Nader. It’s a way for him to express his bigotry and bias.”
When asked for a statement, Obama’s campaign released one stating that: “Barack Obama’s longstanding support for Israel’s security is rooted in his belief that no civilians should have to live with the threat of terrorism. In Gaza, Hamas continues to fire rockets indiscriminately at Israeli civilians every day, and that’s why it is long past time that Hamas renounces terrorism, recognizes Israel’s right to exist, and abides by past agreements. ”
http://www.thejewishweek.com/viewArticle/c37_a4596/News/National.html