As Obama surges, Jewish supporters cheer

With the Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire primary under his belt, Barack Obama has suddenly emerged as the frontrunner in a Democratic presidential primary battle that just three weeks ago conventional wisdom had all but ceded to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-New York).

The Illinois senator's success has led Democrats in the remaining primary states, including California, to look harder at Obama. But while many Jewish Democrats are assessing the candidate for the first time, there are others who have followed and supported his career from the beginning.

Indeed, Obama has made Jewish leaders an early stop at every stage in his political career. In his first run for the state Senate in Illinois in 1996, he sought the backing of Alan Solow, a top Chicago lawyer. Eight years later, running for the U.S. Senate -- long before he became the shoo-in, when he was running in a Democratic field packed with a dozen candidates, including some Jews -- one of his first meetings was with Robert Schrayer, a top Chicago philanthropist.

http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/preview.php?id=18753

Nice story, thanks for sharing.

It shows that on another issue, the M E, there isn't a dime's bit of difference between the two...

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/notion?pid=175173

Barack Obama did the unthinkable recently: he had the audacity to mention the Palestinians.

"Nobody is suffering more than the Palestinian people," Obama told voters in Iowa on Sunday. That remark hardly endeared him to the hawkish pro-Israel supporters at AIPAC, where Obama (and Hillary) spoke on Monday.

According to the New York Times, Obama and Hillary held dueling receptions to woo Jewish voters. Hillary offered the standard pro-Israel line, even displaying a sign spelling her name in Hebrew (can't imagine Barack translates very well).

In the past, Obama has spoken highly of the Palestinian people and the calamities they've faced. No doubt, his opponents will now try and use that against him. National Review's blog has already posted a picture of him with (gasp) Edward Said.

In the AIPAC primary, it's fair to say Hillary is winning round one.

And pander to all involved parties.

regularly in one's posts (I have seen 7 from you just in the last hour) ... it does NOT mean that one is applying the concept competently - it's more like throwing the same methane manure at each and every wall and seeing what sticks ... just IMHO

Our job is to never forget that the threat of violence is real. Our job
is to renew the United States’ efforts to help Israel achieve peace with
its neighbors while remaining vigilant against those who do not share this
vision. Our job is to do more than lay out another road map; our job is
to rebuild the road to real peace and lasting security throughout the
region.

That effort begins with a clear and strong commitment to the security of
Israel: our strongest ally in the region and its only established
democracy. That will always be my starting point. And when we see all of
the growing threats in the region: from Iran to Iraq to the resurgence of
al-Qaeda to the reinvigoration of Hamas and Hezbollah, that loyalty and
that friendship will guide me as we begin to lay the stones that will
build the road that takes us from the current instability to lasting peace
and security.

It won’t be easy. Some of those stones will be heavy and tough for the
United States to carry. Others with be heavy and tough for Israel to
carry. And even more will be difficult for the world. But together, we
will begin again.





At the same time, we must preserve our total commitment to
our unique defense relationship with Israel by fully funding military
assistance and continuing work on the Arrow and related missile defense
programs. This would help Israel maintain its military edge and deter and
repel attacks from as far as Tehran and as close as Gaza. And
when Israel is attacked, we must stand up for Israel’s legitimate right
to defend itself. Last summer, Hezbollah attacked Israel. By using
Lebanon as an outpost for terrorism, and innocent people as shields,
Hezbollah has also engulfed that entire nation in violence and conflict,
and threatened the fledgling movement for democracy there. That’s why
we have to press for enforcement of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701,
which demands the cessation of arms shipments to Hezbollah, a resolution
which Syria and Iran continue to disregard. Their support and shipment of
weapons to Hezbollah and Hamas, which threatens the peace and security in
the region, must end.



http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2007/03/obamas_aipac_speech_text_as_pr.html

ISRAEL
by Ali Abunimah
March 05, 2007

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I first met Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama almost ten years ago when, as my representative in the Illinois state senate, he came to speak at the University of Chicago. He impressed me as progressive, intelligent and charismatic. I distinctly remember thinking 'if only a man of this calibre could become president one day.'

On Friday Obama gave a speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) in Chicago. It had been much anticipated in American Jewish political circles which buzzed about his intensive efforts to woo wealthy pro-Israel campaign donors who up to now have generally leaned towards his main rival Senator Hillary Clinton.

Reviewing the speech, Ha'aretz Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner concluded that Obama "sounded as strong as Clinton, as supportive as Bush, as friendly as Giuliani. At least rhetorically, Obama passed any test anyone might have wanted him to pass. So, he is pro-Israel. Period."

Israel is "our strongest ally in the region and its only established democracy," Obama said, assuring his audience that "we must preserve our total commitment to our unique defense relationship with Israel by fully funding military assistance and continuing work on the Arrow and related missile defense programs." Such advanced multi-billion dollar systems he asserted, would help Israel "deter missile attacks from as far as Tehran and as close as Gaza." As if the starved, besieged and traumatized population of Gaza are about to develop intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Obama offered not a single word of criticism of Israel, of its relentless settlement and wall construction, of the closures that make life unlivable for millions of Palestinians.

"Reviewing the speech, Ha'aretz Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner concluded that Obama "sounded as strong as Clinton, as supportive as Bush, as friendly as Giuliani."

If a militaristic hawk is saying that he is as "supportive" as Bush and as "friendly" as Giuliani that does not exactly inspire my confidence.

WHO is Obama? Does anybody REALLY know?

hillary has that vote pretty much locked up...

No one panders to AIPAC better than their own Senator from NY.

~

The best government money can buy.

I hope so, without tying himself to the aims of AIPAC like Hillary has.

She has them to thank for her vote authorizing the Iraq war, but has she learned from that experiance?

Yep.

She's learned that if she does what her big financial supporters want she can dance around the consequences later and some Democrats will believe her, while she continues taking the large sums of money from those lobbies.

I really hope the majority of Jewish voters in NY (who dont support the radical APIAC lobby) tell Hillary to stuff it by moving to Obama.

~

awhile back I was looking at conspiracy videos on youtube and caught one of those "new world order" themed ones and it had a clip of Obama at an AIPAC event so I knew to look...

?

Because as we all know --all Jews are zionists and belong to AIPAC. :sarcasm:

racist asshat.

Yep, you're a true Hillary supporter.

was that Hillary polls well among Jews because she is associated with AIPAC

thus your assumption is that most Jews are zionists.


Hence --you are a racist asshat.

Most surveys indicate that American Jews support the continued existence of Israel as the Jewish state.

Also, I think about 80 percent of American Jews identify themselves as Democrats.

Jewish publications or ANY publication boost their contacts with anyone of importance. India Times, both parties, it doesn't matter. Their issues and their readers do. All Dems curry these special groups. This is not MSM. When the bannerline makes a statement one of the things you look for is : foreign press, GOP stooges, alternative meda, etc.

This is very normal and simply shows Obama is well engaged in positively reaching out to a traditional dem base. All good candidates have done so.

group of people on the planet! I am very impressed, he will be getting my vote!