The Democratic National Committee has responded to the controversy over pro-Israel language being deleted from its 2012 platform by pinning the blame on President Obama’s Israel policies. CNN’s Dana Bash reports:
CNN’s Dana Bash: I asked the DNC [why it omitted sections of its 2008 Israel plank from its 2012 platform] and we have an answer. And their answer was that they were simply following what the Obama administration’s policy is, and the White House said several months ago that the status of Jerusalem is an issue that should be resolved in the final status negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians, and that is why it is not in the platform as it was in 2008.
That was obviously the reason for the platform changes, but it’s still interesting that the Democratic National Committee pointed the finger at Obama so quickly. It’s possible the DNC was worried about the long-term fallout with donors; this seems like one of those issues that would outrage the DNC’s pro-Israel Democratic contributors.
It’s easy to see how this could snowball into a serious problem for both the Obama campaign and the Democratic Party. Democrats have been telling the Jewish community since 2008 that Obama can be trusted on Israel — and now it turns out his administration isn’t just pursuing some questionable Israel policies, but also eroding the entire party’s previous pro-Israel stances.
Where is Alan Dershowitz? I am sure he has a good explanation. Alan, where are you?
Dershowitz has given some cover to Obama on this. I suspect he won't this time, but we'll see. n nThis is an amazing vindication of what many on this site have been saying for years. To delete the "strongest ally in the Middle East" language breaks absolutely new ground. n nThe fact Obama thinks he can get away with this suggests either he is very confident he will get the Jewish vote no matter what, and he's probably right.
As long as Obama favors unlimited abortion and appoints leftist judges to the Supreme Court he has most of the Jewish vote locked up regardless of what he says or does about Israel, a country that most American Jews have never visited unlike England, France, Italy, Mexico and Canada.
Well, not quite 'no matter what..' I suspect that a portion of his Jewish suppport would vanish if he were to commute Pollard's sentence. Short of that, I can't think of much.
I believe, certainly hope, that you got that backwards regarding commuting Pollard's sentence. Jews, this one for sure, cannot be that bad.
Vandag, when Pollard was sentenced, some of the people who screamed the loudest were weel to do social climbing Jews who were prominent in the Federation and establishment Jewish organizations, country clubs and non-Orthodox synagogues, as well as in the non-Jewish community and the Democratic party. Those same types continue to oppose any effort for clemency. I hope I got it wrong as well, but no, I did not mispeak.
On the US commitment to prevent Iran from obtaining the bomb, Obama looked Dershowitz in the eye and said, "I don't bluff" and Dershowitz bought it. It's amazing how an otherwise intelligent person can be so completely taken in when ego, ideology, and wishful thinking are involved. Lawyers, who should know better, are suckers for a credible performance.
I was going to ask the same question about Mayor Koch but I see that he has been hospitalized with pneumonia. May he have a refuah shlemah. May he also open his eyes to the man he is supporting for president.
The most important issues to Alan Dershowitz are abortion and gay marriage. The defense of israel rates a distant third—at best. He was fairly blunt a few years ago while debating Melanie Phillips.
Screw Dershowitz. He tookk great pleasure in defending OJ yet has not touched a root 'legality' standing in the way of a an Israel/Arab peace – the UN's one off definition of what constitutes a a 'refugee' as applied to the great and ancient Palestinian nation – which keeps alive the Arab dream to dismantle Israel. n nIn the meantime, he bleats and drones on and on about how the 'settlements' are a root cause of the failure of the 'peace process'. n nHe is blind, for all his fame and reputation.
Forget Dershowitz. The issue is this is a major change to the platform. It is very different from the dust ups about the 1967 lines, Jerusalem, etc. Those were bad enough, but could be explained (bogusly, but still explained) as being about particular policies, not the overall relationship. This goes to the relationship itself, and downgrades it. n nI humbly ask any Pro Israel Democrat reading this site to explain how to reconcile this groundbreaking downgrade of the overall relationship with Obama's professed Pro Israel bona fides.
Obama will quickly try to repair the damage. He will throw his gullible pro-Israel followers a bone. How did it get to this point? How could such an alleged blunder ever occur? There are obviously mixed emotions on this issue within the leadership of the Democratic Party.
Alan, extremist numero uno: your President. n nWhat a maroon.
Yes, Obama has Israel's back. And he's stuck a knife in it to hold his undying offer of support in place. So now *West* Jerusalem is officially enshrined in the Democratic Platform as up for negotiation.
You can diss Dershowitz all you want but the fact is he can make the case for Israel calmly, rationally, and in a way that convinces a lot of people. Seriously, I've met Arabs who changed their minds after reading his book. Dershowitz opposes the "Greater Israel" type of settlers, but has always placed the blame for the failure of the peace process squarely on Palestinian rejectionism. n nWhile Obama's shifting position on J'lem shows he has a tin ear politically, it has no import practically. J'lem will not be divided because 1) most Isaelis don't want it 2) the Israeli govt doesn't want it 3) there is no practical way to do it. n nWhat we should be worried about is Obama's position on Iran. n
let's worry about both. with obama past is prologue to future "flexibility"–and it will be Israel and her supporters on the Team Obama Twister mat
Obama is the most dangerous president our country has ever had. He is a danger to the US. He is a danger to Israel. He is a danger to Western society and culture. He sacrifices all of these in order to promote a resurgence of Islamic dominion and dhimmi status for non-believers. He has released the genie from its bottle and we will all be the worse for its spreading hatred and violence. An evil darkness is spreading across our world. First up for sacrifice are the Jews.
Why, should “we” be worried about Obama’s position on Iran? How does that help the situation, that is, to worry about this pathetic individual, who never qualified to be a US President, who is not sympathetic to either Jews or Israel who received 78% of The American jewish vote four years ago and probably 9 out of ten of them are preparing to do it again. Now THAT is something to worry about if you feel as though it is worth your limited time on earth to do that. No. The DNC Platform on Jerusalem is Obama’s platform which when added to the other examples of his, shall we say, “curious logic” paints a picture of a US President who is horny to flush Israel down the toilet for good in his second term. Where are the full page ads in all the papers summarizing Obama record on Israel? It should be clear, concise and direct to the point. Now is the time, the information is there, get your frigging asses out of your safety zones and throw down a gauntlet. It is getting too close to the election.
Do I need to list them all, no I should not.
Immediately after being elected Obama runs to arabia, bows before saudi and puts in an appearance in a muslim brotherhood university. Does he take a ten minute flight to Israel and it’s capital Jerusalem, NO WAY.
Obama pressures Israel for settlement freeze including Jerusalem(WHAT A COINCIDENCE)gets it and blames Israel when the fakestinians want more concessions in return for more deadly terrorism.
etc etc, look, the American Electorate are psychlogically in a bad way, challenged. They have been for nearly thirty years discriminated in their own country by hostile foreigners, many or most the legal ones, who have their green cards in hand when the US employer greets them with a job, low interest loans and quich promotions as long as they do the right thing and torture The Americans. I fought the SOB’s and I’ve sucessfully waged war against them for 30 years, it’s been rough, wanna know how; they under estimate us.Also, never rely on your attorney to do the whole job.
Americans need to be spoon fed, they cannot put it all together, we need to help them understand who Obama is and what he has planned for Israel in his next term. If Obama is re-elected, Israel may be finished, okay. By showing Mubarak the door and ushering in the muslim brothers, he has met his goal for term one. Why do you suppose he is working so hard to get Netanyahu out. After all, Bibi is willing to negotiate a palestinian state, yet no takers, including Obama. No, Obama wants a different deal. It is going to be one in which Israel as we know it can not and will not survive. And you want to make an issue about some ego maniac attorney who has about as much character as Bill Clinton and defends OJ Simpson for the loot, get out of here, he is a whore. His seeming support for Israel is a clever attorney’s technique to redeem his tattered image. It will not help Dersh, nice try though.
Israel is going to have to stop procrastinating soon and now is the time to let those so called “Jewish” supporters of Obama know exactly who and what they are supporting. They need to be officially informed, lest they be sooo ignorant and if needed humiliated. If Israel falls, we are dead meat here in the US too, it will not take very long.
Obama has pulled a Jim Baker ("f^ck the Jews") and no longer cares. Why should we worry about how deeply to genuflect to hopefully attract his eye again?
People who are skeptical about President Obama's positions on Israel should consider the following: n nObama has taken many positive actions for Israel including: rejecting the Goldstone report that criticized Israeli actions in the war in Gaza; asking Congress to approve a $205 million package to help Israel build a new anti-missile defense system; successfully advocating for Israel’s admission into the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development; giving a speech in the heart of the Arab world, in which he told his listeners that they need to recognize the legitimacy of a Jewish state; stating to the UN General Assembly clearly and unequivocally that “Israel is a sovereign state and the historic homeland of the Jewish people” and “It should be clear to all that efforts to chip away at Israel’s legitimacy will only be met by the unshakeable opposition of the US.” n nIsraeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have stated many times that the U.S. has been extremely cooperative in meeting Israel’s security needs. n nAnother example of Obama’s strong support for Israel is his very positive response to a frantic, middle-of-the-night call from Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu that helped free six Israelis who were trapped in the Israeli embassy in Cairo that was under attack by militant Egyptians. After they were freed, Netanyahu said: "I would like to express my gratitude to the President of the United States, Barack Obama. I asked for his help. This was a decisive and fateful moment. He said, “I will do everything I can.” And so he did. He used every considerable means and influence of the United States to help us. We owe him a special measure of gratitude. This attests to the strong alliance between Israel and the United States." n nOn September 22, 2011, Prime Minister Netanyahu heaped additional praise on President Obama for his talk at the United Nations, in which Obama expressed opposition to U.N. recognition of a Palestinian state, and indicated that he would veto a resolution supporting that recognition in the U.N. Security Council. Netanyahu indicated that Obama deserved a “badge of honor” for that talk. n nPeople who think President Obama has a negative attitude toward Jews or that he is more sensitive to Muslims than Jews should consider the following: his initial chief of staff Rahm Emanuel is Jewish and the son of Israelis; his present chief of staff Jack Lew is an Orthodox Jew; one of his key advisors David Axlerod, is Jewish, and he is also a key strategist for Obama’s reelection campaign; Obama nominated a Jew, Elana Kagan, as a Supreme Court Justice (even though that left the 9-member Court with three Jews and no Protestant members; he is the first president to have Passover Seders in the White House; and Obama and his cabinet members have frequently stressed their solidarity with Jews and with Israel. n nI think it is important to stress that Israel needs a resolution of her conflict with the Palestinians in order to be able to avert renewed conflict, effectively address her economic, social, and environmental problems, avoid increased isolation and criticism, and remain both a Jewish and a democratic state. Of course this will not be easy to obtain, but I believe it should be a priority, with conditions to provide security for Israel a prime consideration. Failure to obtain such a resolution will have very negative consequences for Israel, the Palestinians, the US, and, indeed, the entire world. n n
As one of those who stole your religion, Richard, I respectfully disagree.
Well you certainly have the mis-information game down pat, what time will you be speaking at the DNC? nWhile I read your whole propaganda piece, I really lost interest at point #3; Tax rates under a Romney Administration will be quite generous to the middle-class, especially if you invest , meanwhile do the poorest among us actually pay Federal Income tax? They do not, in fact I think the lowest 30% of wage earners pay a negative rate, meaning they get more back than is taken from their paychecks. You sir are the perfect Democrat, half-truths and down right fabrications mixed in with a touch of utopia.