Posted on 06/15/2008 8:52:43 AM PDT by SJackson
(IsraelNN.com) Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama's comment and subsequent backtrack on an "undivided Jerusalem" has turned the capital into an election campaign issue, the New York Jewish Week reported. Sen. Obama later softened his statement, saying that the status of the city will be decided by Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA).
Orthodox Union (OU) political director Nathan Diament commented, "Sen. Obama made it an issue by highlighting it in the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) speech, so now it’s not just the issue, but whether the candidates, both Obama and [Republican presidential candidate Senator John] McCain, speak clearly and consistently about that issue."
Sen. Obama hit the headlines with his original comment that "any agreement with the Palestinian people must preserve Israel’s identity as a Jewish state, with secure, recognized and defensible borders. Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel, and it must remain undivided."
Arab officials quickly and harshly condemned him for the statement, and less than 24 hours later explained on CNN, "Obviously it is going to be up to the parties to negotiate a range of these issues, and Jerusalem will be part of those negotiations. My belief is that as a practical matter it would be very difficult to execute. And I think that it is smart for us to work through a system in which everybody has access to the extraordinary religious sites in Old Jerusalem. But Israel has a legitimate claim on that city."
Jeremy Ben-Ami, director of the dovish J Street Lobby, charged that Israeli groups, such as the OU, are trying "to make it politically untenable for an American president to play the role of honest broker and mediator. They are attempting to inject this into the political process and make it costly for candidates to support what has traditionally been U.S. policy."
Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain stated, "Jerusalem is undivided. Jerusalem is the capital, and we should move our embassy to Jerusalem before anything else happens."
Republican party official Matthew Brooks said, "The Obama flip-flop on Jerusalem shows to the electorate that he is just another politician who will say anything to any group in order to get elected."
Jordan, when it occupied eastern Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria after the Six-Day War in 1967, denied Christians and Jews access to holy sites. Israel opened up free passage to all religious sites after the area was restored to the Jewish state after 2,000 years.
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I’m not a fan of McCain’s, but why should he too be held responsible for Obama’s lies and distortions, and his recent flip-flop on the Jerusalem issue? I don’t trust McCain, particularly, but Obama is clearly a Palestinian lover. His close associates include Communists, Muslims, Black Muslims, and Palestinian terrorists. There is no reason to think that he has abandoned his hatred of Jews and of Israel, except for purposes of this campaign.
Obama is an old friend and associate of Louis Farrakhan, and Rev. Wright, his pastor of twenty years, is openly on record as a raving white hater and Jew hater.
McCain was very early supporter of the Muslim Albanians and their takeover of Kosovo. But when it comes to Israel, he is clearly far more trustworthy than Obama, who would not mind at all if Israel ceased to exist.
Obama Clarifies Remarks on Jerusalem
Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.) earned a rousing ovation at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee policy conference by announcing that “Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel, and it must remain undivided.”
While Obama was currying favor with Jewish voters he was alienating other allies. Khaled Meshal, the exiled head of the Palestinian terror group Hamas, called Obama’s remarks a “betrayal of the Muslim cause. President Carter assured us we could trust this man. What is he doing siding with the Zionists?”
An Obama campaign advisor tried to clarify the Senator’s position by pointing out that “no specified period of time was committed to. The Senator is saying that Jerusalem is the capital and will remain so for some time. How long is a matter to be determined by negotiation with the Palestinians. It could be six-months, six-years or whatever length of time is mutually agreeable. The important thing right now is to ensure that Senator Obama has the support of a majority of voters next November.”
read more...
http://www.azconservative.org/Column_Archives.htm
I'm sure Matt Brooks knows that Obama is a heck of a lot worse than that vis-a-vis Israel and Jews and general. Don't pull any punches, Matt.
BTW, the description of Matt Brooks as a "Republican party official" is not quite correct. He is the Executive Director of the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC).
“... It could be six-months, six-years or whatever length of time is mutually agreeable. The important thing right now is to ensure that Senator Obama has the support of a majority of voters next November.”
In other words, just ignore what he says, vote for him and he’ll figure it all out when he’s in office...
How pathetic is that kind of a statement by a campaign advisor...If this is what the Obama ‘08 campaign has to offer, whooooo, we’re in trouble if he wins.
How pathetic for Israel that the status of the capital city is the concern of a foreign country. No one will do anything for Israel that Israel doesn’t have the guts to do for itself.
Tell all embassies in Israel to move to Jerusalem or get out of the country. Even Turkey. Even America. They can go if they choose. If they have something to say to us, they can use the phone.
bttt
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