Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Eric Alterman: Why (Many?) Jews fear Obama

In the last paragraph of his very good Nation column on why some Jews fear an Obama presidency, Eric Alterman nails it: he cites Obama's brave honesty in front of a Jewish audience in Cleveland. Such a glimpse into the man suggests why we should vote for him and why so many will oppose him.
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In the last paragraph of his column entitled: (Some) Jews Against Obama, Eric Alterman writes:

What is it that these neocons and their media mouthpieces really fear about an Obama presidency? Perhaps it is honesty about the issue. Speaking to a largely Jewish audience in Cleveland, Obama explained, "There is a strain within the pro-Israel community that says unless you adopt an unwavering pro-Likud approach to Israel, you're anti-Israel and that can't be the measure of our friendship with Israel." Then came his kicker: "One of the things that struck me when I went to Israel was how much more open the debate was around these issues in Israel than they are sometimes here in the United States." No wonder he scares them so...

Read the entire column:

http://bleiersdoc.blogspot.com/2008/03/eric-alterman-why-mainline-jews-fear.html

1 comment:

Ronald said...

Alex wrote:

The problem with Ronald's comments
and also Altman's article is that
it states that Obama's position on Israel must be OK because it is being attacked by the Likudites.
This is simply a non-sequiter.
Obama's position on Israel is not to question the Israeli line: that Hamas is not a legitimate negotiating partner because it is "terrorist", even though it was elected by the Palestinians. Abbas, who is propped up by the US and the Israelis and has proved himself a willing collaborator with Zionism is Obama's choice.
By defending Obama on this one Ronald and Alterman are supporting Zionism from the "Left".
It would be helpful if they reconsidered their positions. Alex