ISRAEL: An Israeli view of Obama and his pastor

From a new blog by two distinguished Israeli authors comes a commentary by Haim Watzman on Sen. Barack Obama and his former pastor -- a relationship that reminds Watzman of his own mixed feelings about his first rabbi in Israel.

Having moved from America to Israel as a young man 30 years ago, Watzman admired Rabbi Tzefaniah Drori for his dedication to the town of Kiryat Shmonah, a poor community that was the frequent target of Palestinian rockets. But while attending synagogue services, Watzman came to detest the messianic doctrine of Israeli territorial expansion that the rabbi preached.

"People choose religious communities for lots of different reasons," Watzman writes. "So, while I think the politics of Reverend Jeremiah Wright abhorrent, I assumed from the start that many in his church don't hold the same beliefs -- Barack Obama among them. Obama has done the right thing by making this explicit."

Watzman describes himself as a supporter of Sen. Hillary Clinton, Obama's rival for the Democratic presidential nomination. "But I admire Obama for having the courage and forthrightness to address the issue of Reverend Wright straight on. ... People may still have reasons for opposing Obama, but his association with Reverend Wright should not be one of them."

Watzman's comment highlights a difference in the way Israelis and Americans view Obama. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz, using a panel of experts to rate how "good for Israel" each U.S. presidential candidate would be, says Israelis find more fault with Obama for his willingness to speak to the president of Israel's arch-enemy Iran than with his association with his former pastor.

— Richard Boudreaux in Jerusalem

Photo: Democratic Illinois senator and 2008 presidential candidate Barack Obama spoke to the National Jewish Democratic Council's Washington conference at Almas Temple last year. Credit: Matthew Cavanaugh / EPA

Comments

[Reginald]

The simple truth is that no country can feed all its people well or provided good jobs for all. Education is a waste of time if you cannot find a high level job. We must give up all these thoughts of so-called hope because they are a silly dream. People with hopes that are not met will cause civil disturbance. It is much better to have more television to keep everyone calm and American streets safe. The only exception is that war brings good, high paying jobs making high-tech weapons. That is why I like Hillary. No hope there.

[jose]

OBAMA IS UNELECTABLE IN GENERAL ELECTION
Easy to see already see Republican attack ads against Obama. First open with videos of racist wife, Michelle, saying she was proud of America "for the first time" because of her husband's presidential candidacy, next Obama explaining that he doesn't wear an American flag lapel pin or hold his hands to his heart during the Pledge of Allegiance because it is a "substitute for true patriotism." Then flash a clip of Obama explaining that his Caucasian grandmother was a "typical white person" because she uttered racial epithets and was afraid of black people. Finally, the coup de grace, pictures of Obama's angry, arm-waving preacher blaming the United States for 9/11 and shouting "God Damn America" to the rafters of Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ and preaching the U.S. government formulated the HIV AIDS virus to commit genocide against blacks. Even though Obama supposedly condemning Wright's shocking verbal assaults against the U.S and White Americans, even last year; Obama was the first to public ally demand Don Imus ouster for making a racially insensitive remark, and Obama continues to support Wrights racism and remains at the church for more than 20 years, he and Michelle obviously feels it’s a good environment to expose his young daughters too. His opinions and issues change with the weather, he is too UNSTABLE and proven he cannot make a decision or stay with one. If that’s not enough, then you start showing his terrible senate voting record, Obama when faced with tough choices always gave in to pressure from the Bush administration or corporate lobbyists, Obama dealings with one of his largest contributors, Exelon, a big nuclear power company and the deals he cut behind closed doors to protect them from full disclosure in the nuclear industry. Obamas record shows he infact did support the war when he got to the senate, voted twice against bringing America's troops back home. He voted for war appropriations giving our money to Halliburton and Blackwater where Texas woman, was gang-raped by her co-workers at a Halliburton/KBR camp in Baghdad, His latest bit of posturing S 433 allows the Bush Administration to suspend any troop withdrawal, if not suspended, keeps the troops in Iraq for a long time to come, but in his camp stumps touts he wants to bring troops home, but as we have witnessed his recent lies to voters like Canada he cannot be trusted on his word and lastly ALL the corrupt indicted financial backers, like Rezko…Get out of the race Obama you are destroying the democratic party!

CNN-Passport exec is Obama adviser, CEO of the company whose employees accused of improperly looking at the passport files of presidential candidates is consultant on foreign policy to the Barack Obama campaign

[timothy]

Obama is an agent of the Iranians, no wonder his middle name is Hussein (just kidding). But really lets face it, the Iranians have been punking us from day one of this war. Chalabi was their agent:

http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2004/05/04/chalabi/

And now Ahmadinejad punks us by rolling in with a car into Iraq, warmly greeted by its leaders, etc. etc. etc.

http://irannegah.com/Video.aspx?id=506

And they punked the British in this never seen before video:

http://irannegah.com/Video.aspx?id=539

END THE WAR NOW!

[willie]

I am a hispanic living in Kansas. The land of OZ, and craddle of Obama's mom. The support of our next President for Israel and its people is of the utmost importance for all Americans. It is important especially for our family since some of our family members are Jewish, my uncles adopted. So, to us we're Hispanic's and Jews. The Gospel of Barack Obama. Just because Obama says he is willing to talk to Iran, doesn't mean that his willingness should be construed as one of fear for our brothers in Israel but a chance to bring about a greater security for Israel. So, far from my own experience in the Middle East, it is clear that we have a lot of work to do. Much is said about Iraq, but most of us are not as aware of the instablility that Iran keeps feeding in the area. The war in Iraq would have been done long ago, if Iran wasn't actively waging a war of terrorism in Iraq. Most of us call it the Iraq war, but it is really the Iran war. It is fought in the provinces of Iraq and Afghanistan, and at the gas pump. While the war rages on, and Israel no safer than it was when GW took office. One thing is clear. Mr. Obama might talk to Iran but the words that Iran might get may be a stern warning, you mess with Israel you mess with the US. I know he wouldn't have it any other way.

[lukas]

Ok, this Wright stuff is disturbing, very. But the bigger problem I have for Mr. Obama is his pattern of saying one thing and then distancing himself from those words when the opposite is revealed at a later date. That is called "spin", people. We have a need and right to know Senator Obama from every angle and what he believes when he talks of equality and a "vision" for America.

To say that Clinton +/or Obama is at fault for the direction the Democratic campaign has headed, is ludicrous and short-sighted. America is a melting pot of races, genders, culture, etc. and we each have a personal interest in seeing "ourselves" in our President. With that connection comes passion and emotional investment. However, it also must be tempered with information about the candidates (good and bad, without negative "label" attached to said information) so that we can make informed choices, rather than only emotionally-driven ones. To Americans: try to take off the blinders of opinion polls, media spin, mud and excitement. That person is Senator Clinton. She has worked hard and diligently for all Americans, and spent years building strong relationships because she has a passionate vision of what America can be, not just because she's running for President. Vetted, intelligent, tested and hardworking.

[David]

To those who say Obama doesn't know what it is like to grow up in Chicago's south side because he was not in US from age 2 to 10, I say Amen.

How big was your world between the ages of 2 and 10? For me, it was a small world. It extended from my house to my school. That's it.

Even though I grew up in India, I know more about what it is like to grow up in South Dallas. How do I know that? I know it becaus I go there to deliver food for the meals-on-wheels program. I know what it is like to be waiting for over 12 hours to see a doctor at the Parkland Hospital emergency room because I was a volunteer there. I know how difficult it is to afford a car, and education, clothes and food, because I started my life in this country with $20 and a free lodging from someone for the first two months in this country. I know a little bit about other cultures, because I travel to different countries and walk and talk to the locals, dine with the locals, and try to learn about their cultures.

Obama lived in different countries. He visits the down-trodden. He sees their grief.

It is easy to sit in front of big screen televeision and regurgitate the twisted lies and half-truths that flashy news anchors feed you. Get off the couch. Go to the poor sections in your city. Help them learn to read and write. Give then job training. Go see how people in other countries live before you start cursing them and dropping bombs on them.

[Edward]

Israel is currently discriminating against its non Jewish citizens. They are creating generations of angry people who HATE ISRAEL just like Jim Crow made some blacks hate America. Nonetheless blacks fought and died to establish their status as equal members in the society. I think the struggle in Israel is similar for the Palistinians.
Even if they Arab Israelis have some legal rights they're not respected by the Jewish majority that is artificially maintained by denying Palistinains there humanity and citizenship. America is busy trying to grant citizenship to illegal immigrants, but Israel seeks to deny citizenship to millions of people who lived on the land for centuries.
The perspective from Israel is for these reasons useless and highly suspicious. Why is this newspaper seeking the views of people in a country that has horrible religious and ethnic relations. Would we want the view from apartheid South Africa? What can Israel teach the world about peace, its been in constant ethnic religous strife for 60 years. Israel needs to learn from America not teach it.
I am certainly more interested in views from China, Russia, United Kingdom, countries that matter with large populations. We can put our nationlistic tendencies in context perhaps. Other than that, America's foriegn policy did cause 9-11 check the Bin Laden Tapes or 9-11 report. The media is spreading pure propaganda about Muslims hating our freedom. This stupidity is hurting the country, its time the media learns to tell the truth again 6 years after the towers came down.

PROPAGANDA HURTS AMERICA.

[David]

"...while attending synagogue services, Watzman came to detest the messianic doctrine of Israeli territorial expansion that the rabbi preached."

That is absolutely right. I don't agree with every viewpoint of my pastor. If I lived by what my white pastor said, I would be biggot. If I lived by what one of the other priests said, then I would be a belligerent, selfish, and detestable person. If I lived by what some of the other priests said, I would be broke and standing by the road begging for money. I don't think anyone takes the words of their pastor and live by it 100%.

We all have enough brains to filter out outrageous arguments and choose the middle ground. If Obama took the bad part of his pastor's preaching, then, instead of becoming a senator, he would have joined a radical group.

[David McFarland]

Happy will be the day when all of the people of this planet will come to address each of us by earthling's and not by religion's. By the way, if the middle east is the Holy Land, please do not show me the Unholy Land.

[JESUS]

I think Obama was at the Black church SPYING for those 15 years.

Being raised by a white parent, maybe he NEEDED to know what he'd have to deal with as a future President, by getting an UNDERSTANDING of the Black and Latino perspectives.

[Yaakov Sullivan]

I admire Pastor Wright 'sopinions. Israel uses terriorism against Hezballah and Hamas freedom fighters and works against Iran. As a Catholic Jew I condemn Israel and AIPAC. As a missionary I was constantly harassed by Jews in Israel, but was loved by Palestinians.