Obama on Zionism and Hamastbn0.google.com
Obama on Zionism and Hamas
Added 1862 days ago in Society & Religion
jeffreygoldberg.theatlantic.com — The Hamas leader Ahmed Yousef did Barack Obama no favor recently when he said: "We like Mr. Obama and we hope that he will win the election." John McCain jumped on this statement, calling it a "legitimate point of discussion," and tied it to Obama's putative softness on Iran, whose ever-charming president last week called Israel a "stinking corpse" and predicted its "annihilation."

The Hamas episode won't help Obama's attempts to win over Jewish voters, particularly those in such places as - to pull an example from the air - Palm Beach County, Florida, whose Jewish residents tend to appreciate robust American support for Israel, and worry about whether presidential candidates feel the importance of Israel in their kishkes, or guts.

Obama and I spoke over the weekend about Hamas, about Jimmy Carter, and about the future of Jewish settlements on the West Bank. He seemed eager to talk about his ties to the Jewish community, and about the influence Jews have had on his life. Among other things, he told me that he learned the art of moral anguish from Jews. We spoke as well about my Atlantic cover story on Israel's future. He mentioned his interest in the opinions of the writer David Grossman, who is featured in the article. "I remember reading The Yellow Wind when it came out, and reading about Grossman now is powerful, painful stuff." And, speaking in a kind of code Jews readily understand, Obama also made sure to mention that he was fond of the writer Leon Uris, the author of Exodus.

Here are excerpts

Report This Post
Posted by rfuller
Add To Favorites
133 Votes
Similar Issues
2 Comments
ShareThis
Is Barack Obama a true friend to Israel?
Yes, unequivocally
45%
No, not with certainty
55%
This is not a scientific survey, click here to learn more. Results may not total 100% due to rounding and voting descrepencies.
User Comments
james2044
Posted 1862 days ago
0 up votes, 0 down votes
Obama is a "true friend" of Hamas.
Charles43
Posted 1861 days ago
0 up votes, 0 down votes
You can not be president if you're not!!!!!!!!!!!!
You will have 2 minutes to edit your comment.

Add your comments