Posted by
J-GOP on Friday, March 21, 2008 2:05:28 PM
According to an article by Dana Milbank of The Washington Post, entitled, "The Audacity of Chutzpah", a group of Jewish leaders meet at the Washington Hilton the week for the United Jewish Communities, to participate in a debate surrounding issues on Israel and where each presidential candiate stands on the issue.
Representing John McCain was former secretary of state Lawrence Eagleburger. Representing Hillary Clinton was former White House official Ann Lewis. And finally, representing Barack Obama: was a high-level (TBA)."
TBA? Obama's Jewish problem must be getting worse.
This TBA was finally identified as Princeton professor Dan Kurtzer, a former ambassador to Israel. When it was his turn to address the debate, he went quickly on defense, and said:
"There's a question in the community that's unfortunately been stimulated and stirred about and played with in e-mails and innuendos and newspaper articles," he said, "that suggests that there's something wrong with Senator Obama's views about Jews, about Israel." He then suggested that Jews could relate to Obama's persecution. "There are nagging doubts, there are e-mails, there are innuendos: These are the kinds of things which we as a community have suffered over the years at the hands of anti-Semites."
As Milbank points out, it took a bit of chutzpah to play the anti-Semite for Obama -- but these are tense times for the senator from Audacity.
Obama is in trouble because his pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, was caught on tape preaching such gospel as "God damn America" and accusing Israel of "state terrorism against the Palestinians."
Kurtzer, granted his turn to speak, attempted to argue that "on issues relating to Israel, frankly, there aren't any differences among the three candidates." Eagleburger looked at him incredulously; the audience laughed.
Kurtzer attempted to defuse the Wright controversy. "For many of you who belong to synagogues and Jewish community centers, as I have all my life, we would not want to be judged by the words of rabbis who sometimes say ridiculous things," he reasoned.
The others used their time to raise doubts about Obama's fealty to Israel. "Senator Obama has said that he commits in his first year as president to meeting with President Ahmadinejad of Iran," Lewis said. McCain, Eagleburger added, "will not talk with the Syrians, will not talk with the Iranians, will not talk with Hamas and Hezbollah. . . . He isn't going to push the Israelis."
Next question to Kurtzer: Obama's assertion that he needn't have a "Likud view" -- that of Israel's right-wing party -- to be pro-Israel. Kurtzer explained that Obama wanted to see a "plurality of views." There was silence in the room.
To that, Lewis retorted: "The role of the president of the United States is to support the decisions that are made by the people of Israel. It is not up to us to pick and choose from among the political parties." The audience members applauded.
Eagleburger piled on. "There's a distinction between those you do talk to," he said, "and those who declare themselves as intent on the destruction of the state of Israel. And if that's their policy, I think we ought not talk to them." More applause.
After this meeting, Kurtzer may think twice before being Obama's TBA again at a debate on U.S.- Israeli relations.