Obama on Zionism, Israel and Hamas... and my Translation

Obama recently participated in an interview with Jeffrey Goldberg of the 'Atlantic'. These are just a few quotes that stood out to me, and my translation of the quotes for those of you with rusty radars:

"When Israel invaded Lebanon two summers ago, I was in South Africa, a place where, obviously, when you get outside the United States, you can hear much more critical commentary about Israel’s actions."

Where to begin? Let's not even argue with Obama's characterization "Israel invaded Lebanon two summers ago", when in fact it was Hezbollah that invaded Israel and kidnapped soldiers...but hey, that's just detail. Far more disturbing is how Obama slyly tells us that Jews are suppressing free speech about Israel, and only in places like South Africa, "outside the US," can people speak freely about Jews and Israel. Obama may not even realize the anti-Semitic undertone of his remark, or, as I believe is more likely he is sending a message to those who fully understand the meaning of his words.....

JG: Do you think that Israel is a drag on America’s reputation overseas?
BO: No, no, no. But what I think is that this constant wound, that this constant sore, does infect all of our foreign policy.

"Constant wound that infects all of our foreign policy." He leaves it up to others to understand that remark as they will. Is Israel the wound? Is the Arab-Israeli conflict the wound? Either way, it plays to the Arab narrative.

"I always joke that my intellectual formation was through Jewish scholars and writers, even though I didn’t know it at the time."

This to me does not stand the believability test... his 'intellectual formation' through 20 years with the Reverend Wright seems more credible.

"There are those in the Arab world who say to themselves, this is a guy who spent some time in the Muslim world, has a middle name of Hussein, and appears more worldly and has called for talks with people, and so he’s not going to be engaging in the same sort of cowboy diplomacy as George Bush, and that’s something they’re hopeful about. I think that’s a perfectly legitimate perception as long as they’re not confused about my unyielding support for Israel’s security."

This is where Obama uses slick double-talk to have it both ways... carefully navigating the ugly issue of Radical Muslims supporting him while avoiding offending them ("appears more worldly...Cowboy Bush"...etc...) while craftfully reassuring the more naive Jews reading this interview. One slick cookie!

Criticism from Some of the more hawkish elements in the Jewish community in the United States might stem from the fact that I’m not going to blindly adhere to whatever the most hawkish position is just because that’s the safest ground politically."

This is where Obama appeals to naive Jews liberal sense of fair play and what passes for Sister-souljah-like "straight talk". And since most Jews are naive liberals, it never hurts to frame the issue in terms of Hawk vs.Dove, rather than right vs. wrong, or truth vs. lie.

"I want to solve the problem, and so my job in being a friend to Israel is partly to hold up a mirror and tell the truth and say if Israel is building settlements without any regard to the effects that this has on the peace process, then we’re going to be stuck in the same status quo that we’ve been stuck in for decades now, and that won’t lift that existential dread that David Grossman described in your article."

Aside from the horrible assertion that Jewish "settlements" are the root of the problem, this is classic double-talk and should be of serious concern to any supporter of Israel. As "your friend" I'm going to hold up the mirror. What he is really saying is I'm going to #%&! Israel over, not as an enemy but as a "Friend", like a Jim Baker or Jimmy Carter kind of friend. It's like when somebody says "with all due respect", you know the next thing coming out of their mouths will be something completely disrespectful.

He then he goes on to refer to the Israeli writer David Grossman, one of the most extreme left-wingers in Israel as an intellectual guide. Of course, he knows that most US Jews have no idea who David Grossman is, but he is Israeli and he is Jewish...kind of the way Uncle Tom is black and American.

"I have such ardent defenders among my Jewish friends in Chicago."

Indeed, some of my "best friends" are Jewish...as they say.

Stop Believing Obama