Does Obama have a Jewish problem?

OK, it's from the Jerusalem Post, so you have to take that into consideration, but I've gotten this e-mail from like 10 different people today, so its obviously made its way around the internet...

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?apage=1&cid=1203589810710&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

 

True!

 

This has been thoroughly debunked.

January 15, 2008

An Open Letter to the Jewish Community:

As leaders of the Jewish community, none of whose organizations will endorse or oppose any candidate for President, we feel compelled to speak out against certain rhetoric and tactics in the current campaign that we find particularly abhorrent. Of particular concern, over the past several weeks, many in our community have received hateful emails that use falsehood and innuendo to mischaracterize Senator Barack Obama’s religious beliefs and who he is as a person.

These tactics attempt to drive a wedge between our community and a presidential candidate based on despicable and false attacks and innuendo based on religion. We reject these efforts to manipulate members of our community into supporting or opposing candidates.

Attempts of this sort to mislead and inflame voters should not be part of our political discourse and should be rebuffed by all who believe in our democracy. Jewish voters, like all voters, should support whichever candidate they believe would make the best president. We urge everyone to make that decision based on the factual records of these candidates, and nothing less.

Sincerely,

William Daroff, Vice President, United Jewish Communities

Nathan J. Diament, Director, Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America

Abraham Foxman, National Director, Anti-Defamation League

Richard S. Gordon, President, American Jewish Congress

David Harris, Executive Director, American Jewish Committee

Rabbi Marvin Hier, Dean, Simon Wiesenthal Center

Rabbi David Saperstein, Director, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism

Phyllis Snyder, President, National Council of Jewish Women

Hadar Susskind, Washington Director, Jewish Council for Public Affairs

 

got that one too Zeke, we must be on the same lists

that was like a month ago though ...

 

How has it been "debunked" Zeke? Did you actually read the article? The JP raises some valid questions as to the look and feel of an Obama cabinet and their postion on the Middle East.

The letter you show that clears things up deals with inuendo about Obama's religion.

When the real campaign starts the Middle East will be a real issue that Obama will need to articulate his ideas on. McCain has a track record and also has Joe Lieberman as a supporter.

 

Boom --
Read the original e-mail. It's an opinion column, not an editorial statement by the Post.
First, there's this.
"The writer is Co-Chairman Republicans Abroad in Israel."
No kidding.
Brzezinski is an anti-Semite? Tony Lake?
Because he's not likely to keep on lunatics like Wolfowitz and Perle, Obama's an anti-Semite?
ZB "defended" a study that the writer considers to be anti-Israel, but that can just as plausibly be interpreted as an examination of a powerful lobby, Obama can be considered anti-Israel? I guess that speech to AIPAC didn't work.
And his pastor? Again?
zeke may have marginally misused the word "debunked," but this column is a crock.

 

It remains to be seen. The key point is that Obama will have to clearly articulate his ideas on the Middle East. Something that so far he has avoided.

McCain will be formidible when it comes to his record towards Israel. It won't be something that will be "debunked" easily.

 

Ha, thought you could slide that one by, huh?

 

What a straw man. The only one the column referred to as anti-semitic is Farakhan. You consider the guy anti-AIPAC, the author considers him anti-ISrael. Zeke's letter has little to nothing to do with the column. It says that attacks on his religion & person are unfair, but when a guy has no resume on foreign issues, like Obama (and Bush 8 years ago), his advisors are a very fair way to judge him, maybe the only way. These advisors raise red flags among voters who care about certain issues. Why is it out of bounds to discuss that? If Guiliani had gotten the nomination, and had a bunch of pro-lifers advising him on judge selection, would it be OK for NOW to publicize that?

 

That's at least partially true, and it's a statement that's long overdue. The government's policy of "stand with Israel, whether it's right or wrong" is unquestionably hurting efforts to work toward peace in the Middle East.

 

What I'm reading from some of you is more anti-Obama than it is any sort of upholding of the claims made in the original article. And the fact that the letter, signed by many key Jewish leaders, posted by Zeke, seems to indicate that not everyone feels as the writer for the JP did.

 

I don't see any overlap between the column and the letters. I bet that the column's writer would have signed the letter, and have no idea what any of the signatories think about the contents of the column.