Tough crowd
By Ami Eden on Apr 3, 2008 in Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Presidential Race |
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the heads of the National Jewish Democratic Council and the Republican Jewish Coalition both had a tough time with the crowd during a recent debate at one of the area’s main synagogues:
On the right stood Matthew Brooks, executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition in Washington. On the left was Ira Forman, executive director of the National Jewish Democratic Council in the same city.
The men are good friends and deadly opponents. …
No one in the crowd appeared to feel the need to hold back impromptu applause, spontaneous jeers, or even a shout of “No!” or “Absolutely!”
“If you want to snicker,” Forman told the audience at one point, after his suggestion that both Clinton and Obama vigorously backed Israel produced murmurs, “look at the statements.”
He argued - all night, at times to no avail - that because all three candidates had cast votes and made public statements, in some cases over decades, they had established records that made it possible to evaluate their positions reliably.
“We have three pro-Israel candidates,” Forman said, eliciting some groans.
Brooks got the same treatment when, as the discussion turned to abortion, he said it was impossible to predict how a Supreme Court nominee might vote once seated.
“Wrong!” came a voice from the audience.
And his mere mention of “compassionate conservative” brought derisive laughter.
The debate underscored a distinct difference in the strategies being adopted by the NJDC and the RJC as they battle for Jewish votes and money. The Republican pitch to Jews is essentially that they shouldn’t worry about domestic issues because McCain is much better for Jerusalem; on the other side, Forman argues that all three candidates left in the field are friends of Israel so Jewish voters should feel comfortable making their decision based on abortion, church-state, etc.
Noting that the National Jewish Democratic Council condemned Mitt Romney for appearing at the museum of a long-dead EX-antisemite (Henry Ford, who retracted and repudiated the International Jew), I asked NJDC to join the Zionist Organization of America in demanding that Obama quit his racist church, which has propagated blood libels of both Israel and the U.S.
I am still waiting for an answer, and I suspect I will wait a long time. This is because NJDC obviously has one set of standards for Republicans and another for Democrats, even Democrats who promote and empower racists, anti-Semites, and/or Catholic-hating bigots as Obama has done. (E.g. Al Sharpton and his National Action Network, with long records of inciting hatred of white people and especially Jews, Jeremiah Wright, and MoveOn.org which published a derogatory photomanipulation of Pope Benedict.)
See link for my letter to NJDC, for the record.
Bill Levinson | Apr 4, 2008 | Reply
I think that all three candidates are supportive of Israel in general but that most people will look at other policies that they favour on a personal basis.
The U.S. requires a president that can exercise prudent judgement in difficult circumstances, and I believe that Obama fails in this area. I find it absurd to think that he was unaware of his pastors sermons and the ranting about 911. Either Obama is very naive or exercises poor judgement or both. His lack of experience and few policy statements indicate that he would be another Jimmy Carter if elected. Would Iran have attacked the U.S. Embassy or would Castro have emptied his prisons and asylums if America had a president that was respected, I doubt it.The public need to look hard at who is the person to best lead based on past history and not on empty rhetoric
We need to learn from our history or we will be condemned to repeat the sins of the past.
Norman | Apr 4, 2008 | Reply
Barack Obama is beholden to black-racists, and would be anti-Israel.
Judy | Apr 8, 2008 | Reply