News > Local
Reassuring Jews about Obama’s pro-Israel stance
 |
| Dennis Ross, center, is flanked by Benjamin Netanyahu, left, and Malcolm Hoenlein last May in Jerusalem. |
BY: MARILYN H. KARFELD Senior Staff Reporter
Under both Republican and Democratic presidents, Amb. Dennis Ross has played a crucial role in shaping Middle East policy and negotiating peace agreements.
As the special Middle East coordinator under President Clinton, the director of policy planning at the State Department under President George H.W. Bush, and a National Security Council staffer under President Reagan, Ross has avoided partisan politics.
But the stakes are so high in this election, Ross told over 700 people Sunday at a Democratic forum emphasizing Sen. Barack Obama’s support for Israel, “They don’t leave me a choice. We cannot continue the policy of the last eight years. We can’t afford four more years. Not only for Israel’s (sake), but for ours.”
Ross was joined on the dais by Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan; U.S. Rep. Jane Harman of California; Alan Solow, a prominent member of the Chicago Jewish community; and Ohio Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher. All reassured Jewish voters that Obama would not only strengthen Israel’s security but also do a far better job of it than his rival Sen. John McCain.
The current Republican administration’s lack of engagement in the Middle East has hurt Israel’s safety and increased the threat that Iran will obtain nuclear weapons and use them against Israel, Ross said.
This fall’s financial meltdown also affects foreign policy “because we cannot be strong internationally” without a president who understands the economy and global markets, Ross said. But even before the Wall Street collapse, Ross chose Obama as his candidate because U.S. standing in the world has never been lower than it is today, the former diplomat said.
The U.S. cannot “be in a position where we do not shape world events,” he said. “Where we don’t affect Iran’s behavior. Everything today takes place without us.”
The Bush administration has had “no serious approach to peace” in the Middle East, Ross maintained. As a consequence, Hamas has become stronger. “Where there’s no hope, the Islamists will exploit it … They need the sense of a possibility of a two-state solution.” Obama, he said, believes that “if we don’t engage, there is no hope.”
Describing himself as profoundly concerned about the fate of the Middle East, Ross noted that during the last eight years, Hamas has taken over Gaza and gained more power. Hezbollah is stronger on Israel’s northern border with 40,000 rockets and “has a veto over the Lebanese government.” Since 2001, Iran has become a nuclear power and has stockpiled enough enriched uranium to create half a nuclear bomb.
Ross said he has taken 15 to 20 trips to the Middle East with a U.S. president and has sat in on over 100 meetings with the president and his overseas counterparts.
When he accompanied Obama to Israel and the Middle East in June, Ross noted, “I saw someone who knows how to listen, ask questions and connect. What he seeks going into the meeting comes out of that meeting … He has a unique talent.”
Obama told Israeli leaders that he understood why they see Iran as an existential threat, and why an Iran with nuclear weapons will change the Middle East and is a real danger to the world, Ross related.
“We have to ratchet up the pressure on Iranians,” Obama told the Israelis. He also took that message to European leaders, Ross said.
When Obama went to Berlin and 200,000 people turned out waving American flags, “It means they are more likely to join with the rest of us,” Ross said. “We can’t solve all the problems ourselves.”
He criticized Bush’s “weak sticks and weak carrots” approach to the Middle East conflict. In contrast, Obama understands “we need strong sticks” so the Iranians know what they have to lose. And we need “strong carrots, a path out … We have to force them to make a choice.”
Levin derides lies, smears
Levin of Michigan, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the lies and smears about the Illinois senator circulating on the Internet and in the speeches of the Republican candidates are very disturbing. The Jewish community “should understand we cannot tolerate any person or group being smeared … We have been victims of smears about the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.”
When visiting Ramallah, Obama told Palestinian students he was sympathetic and understood their need for a country that can function, related Levin. “But, if you’re waiting for America to distance itself from Israel, you are delusional,” Obama added. “My commitment to Israel’s security is non-negotiable.”
Noting how essential it is for America to regain a position of respect in the world, Levin said that America could only defeat the threat of terrorism with the support of other nations. A member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Levin noted that armies aren’t going to defeat terrorism. Instead, terrorism will only succumb when individuals throughout the world hear of a terrorist plan and give that information to a law enforcement agency.
“Will (citizens of other countries) look at us as sharing their values or as an arrogant and domineering bully who doesn’t care what the world thinks?” Levin asked rhetorically. “Intelligence shows the view they have of us is a security issue for the U.S.”
Three words: The Supreme Court
Harman of California, who sat on the House Committee on Intelligence for eight years and now chairs the Intelligence Subcomittee of the House Committee on Homeland Security, urged the audience to remember three words when they cast their vote: “The Supreme Court.” McCain’s appointments to the court will be “vetted by right-wing, anti-choice conservatives,” she said.
Israel’s security is also threatened. Under President Bush’s watch, “everything has gotten more dangerous for Israelis … Pakistan and Afghanistan are near collapse … U.S. influence in those countries is at its lowest ebb,” Harman said.
“Why did this all happen?” she asked. “Because of Bush’s obsession with Iraq. McCain is still obsessed with Iraq. The policy has exhausted and demoralized troops spread too thin.”
As the daughter of immigrants from Nazi Germany, Harman equated the Third Reich’s anti-Semitic persecution with the hatred and bigotry unleashed by the McCain campaign against Obama. “I’ve got news for them,” she said. “It won’t work.”
Accompanied Obama to Israel
Alan Solow, chairman of the Jewish Community Centers Association of North America and an Obama friend since he ran for the U.S. Senate, traveled to Israel with the Illinois senator in 2006. Obama is pro-Israel and shares Jewish values, Solow insisted, “because he’s believed them for years, based on his personal vision of America. He understood what Torah meant … Love your neighbor as yourself.”
During that 2006 trip, Palestinian students told Obama they wanted to vote for Hamas and asked why the U.S. wouldn’t accept that democratically elected government, Solow said. Obama replied that the U.S. would not deal with terrorists and would not recognize a Hamas-controlled government in the West Bank, Solow recalled.
During the height of the intifada in 2003, when terrorists frequently blew up Israeli buses, Obama supported the building of the security barrier. Every parent, he said, has the right to put his child on the bus and expect him to come home in the evening safe and sound, Solow related.
While touring South Africa, the Jewish attorney noted, Obama told students that Israel absolutely has the right to defend itself and fight back if attacked.
“Obama has understood from the beginning that living a normal life is the essence of Israel,” said Solow. “Except in the U.S., Jews have never lived a normal life anywhere in the world. A Jewish state is an ideal deserving protection.”
In telling stories about Obama, Solow maintained, “He has a Jewish soul. I like to say he’s going to be the first Jewish president of the United States.”
mkarfeld@cjn.org
As the special Middle East coordinator under President Clinton, the director of policy planning at the State Department under President George H.W. Bush, and a National Security Council staffer under President Reagan, Ross has avoided partisan politics.
But the stakes are so high in this election, Ross told over 700 people Sunday at a Democratic forum emphasizing Sen. Barack Obama’s support for Israel, “They don’t leave me a choice. We cannot continue the policy of the last eight years. We can’t afford four more years. Not only for Israel’s (sake), but for ours.”
Ross was joined on the dais by Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan; U.S. Rep. Jane Harman of California; Alan Solow, a prominent member of the Chicago Jewish community; and Ohio Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher. All reassured Jewish voters that Obama would not only strengthen Israel’s security but also do a far better job of it than his rival Sen. John McCain.
The current Republican administration’s lack of engagement in the Middle East has hurt Israel’s safety and increased the threat that Iran will obtain nuclear weapons and use them against Israel, Ross said.
This fall’s financial meltdown also affects foreign policy “because we cannot be strong internationally” without a president who understands the economy and global markets, Ross said. But even before the Wall Street collapse, Ross chose Obama as his candidate because U.S. standing in the world has never been lower than it is today, the former diplomat said.
The U.S. cannot “be in a position where we do not shape world events,” he said. “Where we don’t affect Iran’s behavior. Everything today takes place without us.”
The Bush administration has had “no serious approach to peace” in the Middle East, Ross maintained. As a consequence, Hamas has become stronger. “Where there’s no hope, the Islamists will exploit it … They need the sense of a possibility of a two-state solution.” Obama, he said, believes that “if we don’t engage, there is no hope.”
Describing himself as profoundly concerned about the fate of the Middle East, Ross noted that during the last eight years, Hamas has taken over Gaza and gained more power. Hezbollah is stronger on Israel’s northern border with 40,000 rockets and “has a veto over the Lebanese government.” Since 2001, Iran has become a nuclear power and has stockpiled enough enriched uranium to create half a nuclear bomb.
Ross said he has taken 15 to 20 trips to the Middle East with a U.S. president and has sat in on over 100 meetings with the president and his overseas counterparts.
When he accompanied Obama to Israel and the Middle East in June, Ross noted, “I saw someone who knows how to listen, ask questions and connect. What he seeks going into the meeting comes out of that meeting … He has a unique talent.”
Obama told Israeli leaders that he understood why they see Iran as an existential threat, and why an Iran with nuclear weapons will change the Middle East and is a real danger to the world, Ross related.
“We have to ratchet up the pressure on Iranians,” Obama told the Israelis. He also took that message to European leaders, Ross said.
When Obama went to Berlin and 200,000 people turned out waving American flags, “It means they are more likely to join with the rest of us,” Ross said. “We can’t solve all the problems ourselves.”
He criticized Bush’s “weak sticks and weak carrots” approach to the Middle East conflict. In contrast, Obama understands “we need strong sticks” so the Iranians know what they have to lose. And we need “strong carrots, a path out … We have to force them to make a choice.”
Levin derides lies, smears
Levin of Michigan, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the lies and smears about the Illinois senator circulating on the Internet and in the speeches of the Republican candidates are very disturbing. The Jewish community “should understand we cannot tolerate any person or group being smeared … We have been victims of smears about the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.”
When visiting Ramallah, Obama told Palestinian students he was sympathetic and understood their need for a country that can function, related Levin. “But, if you’re waiting for America to distance itself from Israel, you are delusional,” Obama added. “My commitment to Israel’s security is non-negotiable.”
Noting how essential it is for America to regain a position of respect in the world, Levin said that America could only defeat the threat of terrorism with the support of other nations. A member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Levin noted that armies aren’t going to defeat terrorism. Instead, terrorism will only succumb when individuals throughout the world hear of a terrorist plan and give that information to a law enforcement agency.
“Will (citizens of other countries) look at us as sharing their values or as an arrogant and domineering bully who doesn’t care what the world thinks?” Levin asked rhetorically. “Intelligence shows the view they have of us is a security issue for the U.S.”
Three words: The Supreme Court
Harman of California, who sat on the House Committee on Intelligence for eight years and now chairs the Intelligence Subcomittee of the House Committee on Homeland Security, urged the audience to remember three words when they cast their vote: “The Supreme Court.” McCain’s appointments to the court will be “vetted by right-wing, anti-choice conservatives,” she said.
Israel’s security is also threatened. Under President Bush’s watch, “everything has gotten more dangerous for Israelis … Pakistan and Afghanistan are near collapse … U.S. influence in those countries is at its lowest ebb,” Harman said.
“Why did this all happen?” she asked. “Because of Bush’s obsession with Iraq. McCain is still obsessed with Iraq. The policy has exhausted and demoralized troops spread too thin.”
As the daughter of immigrants from Nazi Germany, Harman equated the Third Reich’s anti-Semitic persecution with the hatred and bigotry unleashed by the McCain campaign against Obama. “I’ve got news for them,” she said. “It won’t work.”
Accompanied Obama to Israel
Alan Solow, chairman of the Jewish Community Centers Association of North America and an Obama friend since he ran for the U.S. Senate, traveled to Israel with the Illinois senator in 2006. Obama is pro-Israel and shares Jewish values, Solow insisted, “because he’s believed them for years, based on his personal vision of America. He understood what Torah meant … Love your neighbor as yourself.”
During that 2006 trip, Palestinian students told Obama they wanted to vote for Hamas and asked why the U.S. wouldn’t accept that democratically elected government, Solow said. Obama replied that the U.S. would not deal with terrorists and would not recognize a Hamas-controlled government in the West Bank, Solow recalled.
During the height of the intifada in 2003, when terrorists frequently blew up Israeli buses, Obama supported the building of the security barrier. Every parent, he said, has the right to put his child on the bus and expect him to come home in the evening safe and sound, Solow related.
While touring South Africa, the Jewish attorney noted, Obama told students that Israel absolutely has the right to defend itself and fight back if attacked.
“Obama has understood from the beginning that living a normal life is the essence of Israel,” said Solow. “Except in the U.S., Jews have never lived a normal life anywhere in the world. A Jewish state is an ideal deserving protection.”
In telling stories about Obama, Solow maintained, “He has a Jewish soul. I like to say he’s going to be the first Jewish president of the United States.”
mkarfeld@cjn.org
Copyright © 2010 - Cleveland Jewish News