Apologies for the short diary but I am at work. I hardly ever diary anyway, so quit complaining.
I work in a media relations office. We received this ProfNetquery today:
E-mails have been circulating on the Internet saying that Obama has surrounded himself with "Israel-hating advisors." I'm looking for experts who can comment on the veracity of those allegations. Contact: Unnamed Reporter, unnamedreporter@coxnews.com.
(note: my redaction)
A couple of quick Google searches turned up articles and blog posts on some of his advisers who are purportedly anti-Israel, like this one:
If Senator Obama wants assure the Jewish Community that he is a friend of Israel, he should be a little more careful with who he picks for his foreign policy team. As Martin Peretz said:
"I have my qualms, as you may know, about Barack Obama, and most especially about what his foreign policy might be. If elected (and actually before he were to be elected), the first decision he would have to make would be who would represent him in the transition to power from early November to January 20. And, frankly, I get the shudders since he has indicated that, among others, they would be Zbigniew Bzrezinski (I don't know much about his son, listed as Mark, but I can guess), Anthony Lake, Susan Rice and Robert O. Malley."
And Peretz is right on. Obama has assembled an veritable all-star team of Israel haters as his chief foreign policy experts. In today's American Thinker, Ed Lasky give us the FAQs regarding Robert Malley--- another reason why anyone who supports Israel should be scared of Obama:
There were other pieces that questioned Obama's failure to recognize Palestinian suffering, like this:
While constantly emphasizing his concern about the threat Israelis face from Palestinians, Obama said nothing about the exponentially more lethal threat Israelis present to Palestinians. In 2006, according to B'Tselem, Israeli occupation forces killed 660 Palestinians of whom 141 were children -- triple the death toll for 2005. In the same period, 23 Israelis were killed by Palestinians, half the number of 2005 (by contrast, 500 Israelis die each year in road accidents).
But Obama was not entirely insensitive to ordinary lives. He recalled a January 2006 visit to the Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona that resembled an ordinary American suburb where he could imagine the sounds of Israeli children at "joyful play just like my own daughters." He saw a home the Israelis told him was damaged by a Hizbullah rocket (no one had been hurt in the incident).
Six months later, Obama said, "Hizbullah launched four thousand rocket attacks just like the one that destroyed the home in Kiryat Shmona, and kidnapped Israeli service members."
Obama's phrasing suggests that Hizbullah launched thousands of rockets in an unprovoked attack, but it's a complete distortion.
I definitely do NOT want to start an I-P war, and I don't think one is merited right now. Let me also say that I do not know much and have not done too much research into Obama's positions on the Middle East situation. And then let me ALSO say that I believe every politician that I have ever seen in my 30 years on this planet has shuffled, parsed, wavered, and equivocated on this difficult issue. And let me also say that I am very discomfited by the role Israel plays in our national politics with regard to lobbying and spying. I don't like it. Activities like these obviously make it very difficult for any aspirant politician to speak truthfully to this issue, and especially make it virtually impossible for us regular folk to sort out what the hell is going on.
But this diary is not about that, this diary is to make people aware of a coming meme so that we may jump on top of it. How can people respond to these emails? How can we respond to articles in the newspaper with LTEs, etc.?
This ugly and divisive meme (one can only wonder where it came from) is akin to the "Obama as Islamofascist terrorist" meme. It obscures what is a very serious and important issue that has not gotten much attention in the mainstream media or in any of the debates. It's a matter that needs thoughtful discussion, not digusting attacks.
Be forewarned. When I have time, I will read up on Obama's statements and positions on the Middle East matter so that I may respond to these emails and stories in an informed way. You all should do the same.