[Peace-discuss] Barak Obama disappoints ISM Activists

[C. G. Estabrook]

At least he's consistent: this is the same narrow-minded and
wilfully ignorant position in support of US policy that he's
held since his comments on attacking Iran in the 2004
campaign. --CGE

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0409250111sep25,1,7098310.story

---- Original message ----
>Date: Sat, 21 Jan 2006 22:07:34 -0800 (PST)
>From: David Green <davegreen84 at yahoo.com>  
>Subject: [Peace-discuss] Barak Obama disappoints ISM Activists  
>To: Peace Discuss <peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>
>
>Barak Obama disappoints ISM Activists
>
>International Solidarity Movement member Katie, 
>reporting from the Occupied West Bank, had high 
>hopes for Barak Obama when he visited the 
>Jerusalem University in Ramallah. She told her 
>skeptical friends he was "very progressive". 
>However, after hearing him speak, she "came away 
>with a different point of view" as Johnny Cash 
>would have said. She has invited Barak to 
>"witness the humiliation Palestinians face" at 
>the Qalandia checkpoint. Read her report below.
>
>An Invitation for Barak Obama
>
>January 15th, 2006
>by Katie
>ISM
>
>The morning of Thursday, January 12, myself, and other
>Palestinian and international activists were invited
>to the branch of Jerusalem University in Ramallah for
>a conference that Barak Obama, the US senator from
>Illinois, was holding with students. The others were
>skeptical about him, but I assured them that he is a
>very progressive politician and he would be supportive
>of the Palestinian cause. Barak Obama began the
>conference by saying how surprised he was that it
>was cold and raining in Ramallah, that it went against
>his preconceived notions about the climate in the
>Middle East. He spoke about his background and how he
>was the underdog in his race for the Senate. He
>explained to us that even though the US has made many
>foreign policy mistakes, that he believed in our
>system of checks and balances. He then offered to
>start a dialog with the audience.
>
>One student asked how Arab governments can create a
>paradigm shift and
>improve relations with the US. When he answered the
>question, I tried
>not to give in to frustrated laughter because, I shit
>you not, this is
>what he said (I am paraphrasing and my comments are in
>parenthesis):
>The Arab governments need to embrace democracy, not
>theocracy. When you
>allow the will of God to influence the laws of your
>country, you will
>not win the support of the US. (what about Israel
>claiming they have
>the God given right to rule this land ?) The Arab
>governments need to
>renounce violence against civilians. (What about
>100,000 dead Iraqis,
>were all of those people terrorists, Baathists,
>foreign fighters or
>were some of them civilians ?) The US is opposed to
>theocracy and
>terrorism and if the Arab governments want to create a
>paradigm shift,
>they need to address these concerns of ours.
>So then I asked him, "You say the US is opposed to
>theocracy and
>terrorism, how can you explain to the Palestinian
>people how the US can
>be opposed to these things but still supports a state
>that has racist,
>oppressive, unjust and apartheid policies. And do you
>see how this
>paints an inconsistent picture to the people of the
>Middle East?"
>He began his answer by saying he would not accept the
>assumptions I
>made and therefore was not going to address that part
>of my question. He said he could understand the
>Palestinian view that the policies of the US were one
>sided but he said the relationship with Israel was not
>going to change. My high hopes for Barak Obama's
>foreign policy ideas were shot down !
>
>Obama said this was his first trip to the Middle East,
>that he had just come from Qatar and Jordan. I imagine
>he stayed in some pretty fancy
>hotels. I'm not sure that if you are a powerful
>American politician
>on your first ever trip to the middle east that you
>can really get a
>good idea of what things are like here.
>So Barak Obama, I would like to send you an
>invitation. I invite you to
>consider that maybe your preconceived notions about
>the weather in the
>Middle East are not the only notions that were
>incorrect. Barak Obama,
>I would like to invite you to stand in line at
>Qalandia checkpoint, I
>would like you to witness the humiliation Palestinians
>face there,
>I'd like to invite you to take part in a peaceful
>demonstration like
>Mohammad Mansour was doing when his friend was shot
>and killed, or
>Roni, who was shot in the neck and who is now
>paralyzed from the waist
>down. I'd like to invite you to acknowledge that there
>are families
>on the Palestinian side of the wall who cannot travel
>5 minutes away to
>the next village to see their families on the Israeli
>side of the wall.
>I would invite you to meet Ahmad, a five year old boy
>I met on the way
>back from Jenin whose father was killed by Israeli
>soldiers. I would
>like you to consider that if a Palestinian wants to
>leave the country
>by plane , he or she cannot leave via Ben Gurion
>airport in Tel Aviv,
>he or she must travel by land to Jordan and leave via
>the airport in
>Amman. This is the Middle East's only democracy, Mr.
>Obama ! I would
>invite you to consider how the unconditional support
>for Israel with US
>tax dollars affects 4 million Palestinian people who
>just want to live
>their lives and be free from oppression.
>
>
>
>
>
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