Obama: Palestinians Matter, Too

[Purveyor]

The Nation -- Barack Obama did the unthinkable recently: he had the audacity to mention the Palestinians.

"Nobody is suffering more than the Palestinian people," Obama told voters in Iowa on Sunday. That remark hardly endeared him to the hawkish pro-Israel supporters at AIPAC, where Obama (and Hillary) spoke on Monday.

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In the past, Obama has spoken highly of the Palestinian people and the calamities they've faced. No doubt, his opponents will now try and use that against him. National Review's blog has already posted a picture of him with (gasp) Edward Said.


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http://news.yahoo.com/s/thenation/20070314/cm_thenation/15175173

[Deep13]

1. Hmm, Obama increases stature in reality-based community.

:-)

[BayCityProgressive]

2. Thank God

maybe he won't be an Israel lackey. I recently sent a letter to Senator Stabenow to reject AIPAC. Surprisingly, she wrote me back that she cares deeply about the horrible living conditions in Palestine and will keep it in mind in future votes.

[Purveyor]

3. I just received an email on the topic from Sen. Stabenow also and was pleased with her response. n/t

[Purveyor]

4. MORE: Obama Criticized For Comments On Palestinians

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- An Iowa Democrat and member of a prominent pro-Israel lobbying group is calling on Sen. Barack Obama to clarify sympathetic comments he made about Palestinians during his trip to Iowa last weekend.

---
David Adelman on Tuesday wrote a letter to Obama calling the comment "deeply troubling" and asking Obama to clarify his comments. Adelman is a member of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which lobbies in support of a strong relationship between the United States and Israel, and the Greater Des Moines Jewish Federation.

Tommy Vietor, a spokesman for Obama, said the senator's comments were consistent with his previous statements. Vietor noted that Obama spoke at an AIPAC event earlier this month in Chicago.

"Senator Obama has always said that the security of Israel should be America's starting point in the Middle East," Vietor said. "As he stated in his speech (at AIPAC) and again in Iowa, he also believes that in the end, the Palestinian people are suffering from the Hamas-led government's refusal to renounce terrorism and join as a real partner in the peace process."

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http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2007/03/14/news/latest_news/79ed022263f659c38625729e00487e22.txt

[classysassy]

5. Speak truth and justice

and you'll be ridiculed.