Obama: Opponents trying to weaken my support in Jewish community

[Scurrilous]

<snip>

"Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama said Monday that there is a "constant virulent campaign" being waged against him as he strives to win the party's nomination, aimed particularly at weakening support for him from within the Jewish community.

Obama told Haaretz and writers from several Jewish-American newspapers that the campaign against him - calling him Muslim and accusing him of not pledging allegiance to the United States - is especially visible in the Jewish community.

The presidential hopeful said he would ordinarily ignore such comments, but he fears that they have been "getting some traction" and are being tuned into by public ears.

Thus he said, he has asked the Jewish newspapers and Haaretz to use their "megaphone" so people can hear "from the horse's mouth" that all such accusations against him are unfounded."

more

[still_one]

1. Hey, I am a Jew, and I am supporting Obama. I don't care if he is Muslim

Buddist or Wicken

[kayecy]

7. Well said, The sooner everyone ........

Well said. The sooner everyone stops discriminating on the basis of ethnicity/culture etc the better.

[bellasgrams]

2. Those bad, bad people they shouldn't try to win the election

they know you want it. Whine a little more maybe they'll stop.
I really haven't heard anything about it anywhere else. He'll say anything for attention

[Scurrilous]

4. Obama targeted in smear campaign (01.13.08)

In chain e-mail being circulated across US and Israel, Democratic presidential candidate portrayed as radical Muslim trying to help al-Qaeda take over US

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3493689,00.html

<snip>

"Illinois Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has been targeted in a recent smear campaign which claims that he is a fundamentalist Muslim working for al-Qaeda in an effort to topple the US government.

An inflammatory mass e-mail that is circulating in the United States and Israel lays out the anonymous author's version of Obama's background.

One of the target audiences in the campaign is clearly the American Jewish community because the e-mail has also been sent out in Hebrew.

The writer attempts to portray Obama as an al-Qaeda stooge rhetorically asking: "So who is Barack Obama?"



Jewish groups condemn attacks on Obama (01.16.08)

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3494849,00.html

Leaders of US Jewish organizations issue joint letter slamming email distributed recently in English and Hebrew depicting Democratic presidential candidate as Muslim pretending to be a Christian and working for al-Qaeda

<snip>

"Leaders of the Jewish organizations in the United States issued a joint letter Tuesday night condemning the email being distributed both in Hebrew and in English attacking Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

In the email, Obama is depicted as a Muslim pretending to be a Christian and seeking to take over the White House and handing it over to the control of al-Qaeda.

In an open letter to the Jewish community, the leaders said that they would not endorse or oppose any candidate for president, but felt compelled to speak out against "certain rhetoric and tactics in the current campaign that we find particularly abhorrent".

"Of particular concern, over the past several weeks, many in our community have received hateful emails that use falsehood and innuendo to mischaracterize Senator Barack Obama's religious beliefs and who he is as a person."

[Vegasaurus]

5. Jews have historically been huge supporters of Democratic candidates

and continue in this election. Most people aren't listening to these idiotic falsehoods.

[OHdem10]

3. Whiney Bug.

[Tom Joad]

6. Is that what i'm hearing from? from reading of his strong support for war crimes

in Gaza, i don't think i'm hearing from the horse's mouth, another orifice comes to mind.

shitty politician. (redundant phrase, i know)

[still_one]

8. I tend to think the OPs post was more directed at painting American Jews

with one broad brush rather than discussing the Israeli/Palestinian question

In fact, the post was not in this section originally

[Tom Joad]

9. I think the issue is not how to describe a varied and diverse community

the issue for many of us is what to think of a presidential candidates position on important issues. Unfortunately, Obama does not seem to support what is necessary to bring peace in Israel/Palestine.

[still_one]

11. I understand your position, and you have a valid point

For whatever motivation, good or bad, Bill Clinton near the end of his term did try to bring all the parties together. When the bush administration took over, not only did they not pursue that course, but they did everything to crush any dialog toward a Palestinian state

Even though it wasn't the same issue, they did a similar thing between North and South Korea in reference to the Sunshine policy, where they put pressure on South Korea to discontinue it. They wasted six years, and they essentially continued where the Clinton administration had left

I don't know if Obama does or does not have what is necessary to bring peace between Israel and Palestine, but I do believe that there is more of a possibility with him than Hillary, and in my view it is even more precarious with the current lineup of republican candidates

I understand and share your pessimism

[Tom Joad]

10. You think Haaretz is trying to paint American Jews in any particular way?

[still_one]

12. No, not at all. In fact they actually try to provide both sides of an issue

They are far better than our media presentation of the news

I also know that 7 Jewish Senators stood up against that:

Seven Jewish senators sign letter deploring "false and malicious" attacks on Obama
LAS VEGAS, NV.--Seven Democratic Jewish senators—none who have endorsed a Democratic presidential contender --signed an “open letter to the Jewish community” asking their fellow Jews to reject “false and malicious attacks” being circulated about White House hopeful Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), who throughout his run has had to refute rumors he is a Muslim.

“Over the past several weeks, many in the Jewish community have received hateful emails that use falsehood and innuendo about Senator Barack Obama's religion and attack him personally,” said the letter, whose lead signer is Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI.)


“ As Jewish United States Senators who have not endorsed a candidate for the Democratic nomination, we condemn these scurrilous attacks. We find it particularly abhorrent that these attacks arc apparently being sent specifically to the Jewish Community. Jews, who have historically been the target of such attacks, should be the first to reject these tactics.”

The other signers are Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.); Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.); Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.); Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.); Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.)