http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashid_KhalidiObama relationship
Khalidi's relationship to Barack Obama has come under increasing interest due to the U.S. Presidential race of 2008. Obama made one of the presentations in praise of Khalidi at a 2003 farewell dinner on the occasion of Khalidi leaving the Chicago Area. The dinner was a celebration of the Chicago area Palestinian community. Obama's remarks alluded to the numerous dinners that he had in the home of Rashid Khalidi. During the 2008 election race, opponents of Barack Obama suggested his relationship with Khalidi was evidence that Obama would not maintain a pro-Israel foreign policy if elected.<22> The Obama campaign's Fight the Smears website has posted an entry on Khalidi in order to rebut what was said elsewhere about their relationship, for instance, it denies that Khalidi is or has been one of Obama's foreign policy advisors.<23>
In May of 2008, Barack Obama spoke at a synagogue at an event in Boca Raton, Florida and the question of his relationship with Khalidi was brought up. In response, Obama stated that “
is Palestinian. And I do know him and I have had conversations. He is not one of my advisors; he’s not one of my foreign policy people. His kids went to the Lab school where my kids go as well. He is a respected scholar, although he vehemently disagrees with a lot of Israel’s policy... To pluck out one person who I know and who I’ve had a conversation with who has very different views than 900 of my friends and then to suggest that somehow that shows that maybe I’m not sufficiently pro-Israel, I think, is a very problematic stand to take…So we gotta be careful about guilt by association.”<24>
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Khalidi stated that he strongly disagrees with Obama's views on Israel. However, because of Obama's "unusual background, with family ties to Kenya and Indonesia," Khalidi stated that he believes that Obama is "more understanding of the Palestinian experience than typical American politicians."<22>
The New York Daily News reported on 3/6/07, "Obama got help from an unlikely source yesterday when pro-Palestinian Prof. Rashid Khalidi denied a report that Obama used to be sympathetic to the Palestinian cause and had recently shifted his stance to pro-Israel. Khalidi spoke to the Daily News to rebut a report on a pro-Palestinian blog that was circulated by Clinton supporters. The blog, the Electronic Intifada, offered no evidence that Obama used to be supportive of the Palestinian cause, but cited private conversations, including one at a 2000 Obama fund-raiser hosted by Khalidi. Khalidi, now head of Columbia University’s Middle East Institute, said he hosted the fundraiser because he was friends with Obama while the two lived in Chicago. ‘He never came to us and said he would do anything in terms of Palestinians,’ Khalidi said."<23>
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http://fightthesmears.com/articles/24/KhalidiSmear
Ugly insinuations about Barack Obama’s relationship with a former neighbor and university colleague, Rhashid Khalidi, are completely false.
Barack’s record on Israel is clear: he strongly supports the U.S.-Israel relationship. He believes that our first and incontrovertible commitment in the Middle East must be to the security of Israel, America’s strongest ally in the Middle East.
Barack and Joe Biden believe strongly in Israel’s right to protect its citizens. They have consistently supported foreign assistance to Israel. They have called for continuing U.S. cooperation with Israel in the development of missile defense systems.
Barack has nothing to hide: he has openly described his relationship with Rashid Khalidi:
“ is not one of my advisors; he’s not one of my foreign policy people. His kids went to the Lab school where my kids go as well. He is a respected scholar, although he vehemently disagrees with a lot of Israel’s policy…To pluck out one person who I know and who I’ve had a conversation with who has very different views than 900 of my friends and then to suggest that somehow that shows that maybe I’m not sufficiently pro-Israel, I think, is a very problematic stand to take…So we gotta be careful about guilt by association.”
Bipartisanship — getting along with people we disagree with — is something we prize in our politicians. For example, Barack has been widely praised for working with conservative Republican Senator Tom Coburn to pass a bill making government spending searchable over the Internet (Obama bio). So why should it be any different that Barack knows a respected scholar, former university colleague, and former neighbor who disagrees with him about Israel?
Smears, insults, and innuendo about the nature of Barack’s relationship with Khalidi are completely unfounded. Guilt-by-association is always a questionable tactic.
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