Obama: Not only Likudniks can be pro-Israeli
In meeting with Jewish community leaders at Ohio synagogue, Democratic senator says there are those who believe that being pro-Israeli means adopting Likud’s policy. ‘That can’t be the measure of our friendship with Israel,’ he clarifies
Yitzhak Benhorin
Published: 02.26.08, 00:11 / Israel News
WASHINGTON – US Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said Sunday that there are elements among the Jewish community in the United States who believe that being pro-Israeli meant agreeing with the Likud’s stances.
Speaking at an Ohio synagogue, the senator from Illinois said that the things he heard from Jewish Americans were different from the variety of opinions and real debate being held within Israel regarding the ways to solve the conflict.
In a closed meeting with Jewish leaders in Cleveland, the leading Democratic presidential candidate said, “I think there is a strain within the pro-Israel community that says unless you adopt an unwavering pro-Likud approach to Israel that you’re anti-Israel and that can’t be the measure of our friendship with Israel.”
JTA, the Global News Service of the Jewish People, reported that Obama also told the Jewish leaders that “if we cannot have a honest dialogue about how do we achieve these goals, then we’re not going to make progress.”
The senator is currently under heavy pressure by Republicans and sources close to his rival Hillary Clinton, who have been spreading rumors on the media that he has surrounded himself by anti-Israeli advisors, including Zbigniew Brzezinski, the national security advisor in the Carter administration.
In his meeting with the Jewish leaders, Obama explained that he had gained Brzezinski’s support due to their shared agreement that the war in Iraq was “an enormous strategic blunder”, but clarified that he did not share the former advisor’s view with respect to Israel.
Obama warned against the attacks directed at anyone who does not share the Israeli Right’s opinions.