As President Obama embarks on four more years, let's ask the question: does the President know, or even care, about Jewish refugees from the Arab and Muslim world? The likely answer is no.
When in 2008, Resolution no. 85 demanding parity for Jewish and Palestinian refugees was passing through the Senate, Obama was the only senator who refused to sign it. (The resolution was never approved, owing to the imminent presidential elections.)
As the current campaign for Jewish refugees gathers momentum, it is to be hoped that US Jewish organisations, such as the World Jewish Congress, get to brief Obama's advisers, if not the man himself.
Obama's predecessor in the White House, George Bush, was 'very aware' of Jewish refugees. Activists seized the opportunity of the White House Hanucah party in 2007 to have a word in the Presidential ear about Jewish refugees.
So far the signs do not bode well. Obama's 2009 Cairo speech was a huge disappointment. To ignore the 850, 000 Jews forced out of the Arab world was like failing to mention to the people of Berlin a small detail called World War ll.
I am re-posting this reaction by the Egyptian-born writer Andre Aciman.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.jewishjournal.com/articles/item/obama_garners_69_percent_of_jewish_vote_in_cnn_exit_poll
Rather ask, "When will the Jews who supported him in the election (and those who did not) know about this?"
Things are usually more or less what they look like. Obama loathes and detests the existence of Israel. He loathes and detests the existence of Jews in Israel. He barely tolerates Jews at all, suffering to put up with the likes of David Axelrod because they serve him. As a thought experiment, consider how terrible Carter was to the Jews AS President and how, as an ex President he gave the full force and flavor to his antisemitism showing the world what he truly thinks. Well Obama is where Carter is now. Can you imagine how he really feels? It's somewhere between David Duke and the Ayatollahs. American Jews who two thirds of them voted for him are vapid stupid creatures who'd rather be hated than ignored and think that if they vote (D) no matter what, other people will love them more than they hate themselves.
ReplyDeleteI don't really feel comfortable criticizing "American Jews" when it comes to their support for Obama and Democrats, simply because a great deal of them is not really Jewish. In their minds Judaism starts and ends with bagels, Woody Allen and social justice...
ReplyDeleteThis guy writes a lot of garbage, but this is one of the best descriptions of the Reform movement and of the American "Jewry":
http://samsonblinded.org/blog/honesty-cannot-be-reformed.htm
One could say that those American "Jews" are behaving the same way German "Jews" did in Germany -- I'm not comparing Obama, the US or Americans to Hitler, Germany and the Nazis! I'm just talking about assimilation and their incapacity to see the obvious.
I really want to see a survey that shows how traditional/religious Zionists/ Modern Orthodox and Haredi voted in this election...