At the outset, let me say this. I am a Jew. And I care about Israel. Though I'm no single issue voter, I am watchful of presidents' policies and attitudes on point.
Broadly, Barak Obama's policy is to disengage from the Middle East and, in particular, from Israel. This certainly syncs with his attitude towards Israel, which I'd generously call one of contempt and condescension. But, how did these come to be?
Turns out, that's a pretty difficult question to answer because the facts are scant. So, we rely on what is publicly known to piece the answer together. (Justin Frank's books, Bush on the Couch and Obama on the Couch are the best examples of this process that I've found.) One potentially fruitful source of information are Obama's relationships.
Until his first presidential campaign, his spiritual adviser was Liberation Theology Preacher Jeremiah Wright. Reverend Wright's
bombast aside, there is a dramatic bias in the Liberation paradigm that he espouses. That is the assumption that those who appear less powerful should always be supported. Indeed, a moral imperative is attached to this. For a good example of the secular version of this fatally flawed theory, read Jimmy Carter's Peace, Not Apartheid in which he accuses Israel of creating an apartheid state vis a vis the Palestinians. As an aside, and in my opinion, being such an example is the book's only virtue. Here, acts of violence against 'oppressors' are seen as unsurprising and justified. As such, the the Palestinians' ceaseless suicide bombings during the intifadas of 1987-1993 and 2000-2005 would not be questioned, but the Israeli Defense Force's response to them would be.
Another Obama relationship that sheds light on the genesis of his Israel policy is his longstanding friendship with Rashid Khalidi, former Spokesperson for the Palestinian Liberation Organization.
(Khalidi is now a Professor of Modern Arab Studies, and the Director of the School of International and Public Affairs, at Columbia University.) While he would call it 'resistance', Khalidi makes the same arguments for violence against Israel that Liberation Theologians would make. Simply said, the notion that these men would have a close friendship without agreeing on this issue is highly suspect.
These relationships seem to be good indicators of the origin of Obama's attitude towards, and consequent policy on, Israel. They do not bode well for the State.
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