Re the videos showing Israeli support for Obama

Here is a commentary on the 2 videos that supposedly told of Israelis who are pro- Obama.
Those videos certainly misled his supporters in the States who would like to think that he has garnered support from people here. Several people from LA forwarded them to me as proof of the extent of the candidate's appeal to Jews. Obama's visit to Israel during his whirlwind 8 countries in 9 days was not a success story for him. Prior to that, following his rousing applause at the AIPAC meeting, he caved in to Arab criticism and went back on his original statement the following day. He arrival just hours after a terrorist attack just a few yards from the Kind David Hotel where he stayed . During the continuation of his trip, when he delivered a speech and spoke on terrorism, he cited those incidents in London and Madrid but neglected to mention the one that had come so close to him - in Jerusalem ; again, it was catering to the Muslims.

Shortly after that, a veteran and highly respected Israeli journalist, Ben Caspit, who writes for Ma'ariv, revealed that Obama had sent an emissary to speak to Assad of Syria and Abbas of the PA and told them to keep up with the 'peace process' because when he would assume the presidency he would 'jump right in' . Israelis considered this arrogant and meddling in the affairs of the country.

It also points to the fact that Obama does not understand that there is no separate solution to the Middle East conflict; several well-intentioned
U.S. administrations have tried unsuccessfully to accomplish this, to no avail. Israel has been coerced into making dangerous concessions to this end and Obama has indicated that he will apply even greater pressure. His statements of being pro-Israel do not mean anything; the expression is fashionable and means different things to different people. The fact is that he has 300 foreign policy advisers and they are left wing. His special adviser to the Middle East is Daniel Kurtzer who, despite being an orthodox Jew, is considered to be anti-Israel by people in the Foreign Office here who know him from his stint in Egypt and also Israel. Sen. Biden, Obama's foreign policy expert, erred in some of his statements, showing that he, too, does not have a full grasp of the situation.

Obama has expressed the view that Iran is a small country and not that dangerous; he does not understand that that country is waiting for him to fulfill his promise to withdraw troops from Iraq. Then Iran will sweep into Iraq, into Syria which is already in its orbit, and Lebanon. Egypt, Jordan, and Israel are next in Ahmadinejad's sight and the whole region would then become regional headquarters for the world network of terrorism from which to attack and subjugate Europe on the way to the United States where there are already sleeper cells ready to be awakened. The lesson from the expulsion of Jews from Gush Katif in 2005, announced by Sharon well in advance, should have been ample warning that terrorists would move in to the abandoned territory and attack. The West - and that includes Israel - does not learn from the mistakes of others and does not understand the mentality of the enemy the world is facing; yielding land is a sign of weakness and weakness emboldens the enemy.

Obama has stated that the war with al Qaeda began in Afghanistan and it will end there; that he will bring the war to an end. It is both naive and arrogant to believe that he has that kind of power. Is he not aware that al Qaeda is also in the Middle East-that there are terrorist groups around us here in Israel that are affiliated with that organization? Even killing Osama would not stop the terrorism; there is a worldwide network in existence.

A statement by Jesse Jackson was released a short time ago in which he said that in an Obama presidency Israel would not enjoy the support that it has until now. Couple that with the sounds of blaming Jews for the economic situation in the States and one can smell the old anti-Semitism. Those who feel that threat of terrorism in the States takes a very back seat to the economy should consider that if there are terrorist attacks on mainland U.S. that can be catastrophic to the economy also. Obama has not shown that he gets the whole picture. Support from Saudis, the PA, and Hamas are part of that scenario; remarks from them are to effect that he 'understands' what they want and will help them. It certainly won't help us.

Charisma and good speaking skills cannot make up for a realistic assessment of world dynamics and the experience and judgment to make the right decisions. History is surely easier to read than to live through.

Chana

A JPost.com exclusive blog

"A lie can get halfway around the world before the truth can even get its boots on," Mark Twain reportedly once said. Perhaps that concept explains the strategy behind the breathtaking dishonesty of the latest propaganda pieces disseminated by Barack Obama's most vocal Jewish supporters.

Two slickly produced videos are circulating over viral email. They both contain segments of interviews and footage with prominent Jewish and Israeli personalities apparently endorsing Barack Obama and seemingly putting their stamp of approval on his policies related to Israel. And both are so replete with misinformation and omissions that they have been termed by interviewees themselves as "deceit."

The first of these was produced by the Jewish Alliance for Change, run by Gidon "Doni" Remba, veteran left-wing Peace Now activist. And what are the political leanings of the prominent Israelis featured? Are they just mainstream Israelis? Hardly. You wouldn't know it from the film, but Naomi Chazan, labeled only as former Deputy Speaker of the Knesset, belonged to the Meretz party, members in good standing of the Socialist International, far-left in advocating territorial withdrawal, and proponents of the de-Judaization of Israel. Amos Schocken, labeled only as publisher of Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz, has called for the abolition of Ha'tikva as Israel's national anthem because it is too Jewish, and employed as editor David Landau, who told United States Secretary of State Condaleeza Rice that Israel was "a failed state," and that it was his "wet dream" that America "rape" Israel into succumbing to a peace agreement which the Israeli government felt was against Israel's interests. General Amnon Lipkin-Shahak is nowhere mentioned as advocating turning the Golan Heights over to Iran-backed Syria. Ladies and gentlemen, here are your Israeli Obama supporters.

The film also falsely implies an Obama endorsement from Nathan Diament of the Orthodox Union. The implication was strong enough that the OU had to issue a disclaimer and statement of non-endorsement. It also has Obama declared "100% kosher" by Congressman Robert Wexler (D, FL) - the man who started the outrageously false and un-kosher charge that VP candidate Sarah Palin had backed "Nazi-sympathizer" Pat Buchanan for President in 2000 (she was, in fact, an official in the Steve Forbes campaign) and that her candidacy was "an affront to all Jewish Americans."

The second video is even worse. In it, several Israeli generals and security personnel ostensibly endorse Obama. Several generals, however, now having seen the film, have called it "misleading." Uzi Dayan, a retired army general and former Mossad chief Efraim Halevy said they were misled. On Monday, the three said they were unaware they were being interviewed for a political campaign and were given the impression they were simply commenting on the regional strategic affairs that will face the next US president.

All insisted they have not endorsed either US presidential candidate and their comments had been taken out of context and dishonestly edited - for example falsely attributing to Dayan support for Obama's promise to unconditionally meet with Iranian President Ahmadinejad, as Dayan holds the exact opposite position. Dayan is a former deputy military chief of staff and national security adviser. "I never expressed support for Obama, his approach or his opinions. I've also never expressed support for McCain. I think that these are respectable people, but we should not interfere in the American elections," Dayan said.

Not by coincidence, that second video was created just in time for "The Great Schlep," a celebrity-endorsed effort to encourage young Jews to travel to Florida and "educate" their grandparents into voting for Obama. Also not by coincidence, the eight-minute video was produced by the Jewish Council for Education and Research - the pro-Obama group behind the "Schlep," disseminating the video and other talking points.

The group's co-founder, Mik Moore, is no more honest when it comes to discussing his video. Once confronted with the generals' charges of deceitfully creating the appearance of endorsements, he offered a defense: "It's a film to educate and mobilize the Jewish vote," he said. "It's not to encourage people to vote for Obama." Oh. OK, then. So, why does the video conclude with a black screen reading: "The people who have kept Israel alive offer you their choice"? Just how gullible does Moore expect us to be?

Why must their promotion of Obama be based on such easily uncovered lies and deceit? Can't they make any pro-Israel case for Obama more honestly? It is telling that they feel a need to bolster the security credentials of an Obama administration regarding Israel. It is also telling that they need to hide the radical agendas and political orientations of the leftist Israelis supporting Obama, and misrepresent the positions of the generals interviewed in order to give some Israeli "street cred" to Obama's Mideast policies.

The truth? They can't handle the truth. At least not honestly.

Could it be that those Florida grandparents-and mainstream Israelis-are worried about Obama for legitimate reasons? Maybe it is precisely because Obama is supported by those hard-left Israelis who would like to see the US pressure-or "rape"-Israel into a dangerous settlement that he inspires unease. Or that he was endorsed by Hamas. Or that the Obama campaign had to return $33,000 in donations when it was revealed they had come from Hamas-controlled Gaza. Or that there is an independent Gaza-based call center calling Americans to promote Obama's candidacy. Or that for 20 years he worshipped in and drew inspiration from that sewer of anti-Semitism and anti-Americanism that was Reverend Jeremiah Wright's church, only quitting once politically necessary to do so. Or that his friends include former PLO spokesman Rashid Khalidi and unrepentant Weather Underground terrorist William Ayers. Or that his past and current foreign policy team (e.g., Daniel Kurtzer, Robert Malley, Samantha Power, Zbigniew Brzezinski) have, to be charitable, a troubled relationship with the pro-Israel community. Or that he has made remarks disparaging the Likud Party, likely to be in power again within months. Or that so many elements hostile to Israel are in his corner. Or that John McCain is projected to get upwards of 80% of the vote from Americans actually in Israel-tens of thousands of patriotic Americans who might know a thing or two about the implications of America's Mideast policies.

With these videos, the lies are already halfway around the world. Is there enough time for the truth to catch up by November? Who knows-maybe some wise Florida grandparents armed with the truth might turn the tables, educating and changing the minds of their young visitors. That would make the schlep worthwhile.
Kory Bardash is the co-chairman of Republicans Abroad Israel; Abraham Katsman is counsel to RAI
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