With his endorsement Thursday of a key Palestinian statehood demand, President Obama just rolled the dice with a small but vital segment of his base — the American Jewish community.
Obama, while picking up the lion’s share of the Jewish vote in 2008, has since the beginning of his term faced questions about his commitment to the U.S.-Israel alliance. His administration has sought to quell these concerns by stating in whatever forum possible that their bond is “unshakable” — a line he used again Thursday.
But the president’s call for a Palestinian state based on the borders that existed before the 1967 Six-Day War seemed, to some, to place him on the side of the Palestinians at the starting point of what he hopes will be a new round of peace talks.
The Israelis were not pleased.
“This is a radical shift in U.S. policy toward Israel,” Dore Gold, former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, told Fox News. “Frankly, the 1967 lines are not defensible. … Israel today is 45 miles wide. You put us back to the ’67 lines, we are eight miles wide.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is set to meet with Obama on Friday, had a similar reaction. His office said in a statement that while Israel “appreciates” Obama’s commitment to peace, the prime minister essentially wants Obama to retract his remarks.
In the U.S., the policy shift could pose a problem for Obama with Jewish voters and donors.
“I think that if the perception is a year from now that the president’s game plan was to sort of ram this approach through, then he’s going to lose a lot of this support,” said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean at The Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish rights group in Los Angeles. “It’ll be interesting to see how Americans Jews respond.”
Jewish voters made up just 2 percent of the electorate in 2008, according to exit polls. But they leaned toward Obama. At the time, 78 percent voted for the senator from Illinois, while just 21 percent voted for Republican Sen. John McCain.
According to information kept by the Center for Responsive Politics, a little more than half of donations from “pro-Israel” political action committees went toward Democrats in 2008 — the bulk of it, $1.16 million, went to Obama.
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17 Responses
ya think he’s gonna lose jewish voters?
what part of they do NOT want us anywhere, not even in those 8 miles does he not understand?
He thinks the palestines are going to agree to these borders?
why would they? they didn’t in ’67, we are STILL given to much land – they don’t want us to have any land – they want us in the ocean!
Not surprising that Obama feels so emboldened considering how bare the Republican field for 2012 has looked. Perhaps this will be a wake up call!
Dont worry he will still get the vote of tipshim like charliehall, PMO, proudliberal, and nfgo3 among others who continue to drink the obama mania kool aid.
Oh, these 1967 borders … are really the 1940 borders.
The Bush Road Map, published in 2003, made the 1967 borders the basis for a final settlement. And Bush had specifically come out in favor of a Palestinian State in 2001. Agree or disagree, but there are no significant policy changes here.
I am not a liberal (few over 50 are). I did not vote for President Obama, Clinton, or Carter. Far closer to Rabbi Miller zt”l’s views than those of the left, I nonetheless must agree with charliehall in that all US Presidents have spoken of a 2-state solution and the ’67 borders. But I also have to agree with mark levin that this will not effect the Jewish vote. The liberal Jews I know, while claiming to be real supporters of Israel, they believe peace is possible only with the 2-state ’67 borders policy. This may actually help the President’s Jewish support. May we all take comfort knowing that lev malachim b’yad HaShem.
ich hut nicht gehert aza antisemitisheh shmooz mein gans leibin in america. er iz crank in kupp. mein heilge tzionim blood meint gurnisht. luz em gebin tzurik zoo der indians gans washington, nisht stam moheegan sun
1967? How about if we go back in time to slavery, Obama dear?
Re: #4
Charlie you MUST STOP LYING!! Granted you are a liberal and liberalism is a lie, STOP IT ALREADY!
Allow me to quote President Bush for you:
In a letter written by President Bush to Prime Minister Sharon on April 14, 2004, after Sharon’s presentation in Washington of Israel’s disengagement plan from the Gaza Strip. Bush wrote: “The United States reiterates its steadfast commitment to Israel’s security, including secure and defensible borders, and to preserve and strengthen Israel’s capability to deter and defend itself,
by itself, against any threat or possible combination of threats.”
Bush clearly did not envision Israel withdrawing to the 1967 lines. Later in the letter he stated: “In light of new realities on the ground, including already existing major Israeli population centers, it is unrealistic
to expect that the outcome of final status negotiations will be a full and complete return to the armistice lines of 1949.” Bush did not use the term “settlement blocs,” as
Clinton did, but appeared to be referring to the same idea. Less than a year later, on March 27, 2005, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice explained on Israel Radio that “Israeli population centers” referred to “the large settlement blocs” in the West Bank.
So Charlie, STOP THE PRO OBAMA MANIA LIES!!
Emboldened by “his success” at eliminating Bin Laden, Obama feels assured of his re-election and that he can now follow his own agenda.
A clear signal that we need strong tefillos.
Henei Lo Yanum Velo Yishan Shomer Yisrael.
WHAT A DUMB HEADLINE!!
He’s advocating the destruction of the State of Israel and all the Jews living therein and you’re talking about raising the ire of Jewish voters?
As someone living here in Eretz Yisroel, I have to ask, Are you people dumb? Have you never studied Jewish history?
Charlie: Bush called for ’67’ borders as the basis for a final status agreement together with the Palestinians renouncing their right of return and thereby rightfully recognizing Israel as a Jewish state. Obama, on the other hand, has called for the isssue of right of return to be dealt with later, after Israel gives all territorial concessions. This is disasterous for Israel, since after conceding all the land, the Palestinians will still claim peace hasn’t been achieved w/o return of all refugees, and so they’ll continue using violence (rockets from the West Bank)as a justified means to obtain this goal.
What we seem to be missing here is that Obama is no doubt getting money from his arab brothers. Yes he had harsh words for Assad but it was more like a scolding to behave or a mere slap on the wrist.
He is a puppet where the puppeteer (did I spell it write) is Hashem. So as it was said in another post all is in Hashem’s hand.
With that said we need a republican for President and we need to get out there in 2012 and fire this character.
That remains to be seen. Most non-Orthodox Jews (the ones who gave him perhaps 90% of their votes, and who strongly support him on social issues such as abortion,etc.) generally are opposed to Israelis living in the West Bank, and couldn’t care less about Jerusalem. Those who are outraged were disinclined to support Obama to being with.
Charlie Hall you are a bold fat liar. You still support obama you are anti israel, period.
hilarious headline, nobody cares about 1-2% of votes at least 30% of which would still vote for him anyways… i think jewish votes are the least of ANYONES concern, its a laughable headline, theres probably a bigger arab population in the usa than jews anyways!
Call tHe white house 2024561111 and support Israel!
Now that he has openly called for the extermination of the Jewish people, he will bring out the very best in the Goyim. You will see more and more politicos openly blaming the greedy Jewish bankers for the hyperinflation, joblessness and poverty in America.
After WWII, America gave sanctuary to thousands of Nazi war criminals as part of Operation Paper Clip. A large number, BTW, were settled in Iowa. What do you think they have been doing all this time? Their children are now the police, prosecution and judges of Iowa. The same is true in many other places.
O’Bama is a paper doll. He is all facade. He has no depth to him at all, a puppet manipulated by his owners. That was totally clear to me prior to even his nomination and to anyone who really bothered to find out anything about him. He is the ultimate suicide bomber and that is why he cares nothing about his reelection chances. His only goal is to destroy as much of America and the Jews as possible in the name of Jihad.
For the Jews of America to not repeat the same stupidity as those of Europe 70 years ago, they must wrap their minds around the fact that O’Bama is an Irish-Arab Muslim owned by the fanatic enemies of the Jewish people and will do anything he can to annihilate us. He is using the proven destructive powers of Socialism to Jihad America into oblivion and thereby negate the most powerful force against Islamic domination. Thus opening the opportunity to destroy us.
So don’t count on his not being reelected. Just the opposite and then ask yourself; what then?
Aryeh Zelasko
Beit Shemesh