From Nikolai: "Obama's
pre-presidential campaign 'views' on Palestine (all except one from Ali
Abunimah):
" In
2000, when Obama unsuccessfully ran for Congress I heard him speak at a campaign
fundraiser hosted by a University of Chicago professor. On that occasion and
others Obama was forthright in his criticism of US policy and his call for an even-handed approach to the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict."
"But
Obama’s gradual shift into the AIPAC camp had begun as early as 2002 as he planned his move
from small time Illinois politics to the national scene. In 2003, Forward reported
on how he had “been courting the pro-Israel constituency.” He co-sponsored an
amendment to the Illinois Pension Code allowing the state of Illinois to lend
money to the Israeli government. Among his early backers was Penny Pritzker
— now his national campaign finance chair — scion of the liberal but staunchly
Zionist family that owns the Hyatt hotel chain. (The Hyatt Regency hotel on
Mount Scopus was built on land forcibly expropriated from Palestinian
owners after Israel occupied East Jerusalem in 1967). He has also
appointed several prominent pro-Israel advisors."
And check this utter hypocrisy out -
Ali
Abunimah on Obama speaking with him in 2004 at a gathering in Chicago’s
Hyde Park neighborhood: "He was in the midst of a primary campaign to secure the
Democratic nomination for the United States Senate seat he now occupies. But at
that time polls showed him trailing....I went up to greet him. He responded
warmly, and volunteered, “Hey, I’m sorry I haven’t said more about Palestine
right now, but we are in a tough primary race. I’m hoping when things calm down
I can be more up front.” He referred to my activism, including columns I was
contributing to the The
Chicago Tribune critical of Israeli and US policy, “Keep up the good work!”"
Obama
in 2004 speaking to Chicago Jewish News: "There cannot be peace in
the Middle East unless terrorism ends and the Palestinians undertake democratic
reforms within their own society. And while I firmly believe that America must
retain its special relationship with Israel as the only democracy in the Middle
East, the US must work harder to foster conditions in which Israel and the
Palestinians can take meaningful steps towards peace. While protecting Israel\'s
ability to meet its security needs, we should offer our services as an honest
broker between the two sides, recognizing that they must ultimately forge an
agreement through mutual consent."
"But
Obama was not entirely insensitive to ordinary lives. He recalled a January 2006
visit to the Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona that resembled an ordinary American
suburb where he could imagine the sounds of Israeli children at “joyful play
just like my own daughters.” He saw a home the Israelis told him was damaged by
a Hizbullah rocket (no one had been hurt in the incident).
Six
months later, Obama said, “Hizbullah launched four thousand rocket attacks just
like the one that destroyed the home in Kiryat Shmona, and kidnapped Israeli
service members.”"