Re: NYTimes: Barack Hussein Obama: ''Nobody is suffering more than the Palestinian people.''


<imjudy86@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
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On Mar 29, 4:18 pm, "Dan Kimmel" <daniel.kim...@xxxxxxx> wrote:
"Abe Kohen" <ako...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message

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From the NY Times 3/14/07, a "fair use" quote:

Less experienced than Mrs. Clinton in the thicket of Jewish and Middle
Eastern politics, he became a bit tangled in the eyes of some voters
during
his appearance Monday at the same conference that Mrs. Clinton
attended, a
forum sponsored by the America Israel Public Affairs Committee, known
as
Aipac.

Several Jewish conferencegoers said they were concerned by Mr. Obama's
remark Sunday in Iowa where, in a reference to the Middle East, he
said,
''Nobody is suffering more than the Palestinian people.'' According to
The
Des Moines Register, Mr. Obama put the blame on the stalled peace
efforts
with Israel and on the refusal of the Palestinian government to
renounce
terrorism.

Mr. Obama has said in the past that both Israelis and Palestinians had
''suffered'' because of the lack of a peace agreement, and a spokesman
said
on Tuesday that Mr. Obama believed ''the security of Israel should be
America's starting point in the Middle East.'' Yet by singling out
Palestinian suffering on Sunday, Mr. Obama could be tempting fate with
some
Jewish voters.

Especially ignorant ones who like to take things out of context.



''Awarding first place in the suffering matrix is odious and
infelicitous,''
said Rabbi Steven Silver of Redondo Beach, Calif., after listening to
Mrs.
Clinton speak at a reception at the Aipac conference. ''I think a lot
of
Americans would find that comment offensive, too.''

Especially ignorant ones. Think about it. As an individual private
citizen -- not as a government official or military leader or
terrorist --
where you would be living (religion aside for the moment)? Israel or
Gaza?
To ask it is to answer. Clearly the Palestinians are in the pit of
despair,
while Israel is a free, robust, flourishing democracy. Do Israelis
suffer
from brutal Arab terrorism? Of course they do. Do they suffer from
missile
attacks and the constant threat of war? Of course. But most Israelis
have
jobs, don't worry where their next meal is coming from, having running
water
and access to medical care.

This is so obvious it shouldn't even be debateable.

If they really have all those problems, they are are SELF-INFLICTED.
Israel built a large infrastructure in the Gaza Stip before Oslo,
including
sewage, electricity, running water, etc. The Gazans, naturally, only
hated
us for doing that. They always said " I would rather be a poor free
man
rather than a rich slave (as if they were really slaves then and they
were
"free" under Arafat's rule). Since Oslo BILLIONS Of dollars have been
poured into them. They get more aid per-capita than anyone in the
world.
All this "suffering" you described was brought on by the leaders they
wanted.


No one is denying that. But they ARE suffering, and the reason the masses
keep making such poor choices is because of their evil leadership.


.