Vomiting as a political expression Obama's appeasement speech before AIPAC Aref Assaf June 5, 2008 Update: Obama tones down his appalling promise re "undivided Jerusalem' stance I almost threw up while listening to Barak Obama, the U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama gave to AIPAC, the pro-Israeli lobby, in which he promised his full support to Israel and went further by adopting Israeli policy that sees Jerusalem as the "undivided capital" of the Jewish state. Is this how far a presidential contender will stoop to ensure the blessing of a foregin government's lobby? The date could not have been accidental, for on June 5, some forty one years ago, Israel conquered Arab Jerusalem and annexed to Israel. A devout believer in the ‘lesser of two evils" theory about American presidential elections, I began recently to argue for Obama instead of John McCain, the other Republican presidential disaster. Like most American, I feel I have no choice on who to vote for this November. After having discreetly vouched for Obama since the party race to the White House began last year, his speech – just hours after he won his party's backing on Wednesday – has prompted second thoughts about what changes the African-American could bring to Washington's Middle East foreign policy. While giving his speech to the all powerful American-Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which was aired live on some Arab television networks, the pro-Obama in our community have been dealt a rude awakening that the United States, regardless of its leadership, would continue to favor Israel at the expense of Palestinian and Arab rights. Political pundits tells us not to worry because Obama's campaign pledge to fully support Israel was generally understood as a way to win over Jewish votes. But I believed Obama has gone further than even McCain when Obama stated that “Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel, and it must remain undivided." Are we to understand that Obama is against the Palestinians’ demand for their future state to have its capital in East Jerusalem? No Palestinian leadership will ever accept such a notion for Jerusalem’s place in Palestinians polity, national and religious identity and consciousness is central and irreplaceable. The future of Jerusalem is one of the tough final status issues being negotiated between the Palestinians and Israelis, and the occupation and annexation of the eastern part have not been recognized by the international community, including the successive presidents of the United States. The U.S. and other embassies remain in Tel Aviv, resisting Israeli calls to move to Jerusalem. Because of the symbolism of Jerusalem, I would not surprised to soon witness a third Palestinian Intifada should the Obama presidency decides to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. We hope Obama will not commit such a mortal mistake. We would like to think of the promise as a campaign promise and just a way to win over the pro-Israeli lobby in Washington. We recall that previous presidential candidates had vowed to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem – an action that would recognize and help legitimize Israel's claim over the whole city and constitute a shift in traditional U.S. policy. But once in the Oval Office, the promise was never fulfilled, perhaps to avert damaging relations with Washington's Arab and Muslim allies, who regard Jerusalem's Muslim sites as among the holiest. The Arab and Muslim community in the US may have its suspicion confirmed; that there exists little recognizable differences between the two presidential candidates, Obama and McCain, because their policies regarding the Arab-Israeli conflict are the same. Obama's comments have confirmed there will be no change in the U.S. administration's policy.
The danger of surrendering to such fatalistic stance will be detrimental to the already weakened political clout of the community and further derail its nascent attempts at political empowerment. We must reconsider our options. Yes, the issue of Palestine/Israel is dear to us but we also have concerns about domestic agendas as well. In key state such as Michigan, Pennsylvania, Florida, and here in New Jersey, our community can tilt the presidential vote.
Related: So Sad to See Obama Surrender to AIPAC by Daoud Khuttab | 
