An Unacceptable Statement from Obama

At the recent AIPAC conference (a major player in promoting neocon policies) Obama made statements that seriously concerned me. I have written in the past about how terribly he has pandered to AIPAC and the rest of the neocon portion of the Israel lobby, but I have also noted that this pandering has been more tame than that of the other candidates (for example, in his willingness to argue that pro-Israel does not mean pro-Likud). Nonetheless, this latest comment, calling for an "undivided Jerusalem" is not only disappointing, but a serious obstacle to peace. This is a letter I just wrote to the campaign in this regard:

I am disappointed by Senator Obama's recent comments regarding an "undivided Jerusalem" which I feel indicates that he is not as committed to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process as he has otherwise stated. As Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said recently, any peace deal with the Palestinians will, in accordance with international law, result in East Jerusalam as the capital of the Palestinian state. For Senator Obama to speak of an undivided Jerusalem implies that he intends to support Jerusalem as an exclusively Israeli city. This would be a devastating position to take when trying to woo Palestinian moderates. I hope he clarifies this position soon.

I urge you to write the campaign as well by clicking here.

To learn more about AIPAC click here.

To learn about pro-Israel, pro-Peace alternatives to AIPAC check out Jewish Voice for Peace and also the new group JStreet. Jewish Voice for peace also has a fair summary of the history of events leading to the terrible situation that we have today. Click here to read that.