[Raj_Copi_Jin]

http://www.thejewishweek.com/viewArt.../New_York.html

by Jonathan Mark
Associate Editor

Every big-city Jewish and mainstream newspaper has steadily charted the Jewish vote in this presidential election, wondering at every step along the way if any Jew not voting for Sen. Barack Obama might secretly be motivated by his inner racist or Zionist doubt. Democratic supporters and Jewish leaders have reassured Jews, as best they could, that they know Obama, and he’s really a “great friend of Israel.”

Current polling suggests that most Jews are convinced, with almost 60 percent supporting Obama.

But how are Arab-Americans dealing with all that’s known about Obama? Few major newspapers, Jewish or otherwise, have looked into that. According to a headline in The Detroit Free Press (Oct. 10), “Arab Americans Favor Obama By Wide Margin,” with Arab-American Muslims supporting Obama over McCain 84-4 percent. But when Arab-American Christians are included, Obama’s support drops to 54-33, even worse than Obama is doing among Jews. Obama is seriously “underperforming” among Arab-American Christians, says Zogby International, the pollsters. And when third-party candidates are added to the option, Obama’s support among Arab-Americans drops to 46 percent, a full 14 points worse than he’s doing among Jews. And yet, there are no articles that we’ve seen questioning whether Arab-Americans are racist, or that they are asking for promises and reassurance all their own.

According to the Arab-American Institute, sponsors of the poll, Arab-Americans make up 5 percent of the Michigan vote, and 2 percent of both the Ohio and Pennsylvania vote. There are 255,000 Arab-Americans in Florida, more than enough there, as in Ohio, to have made the difference in recent elections.

It’s widely known that Sen. Joe Lieberman is campaigning for McCain in Florida, and Ed Koch is campaigning there for Obama, but who’s campaigning for the Arab-American vote and what are they telling Arab-Americans?

According to the Palestine News Network (Oct. 10), at an AAI event in Arlington, Va., Republican Mark Ellmore (challenging Democratic Rep. Jim Moran’s seat in Virginia’s 8th Congressional District) told the crowd — in Arabic — that his wife is Palestinian and “my son is an Arab-American, [a] Palestinian-American serving in the United States Air Force.”

Ellmore added, to applause and cheers, “We need to get back to the pre-‘67 borders for the Palestinian people ... Arabs don’t hate Jews, they hate Zionism.”

Despite all the reports of Jewish racism in this campaign, there have been no reports of any Jewish campaigner, from either party, similarly using the word “hate” to so matter-of-factly refer to anyone.

Nevertheless, Ellmore says, “I stand with John McCain lockstep when it comes to American security,” reported the Washington Post earlier in the campaign, while not reporting this Republican candidate’s anti-Zionist attitude.

Meanwhile, Moran, the Democrat, said at the same AAI event, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict “is at the heart of how so many people think of America, [it] defines America’s values.” The answer, said Moran, is divide Jerusalem and let “the Golan Heights be controlled by Syria. We can resolve this crisis, we can do that, [with] a president [Obama] that’s determined to do that.”

Back in 2006, the last time Moran ran, a blogger covering that race, reported, “Moran, depending on his audience, is sometimes pro-Israel.”

Well, now, which is it?

That Virginia district is surely not the only district in which this is going on, but even the best-informed Jews wouldn’t know it by reading the papers. The Alexandria Times profiled Ellmore and didn’t say a word about his belief that Syria should get the Golan. The political tide within the Arab-American community is rarely reported, outside blogs, occasional polls and the Arab media. Politicians can freely say one thing to Arab-Americans and simply cross the street to suddenly morph into a “great friend of Israel.” You’d never know, would you?

During the primaries, The Los Angeles Times (April 10) headlined a lengthy article, “Allies Of Palestinians See A Friend In Barack Obama.” Unlike most Jews, who couldn’t tell you one sentence about what candidates are saying to Arab-American audiences, the L.A. Times reported that Arab-Americans knew full well the support for Israel that Obama has promised AIPAC, for example, but their personal experiences with Obama “have left some Palestinian American leaders believing that Obama is more receptive to their viewpoint than he is willing to say. Their belief is not drawn from Obama’s speeches or campaign literature, but from comments that some say Obama made in private and from his association with the Palestinian American community in his hometown of Chicago....”

Surely one can be receptive to both Israel and Palestine, and can say good and true things to both in private, but Israel and Palestine are not Finland and Denmark; there are limits to how receptive one can simultaneously be. Obama has chosen to publicly align with the Zionists, but the question is why Arab-Americans know so much more about what candidates are saying to us than we know about what the candidates are saying to them?

[radikal]

There is a large Egyptian Coptic community in NJ. What do they think of all this?

[softy54534]

Surely one can be receptive to both Israel and Palestine, and can say good and true things to both in private, but Israel and Palestine are not Finland and Denmark; there are limits to how receptive one can simultaneously be. Obama has chosen to publicly align with the Zionists, but the question is why Arab-Americans know so much more about what candidates are saying to us than we know about what the candidates are saying to them?

Very simple. The Obama campaign hides the truth. If Obama's promises to the Arabs ever became public, he'd have a tough time explaining why he supports chopping up Israel and handing it over to Islamic terrorists.

Why do you think that Arabs in America, as well as foreign Islamic terrorist groups like Hamas and al Qaeda support Obama? Because Obama is "aligned with the Zionists?" I think not.

The Arabs support Obama because Obama is anti-Israel. That's easy to understand.

What I really can't understand is how any Jew can support Obama. And, of course, I also can't understand how anyone who cares about America could support Obama.

[S.T.D.]

Why? I think it's more nuanced than that. There's sufficient anti Bush sentiment that lots of groups would support a ham sandwich.

[Ifroham4]

I think it's very clear at this point that Obama is the Anti-Israel candidate. The Jewish democrats are seriously diluting themselves if they think this guy will not throw us and ours under the buss, the moment he's sworn in.

[HedgeYourBets]

Well in truth no one is that stupid. Back in 2004 the last minute OBL video purporting to support John Kerry was a pretty transparent effort to boost Bush. Why? Because terrorist and non state orgs openly support any effort that will keep us in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, get us to spend billions and generally irritate the world. That helps their recruitment into terror cells.

[LottiFurmann]

Why? I think it's more nuanced than that. There's sufficient anti Bush sentiment that lots of groups would support a ham sandwich.

That may be true, but I haven't heard many Jewish voters mention that.

[Big A]

Well I did have to listen to some crazy snowbirds this week up from Tampa. Apparently Bush is the Greatest President ever, better than George Washington. And Obama is, and I quote, "The Devil".

[Drugmachine]

I thought they believed he was the anti-Christ. In any case, let's stick to reality. He is an inexperienced blowhard who is a pretty overt anti-Israel politician.

[brraverishhh]

Obama is the Messiah - that's what I heard. Anyways - here in Chicago I never heard of him until a bunch of people decided to make him a SAVIOR. I just hope our SAVIOR will not hesitate to make a decision when one really needs to be made and simply does something stupid.... without the advise of those who gave him all the Messianic values possible!!!!!

[Peptobismol]

Well, being an "ARAB" Chrisitain...which I wasn't an ARAB until you all made me (including others)....culturally, ethic, etc...I was somthing else LIKE LEBANESE! Not riding some donkey butt.

I can tell you that I hate Obama. Don't really care for McCain...but I am voting for McCain - 99% of us our, except those freaks in our community who always like to butt heads. We apprecaite Bush Jr, even from getting Syria out. Israel let us down on that one.

Hi Orangeblossom,

For the record, we tend to say "Arabs," referring to Muslim Arabs, because 99% of them are Muslim.

It makes sense to me that Christian Arabs who have suffered some of the worst violence and discrimination at the hands of their Muslim countrymen would not back the same candidate as the Muslims do.

Every Muslim terrorist and terrorism supporter who wants to destroy America is, of course, wishing for Obama to win the presidency. Obama is soft on terrorism and inexperienced to the point of being completely unqualified to be president during a terrorist attack -- as it plainly admitted by Obama's own running mate Joe Biden. An Obama presidency would be an enormous victory for al Qaeda, Hezbullah, Hamas, Syria, and Iran, etc.

As victims of Muslim terrorism, we have a lot in common with Christian Arabs and view them as potential allies.

[tgs]

LOL. l wish more Lebanese were like you Orangeblossom. That is to say proud and self conscious of their great and distinct history, in our greater homelands of the Levant, Egypt and Mesopotamia. And you are quite right, if you are an Arab so are we. But we are NOT Arabs, and neither are you. Speaking Arabic and eating falafel does not an Arab make!