Tough choices face Arab American voters this Fall in presidential contest
September 13th, 2008Arab American voters face the same challenges they always face in elections: candidates who climb all over themselves to show how pro-Israel they are. There’s nothing wrong with being pro-Israel, but oftentimes the candidates embrace the most extremist views supporting Israel that reject principle and fairness needed to resolve the Middle East conflict peacefully.
It comes down to this question: Who do you want to be disappointed by, someone you know is going to disappoint you, or someone you hope deeply won’t disappoint you?
This election, it is Barack Obama and John McCain, and their running mates, pro-Israel activists Sarah Palin and Joe Biden.
Arab American voters (who are Muslim and Christian) are not asking Americans to be pro-Arab. They are just asking that Americans stop being stupid, use their brains, pretend they really believe that stuff about being the leader of the free world, and be fair. For many pro-Israel activists, that’s too much to permit. Better to keep the Americans dazed and confused — although there are many supporters of Israel who do support peace and fairness. Just just are not talking these days.
It’s not even close when it comes to who will be fair on Middle East issues. The presidential candidates are all sucking up to the pro-Israel lobby because the pro-Israel lobby is the ONLY game in town. The Arab lobby doesn’t exist. In fact, the Arab American activists are being overshadowed by the new movement taking over our issues, the Islamicists. The Muslim American movement is made up mostly of non-Arab Muslims. To those non-Arab Muslims, Palestine is just a stepping-stone to a larger agenda. It’s not the priority — even though that’s what they allege.
So here we are again. Screwed in an election. No real choices at all, when it comes to someone who just might do the right thing when it comes to the Middle East. So, what do we do? Well, it’s called the lessor or two (or more) evils.
Biden has set a new record, a Christian declaring himself as “Zionist.” Usually, American politicians pandering to prejudice and hatred don’t have to go so far to attract votes and money from the powerful pro-Israel lobby, Biden doesn’t have to do this, but maybe being anti-Arab is something he aspires too.
All he has to do is do what McCain and Obama have already done. Appear before AIPAC. Tell the pro-Israel crowd what it wants to hear, and hope that’s enough to pull the wool over Jewish voters, too.
Oh yes. It’s not just Arabs who are getting screwed. It’s Jewish American voters, too. Every presidential candidate claims they will move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Israeli occupied Jerusalem. But they don’t because Jerusalem is a disputed city, half occupied in 1947 and the remaining half occupied in 1967. Jerusalem is a city for Christians, Muslims and Jews and should not be the sole possession of one group. It should be shared. Pro-Israel supporters don’t like that notion — the notion of sharing, just and doing what is right because it undermines their power.
Arab Americans were hopeful with Obama because Obama comes from an oppressed South Side Chicago African American community, although he is an elitist who has always been above the suffering of African Americans. Nevertheless, Obama was close to Arab activists — most extremists — who he needed when he was running before to help raise funds and generate votes.
Now, those “friendships” have become liabilities. In today’s mainstream American media, hate and bias are often disguised as objective journalism. Just read the Chicago Tribune once-in-awhile where pro-Israel journalists constantly slam Arab rights and cleverly fuel hatemongering. The Chicago Sun-Times has a recent solid history of anti-Arab bashing and despite some changes in their editorial board, the haters still hold important positions where they routinely bash Arabs and Palestinian rights.
With a news media that promotes anti-Arab hate, why would one think the politiciansw would try to be fair on the Middle East issues?
But there is one hope for Arab Americans. It is a theory based on the contrarian view that the best way to help a cause is not to constantly seek the best candidate and always be disappointed. It is the view that the best way to bring change is to keep the environment hostile. That is, don’t support Obama — just because he has a middle name that is Muslim (Hussein is not an Arab name, it is a Muslim name. I don’t know one Aran Christian named Hussein, unlike Abdullah, which is an Arab named shared by Christians and Muslims). The theory goes that instead of supporting Obama, who can’t do the right thing because his hands are tied by the reality of American politics, support John McCain who everyone presumes is more pro-Israel than Obama. The truth is, McCain, with his support of Israel, could do more to force Israel’s government to be more objective and do the right thing.
McCain, by virtue of the fact that he is viewed as being more supportive of Israel, could have the strength to do the right thing.
Palin also is popular but naive. She doesn’t understand the fundamentals of the Middle East conflict and will continue to pander to pro-Israel views as she has been doing.
But at least Palin and McCain don’t have to declare themselves “Zionists” to win pro-Israel votes, the way Biden has. Biden will be under constant pressure to prove that he is pro-Israel and he will most likely spearhead the move to advance the extremist agendas in Israel’s government, rather than try to contain those Israeli extremists.
We all know that what the Middle East needs is someone courageous enough to make the Palestinians and the Israelis do what needs to be done. But that courageous person is not out there. In the face of that continuing reality, the best option is not to support someone who “looks” like they can be fair and is more likely to be a bigger disappointment. The real option is support the person who is unfair and won’t disappoint, but who could just change.
Obama won’t change. If Palestine and the Middle East were really important, he would have given signals to that affect already. But he won’t. McCain and Palin could actually bring more change.
And, for those who see things in Republican and Democratic colors, the other reality is this. Even if McCain wins, both houses of the congress will be controlled by Democrats. So, what’s the difference if Obama wins or loses.
I always think disappointment is better when it is not so disappointing and the person who lets you down is not someone you expect to help you, like McCain. The worst scenario is to support someone who you think mightr understand you, but despite that understanding still easily changes his views in order to pander for votes and money, like Obama.
Obama will let the Arab American community down not because he wants to but because that is the inherent nature of an American political system where the Arab activism is at an extremist and dysfunctional minimal. If Obama lets us down, as he is certain to do, that would be far more traumatic for Arab Americans. Because the worst kind of disappointment come from friends, not enemies.
– Ray Hanania
www.TheMediaOasis.com
Loading ...
Loading...
Like Clinton embracing the idea of “obliterating Iran” just to please this audience.
Ray,
you have put out a number of fine pieces recently. But I must object to this one, and bring up a discussion I would like other readers to comment on.
First off, the pro-Israel lobby (and in general, most other lobbies also) is a bit more complex than you stated. THere is more than just AIPAC. THere are also many CHristian organizations like Christian Friends of Israel. They support Israel because they believe in the second coming of Christ, during which all the Jews will accept Jesus Christ as their savior or be eternally burned. Plenty of those consider themselves “Zionists”. These people are not really Israel’s friends, and though they do have some Jewish friends in AIPAC, they operate independently of AIPAC and are not controled by Jews. They are “friends” with far-right Israeli political parties and organizations, so long as the armageddon topic does not come up in discussion.
Also, Joe Biden is not considered pro-Israel by the Israeli media or many Jews. Have you seen this? Neither Obama nor Biden rank particularly high.
But most importantly is the idea that the is no anti-Israel lobby. That lobby already exists and it is big and powerful and it competes with (and often wins)the pro-Israel lobby for influence in Washington. It’s called big oil. Yes, the oil lobby supports many positions that are against Israel. It’s just not discussed in newspapers and TV. No country wants America off oil more than Israel. From Israel’s perspective, America is at the mercy of the Arabs and their oil. Every year AMerica throws much more money (directly and indirectly by driving up demand) at governments of anti-Israel oil-rich countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait, Sudan, Russia, Venezuela, than it gives to Israel to buy US-made weapons. But sadly, the leaders of these countries prefer to keep the money to themselves instead of helping the Palestinians. Think about it.
So in conclusion, I support Barack Hussein Obama for president.
levylevthuglife, welcome back.
How come Biden doesn’t rank high? He seem pretty pro-Israel to me:
Then it must be that the U.S never has a strategy or any other option than to support Israel entirely and unconditionally because it has done so on every account, throughout Israel’s history. Biden is not about to change that:
Barack seems to be really supportive of Israel as well, supporting them through every political action or attacks that they have made, as far as I can see here. I feel that just because he is not as “in your face” as some of those rabid racists, it doesn’t mean he’s not pro-Israel.
No influential U.S politican has the guts to stand up in his/her criticism of Israel without getting knocked out from all sides or considered a terrorist.
I think most readers understand the assumptions that are made. You don’t have to repeat old territory every time you write an opinion. McCain is the lesser of two evils. Barack Obama is a sell-out who seems to be playing the audience for whatever they want to hear. Or, maybe he just wants to get elected. Eitherway, that he has a Muslim middle name means absolutely nothing to me. He could be Barack “Ray Hanania” Obama and I am not sure I would vote for him.
The only caveat is that eight weeks to the election, one could easily switch from one choice to the other since they both suck so bad.
Ray Hanania
http://www.RadioChicagoland.com
Are you sure about that? McCain and Palin seem to be totally out of control and will pose a great danger to every single country in the Middle East, with the obvious exception of Israel which Palin addresses here.
Very disturbing. Palin sucks.
Ray, I think it’s both unfair and untrue to say that Obama “has always been above the suffering of African Americans.” If this were so, then why did he sacrifice three lucrative years as an attorney to work with impoverished communities on the south side of Chicago?
Eric,
OB needed street cred to move his political efforts fwd. He needed a base of power, voters, constituants and he had to prove his blackness (enter Rev. W).
Look at OB’s tax returns and see how generous he’s been with ‘giving’.
Google his half brother, the one that lives in a hut.
The south side of Chi was a stepping stone although I’m sure he did some worthwhile stuff I don’t believe it was altruistic. He’s had a plan for awhile.
That’s why he hooked up with Ayers, Ayers father was a ‘guy’ in the Chicago political machine.
Ray,
After reading your response and re-reading your article, I think you should reconsider your position about Obama. You essentially say that Obama is bad for Arabs because he brown noses the Israeli lobby more than you want him to. Well, I find this way of thinking to be problematic and not constructive.
Can you please define for me what a pro-Arab candidate is? To me, a pro-Arab candidate is one who from the very begining was against the Iraq war, and someone who wants to speedily but intelligintly withdraw US forces from Iraq. A pro-Arab candidate is one who wants to talk to Iran instead of starting a war that will affect the entire region. A pro-Arab candidate would support the Syrian-Israeli peace talks, instead of castigating Syria as this administration has done. A pro-Arab candidate will start concilatory conversations between the people of war-torn Lebanon, stand up for the rights of women in conservative Arab societies, and help foster a slow but stable transition to democracy across the Arab world. Obama is much more qualified to tackle each of these issues, and he holds positions that are much more reasonable than McCain and Palin with their itchy trigger fingers.
Let us for a moment assume that Obama does not support the Palestinian cause (though I sincerely believe that he does based on my readings in Haaretz, in Hebrew unfortunately). Would he not be a great president for Arabs if he made significant advances on each issue on the above agenda, but still hold pro-Israeli position that is not too kind to the Palestinians? Honestly, can one be pro-Arab and anti-Palestinian? What about pro-Arab and pro-Israeli?
I know it must be frustrating hearing candidate after candidate kiss AIPAC’s ass over the years. But believe me, hearing Olmert brown nose Bush isn’t much better. Israeli leaders are not allowed to question how much of our independence we surrender to Washington, sort of like how US leaders aren’t allowed to question Israel’s role in shaping US policy. No Israeli leader can advance a policy that goes “against” US interest, be it making peace with Syria or securing a military contract that the US wants given to an American company. You see, the taboo is 2-sided. It would be nice if both societies paused for a moment and assessed where their relationship is taking them. In the end though, I honestly believe that Israel will have to pay for stupid US policy more than AMerica will have to pay for stupid Israeli policy.
I’m pretty shocked to hear that the Obama ticket is cozying up to the pro-Israel lobby, but considering the state of the race now, it is understandable. The two are simply trying to woo the fundamentalist Christian vote away from the decidedly non-faithful McCain, who has bashed their lobby for years, and only recently became more church going for the good of his party. While Sarah Palin is born-again, the general right-wing, neo-con tone that both are now throwing around doesn’t really sync with years of McCain’s maverick status. Obama’s team is cleverly pushing the pro-Israel, “Zionist” label to draw in voters from this group that may elect a centrist candidate regardless of party, but more of faith.
That this has become a competition of religious fervour in a country that is supposed to champion secular modernism makes me shudder almost as much as watching my Prime Minister trying to smile and be “cuddly” at election time.
They’re both pretty pathetic as candidates. Why every election does it seem that the choice is the lesser of two evils instead of the best man — or woman? I haven’t made up my mind yet–I have 8 weeks.
Palestinian activists cut of their noses to psite what’s left of their faces
Here’s an interesting email that someone sent to everyone he knows in Chicago and then cc’d to me. I thought i would share it since it is public now … to give you an idea of the challenges that peace activists face:
# # # #
I don’t support the Israeli labor party.
Do you support the Israeli labor party?
It is the party that is led now by Ehud Barak, the Israeli defense (war) minister.
It is the party of David Ben-Gurion, who gave the orders to ethnically cleanse
the Land of Palestine of its Arab people. It is the party of Golda Meir who
said there are no Palestinians. It is the party that is the senior member of the
Israeli government with Ehud Olmert’s Kadima party. It is the Israeli government
that denies our Palestinian Arabs their basic human rights. It is the party that
occupies the land of Palestine. It is the party that sends its armed soldiers to
kill the Palestinian women and children.
Why am I writing this to you now? Because Ray Hananiya supports this party
and he is holding a fund raising comedy night on 10/8/2008 in Oak Park to
raise funds for the re-election of one of the members of this labor party in
the Israeli Knesset, who happen to be an Israeli Arab from Jaffa.
I called and talked to Ray about this when I got the flyer to donate for this.
Ray told me that he supports this labor party and this lady Nadia Hilou.
If you support the labor party and the Israeli occupation go ahead donate for
Ray’s efforts. But if you are opposed to the Israeli occupation and to the labor
party of the Israeli government please stay away and let Ray Hananiya know
how you feel about his support to the labor party of the Israeli government.
Here is Ray’s email : rayhanania@comcast.net
Daoud
daoud0928@sbcglobal.net
# # # #
Ray Hanania
http://www.TheMediaOasis.com
This is just crazy talk. In addition to the ZILLIONS of other reasons to support Obama/Biden if we have any real hope of achieving peace, international security, and fairness in foreign policy, the rationale used in this article is just plain nonsense. “Don’t vote for your friends because they’re going to let you down.”
HUH?
This article makes so many assumptions about Obama (”he won’t change”, he’s an “elitist”) that it barely warrants the time to read it.
McCain/Palin are seriously dangerous. Palin is TRULY scary. I’d venture that her grasp of Middle East issues is equivalent to a third-grader.
[...] lengthy analysis in Mideast Youth finds few reasons for Arab Americans to cheer in the 08 Presidential Contest. We all know that [...]
[...] Palestinian Ray Hanania is voicing disappointment. Writing on Mideast Youth, he says: Arab American voters face the same challenges they always face in elections: candidates [...]