Kerry known for soliciting many views,but who has his ear onJewish issues?

[Herschel]

Now that he’s running for president, Sen. John Kerry’s openness to a broad range of Jewish opinion is making some in the pro-Israel community nervous — and others hopeful.
The very quality that attracted Jewish voters to him as a longtime Massachusetts senator is now earning the candidate closer scrutiny across the Jewish spectrum.

Kerry’s Jewish supporters accurately cite his solid voting record in the Senate and his frequent readiness to meet leaders of Washington’s main pro-Israel lobby, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

cut

Israel advocates across the political spectrum are quick to say that Kerry’s voting record is “stellar.”

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http://www.jta.org/page_view_story.asp?intarticleid=13779&intcategoryid=3

The article seems encouraging. I believe Kerry is in line on Israel.

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Herschel]

2. I would prefer to say

the intellegence to be in line. It is gratifying to know the world's only superpower will stand behind Israel. Palestinians take note.

[BayCityProgressive]

3. ok..don't come here and bash Palestinians

I do agree with supporting Israel. It is the only democracy in the middle east. Hopefully Iraq will be able to become a democracy as well, along with Iran. Israel like America or any other democracy is not perfect though. Everything that comes form Sharon's lips is not the truth.

[Herschel]

4. Begging your pardon

It was not my intention to bash Palestinians. It is my hope that they will be realistic regarding the balance of power and their negotiating position. The 2004 election will change nothing.

[DuctapeFatwa]

5. He signed the lette telling bush to stop asking sharon to show "restraint"

Of course most of the senate and congress signed it, but it will be comforting to most of the voting class to know that Kerry supports sharon even more than bush does!

[BayCityProgressive]

6. yeah

sickening that I actually side with Bush over the Democrats on this lol. I would have to take issue with the rabid Palestine supporters as well though. Hamas has threatened many times that even if Israel does grant them a state they will still drive the jews into the sea. The Jewish people have been through enough in history and until groups like Hamas and their political and financial supporters are stopped, Israel does have to take measures to protect itself. Also let us not forget who invaded who in the six day war. it wasn't israel who started that war.

[plurality]

11. "Six Day War"

check again, Israel fired first, whether it was a justified pre-emptive strike or not is up for debate, but who fired the first shot is not, it was Israel.

[mobuto]

13. Pre-emptive war

One of the things that really bugs me is that people refer to the Iraq war as being pre-emptive.

It wasn't.

Pre-emptive war is justified. If somebody is about to attack you and you know it, then you are justified in hitting them first if that's what's necessary - just about everyone agrees on that. If Iraq had posed an imminent threat to the US, then of course the invasion would have been justified. But of course the war wasn't pre-emptive. It was anticipatory, and that's different and that's wrong.

The Six Day War was a genuine pre-emptive war. The Egyptians moved their forces up to attack, the Israelis knew the Egyptians were about to attack, and the Israelis decided to hit them first. I think it was a political mistake, but it was as morally justified as anything can possibly be.

[plurality]

15. read Oren's "6 Days of War" for some good info on this

He looks at declassified memos and other info and goes in depth into the lead up, figthing, and aftermath of the 6 Day War and does a great job of explaining it.

He shows that while Egypt did have a plan to attack first, the USSR talked them out of it hours before they would have attacked. After that Egypt was standing down. The USSR told the US about this and the US in due course told Israel. 2 days later Israel attacked.

Oren was of the opinion that it was the right move, and he is also Israeli so I don't think he's being biased with his info. I tend to lean towards thinking the situation could have been resolved negotiation, but what's done is done. Either way I reccomend the book, it was a great read.

[kerryin04]

16. All those Weapons being amassed at the border didn't help

Maybe Egypt shouldn't have parked all of their expensive weapons right on the Sinai poised for attack. For that matter, maybe the four other participating nations should not have amassed their weapons and army along Israel's border.

Of course, there was also the fact that Egypt forced the evacuation of the United Nations Emergency Force stationed on the border as well as a naval blockade on the Straits of Tiran.

Did Israel fire first? Technically, yes. But was there going to be a war irrespective of this fact? Absolutely, yes.

[DuctapeFatwa]

12. It is not up to Israel to "grant" statehood to Palestine. That is one of

the problems with every single agreement and accord and everything else. And it will continue to be a problem until the Israelis decide that they want statehood for themselves, as opposed to US weaponsdumphood.

The Israeli people deserve an independent, peaceful, law abiding respectable country, a responsible member of the community of nations that gets along with its neighbors.

It would have been possible to negotiate such in 1948, but Anglo-US adventurers felt the Naqba had a better chance of serving their business interests. And they were correct. America's fat little guard dog does an excellent job of guarding America's oil in the region.

The fact that this is not in the interests of either ordinary Americans or ordinary Israelis is irrelevant when compared to the importance of making rich men richer.

[mobuto]

14. I'm sorry?

Explain how the 1948 formation of dual Palestinian and Jewish states was a "naqba" - literally "catastrophe."

You say the Jewish people are entitled to a state that can live side by side with its neighbors. I agree. And that's exactly what the UN established in 1948. And yet immediatly, Israel's neighbors destroyed the Palestinian state and came damn close to destroying Israel.

That's not much of a good-neighbor policy. And if my neighbors did that to me, I'd be a little hesitant about lending them my garden hose.

It would have been possible to negotiate such in 1948, but Anglo-US adventurers felt the Naqba had a better chance of serving their business interests.

You do know that in 1948, Israel had more support from the Soviet Union than it did from the United States?

America's fat little guard dog does an excellent job of guarding America's oil in the region.


Huh? Israel has no oil. Israel's traditional enemies (Syria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon) have no oil.

[Leilani]

7. AIPAC has become so influential

that none dare oppose it.

[_Jumper_]

8. Really?

Isn't the other Jewish lobbying organization, I think it is called APN, more powerful and backed by most American Jews?

[Darranar]

9. No, it is not more powerful...

though I wouldn't be surprised if it was backed by more American Jews.

[_Jumper_]

10. Is it newer?

Or is it weaker because it has less fervent supporters?

[Darranar]

17. Well...

my personal opinion is that AIPAC is more powerful because their view is one the elites controlling this country can endorse. When it comes to the Middle East, the views of Sharon and PNAC converge.

The rhetoric about losing Jewish voters and donations if one is not pro-Likud enough, or, from the other side, a great Zionist (or Jewish) conspiracy controlling our government and media through AIPAC, seems mostly junk to me. If Israel ceased to be useful for those dreams of world empire, the US would abandon it.

I'm not sure about their founding dates, but I think it would be safe to say that AIPAC has more fervent supporters, especially among the leaders of the organized Jewish community.

[Comadreja]

18. Rachel

Somewhere in Tel Aviv, a map is spread across a table, as Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his military leaders make their plans for the next day.

And as a parent cries out in anguish,

Someone in Washington DC puts the finishing touches on George Bush’s speech, while someone else puts the finishing touches on his makeup before the cameras are turned on.

And somewhere in Palestine, a father looks at his newborn son and says “Look, he has my eyes.”

www.strike-the-root.com read more (11236 characters)

Quote: Cindy Corrie on Mother's Day - The Daughter I Can't Hear From
Wednesday, May, 14 2003 (submitted: May, 16 2003) By Cindy Corrie