Debunking Barack Obama - Naomi Ragen

In an election year, we need to be really careful about what we
send out and what we say about all candidates who might become
the next leader of the free world. But we also need to arm
ourselves with information.

I was very interested in the e-mail circulating quoting Newsweek
and Snopes about the "lies" being spread about Mr. Obama. I
investigated. Interestingly,the debunkers debunk all kinds of
things I never heard of, like Obama not saying the Pledge of
Allegiance, or using a Koran instead of a Bible in his swearing
in ceremony. I never even heard those, and I am glad to hear they
are lies.

But there are a number of other things circulating that haven't
yet been "debunked" and these are far more worrying because they
are true. Like the fact that Mr. Obama's church gave an award to
the notorious Anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan. As Richard Cohen wrote
in the Washington Post on January 15:" Barack Obama is a member
of Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ. Its minister, and
Obama's spiritual adviser, is the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. In
1982, the church launched Trumpet Newsmagazine; Wright's
daughters serve as publisher and executive editor. Every year,
the magazine makes awards in various categories. Last year, it
gave the Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. Trumpeter Award to a man it
said "truly epitomized greatness." That man was Louis Farrakhan."


Huh?! Say what? You mean the Farrakhan who said: "The real
anti-Semites are those who came out of Europe and settled in
Palestine, and now they call themselves the true Jews, when in
fact, they converted to Judaism," as Farrakhan told Al Jazeera
on March 18, 2007. The Farrakhan who said in a Swing magazine
interview: "Until Jews apologize for their hand in that ugly
slave trade; and until the Jewish rabbis and the Talmudic
scholars that made up the Hamitic myth -- that we were the
children of Ham, doomed and cursed to be hewers of wood and
drawers of water -- apologize, then I have nothing to apologize
for." Or as he said in the Mosque Maryam, Chicago, 3/19/95:
"German Jews financed Hitler right here in
America...International bankers financed Hitler and poor Jews
died while big Jews were at the root of what you call the
Holocaust...Little Jews died while big Jews made money. Little
Jews [were] being turned into soap while big Jews washed
themselves with it. Jews [were] playing violin, Jews [were]
playing music, while other Jews [were] marching into the gas
chambers..."

I suggest you google Farrakhan ADL or Nation of Islam and see
some of the other things Mr. Farrakhan has said.

And yet, the man who would be president has a spiritual leader
who has applauded Farrakhan's: "depth of analysis when it comes
to the racial ills of this nation." He praised "his integrity and
honesty." He called him "an unforgettable force, a catalyst for
change and a religious leader who is sincere about his faith and
his purpose." As Mr. Cohen wrote in the Washington Post: "These
are the words of a man who prayed with Obama just before the
Illinois senator announced his run for the presidency. Will he
pray with him just before his inaugural?"


Now, Mr. Obama is no dummy. Following the Cohen outing of this
information in the Washington Post,Obama's aides issued the
following statement on his behalf: "I decry racism and
anti-Semitism in every form and strongly condemn the anti-Semitic
statements made by Minister Farrakhan. I assume that Trumpet
Magazine made its own decision to honor Farrakhan based on his
efforts to rehabilitate ex-offenders, but it is not a decision
with which I agree."

Yes, Mr. Obama distanced himself. Even Mr. Farrakhan understands
why. As Farrakhen said recently on ABC's Nightline: "I like him
very much. ...He has a fresh approach...If avoiding me would help
him to become president, I'd be glad to stay in the background."

Jews like Abe Foxman of the Anti-Defamation Committee are
forgiving. ""When someone close to a political figure shows
sympathy and support for an individual who makes his name
espousing bigotry, that political figure needs to distance
himself from that decision. Senator Obama has done just that."

Well bully for Mr. Foxman! Having been in a suicide bombing
attack which killed people- many of them Survivors and their
children and grandchildren- at a Passover Seder in 2002, I'm a
little less warm-hearted and forgiving. If I had a Rabbi, for
example, who publicly supported and honored a despicable racist,
I'd change shuls. Mr. Obama's distancing himself, even during a
political campaign, has not included either changing churches or
spiritual leaders. In light of this, the fact that Mr. Obama's
father and step-father were both Muslim, and that he spent part
of his childhood in a Muslim school in Indonesia perhaps should
begin to concern us. Yes,indeed, depite the fact that CNN (which
we all know has tremendous credibility) has taken great pains to
put our minds at rest by visiting this school, assuring us that
it is not a medrassa that educates suicide bombers.

But honestly, all this wouldn't be enough for me to dimiss the
very articulate and charismatic Mr. Obama if he wasn't
consistently exhibiting worrisome, non-debunkable evidence that
he is neither a friend either of Israel, or the Jewish people.
And please spare me the letter from the token Jew who "met him
and spoke to him and is completely convinced he is a friend of
Israel blah, blah.

Actions speak louder than words.

As reported in the New York Sun,:
( http://www.nysun.com/article/71373 ), Mr. Obama has chosen
Zbigniew Brzezenski to advise him on Mideast policy, sending this
anti-Israel, anti-Semite, in the words of one of my
listmembers,"this dinosaur resuscitated from the Jimmy Carter
administration, a man who spent over 30 years attacking Israel,
an Arabist who recently signed a letter demanding that Israel
negotiate with the terrorist group Hamas, and a defender of the
notorious Walt-Mearsheimer ideology that Israel and Jews have too
much influence on American foreign policy against the interests
of the U.S. " to ...Syria!? What, to negotiate a new peace plan?

A list-member writes: "While the terror rocket attacks from Gaza
into Israel are leading up to another major conflict in that
region, the Democratic Party, party headed by Sen. Barack Obama,
continues its support for the "besieged" Palestinians. In a talk
in Iowa, given by the contender for his party's presidential
nomination, Obama called the Palestinian people "the most
oppressed people on Earth." Of course, the reference was that the
Israelis were the oppressors. Also, please take note that he
recently stated to Paris Match (Jan. 31) that if elected, he
would, "organize a summit in the Muslim world with all the heads
of state, to have an honest discussion about ways to bridge the
gap that grows between Muslims and the West. I want to ask them
to join our fight against terrorism. We must listen to their
concerns." Yes, that's what the world really needs, to "listen
to the concerns" of Muslims.

Unfortunately, Obama is not alone. Recently, Dennis Kucinich and
10 other Democratic House members sent a letter to Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice calling on the United States to exert its
"influence to urge Israel to end its blockade of Gaza." They
claimed the human rights of the Palestinians were being violated
by Israel. As a list-member writes: "As a former "Jewish
umbilical-cord Democrat," I wonder how my fellow Jews could still
consider themselves Democrats knowing the anti-Israel bias of
their party?"

The Jews who are considering voting for Obama (or
Clinton) should be doing alot more research. Even if they don't
care if Israel is wiped off the map, do you really want a man
whose Church gives out awards to people like Louis Farrakhan? Do
you want a man whose volunteers sit under Che Guevara posters
(according to the picture shown on KRIV-TV iin Texas)?

How many times can a voter turn his head and pretend that he just
doesn't see?

If I've made a mistake, please debunk me. Until then, I guess
I'll have to believe what I see. Just a reminder: I am a U.S.
citizen who pays taxes and I have every right to express my
opinion on candidates running in an election in which I plan to
vote.I don't mind telling you: It won't be for Barack Obama.

Naomi Ragen