Obama's passionate attachement to Israel contradicts his claim to good judgment

Barak Obama’s speech in Israel proves without doubt that the good judgment which he claims in respect to opposing the illegal US invasion of Iraq, fails him when it comes to the Palestine/Israel conflict. It is not clear whether Obama simply is not able to understand the importance of upholding international law in respect to the conflict, or whether he is so blinded by the myth of Jewish lobby absolute power and the prospect of winning the coveted US presidency, that when it comes to Israel, he simply cannot speak with the same courage and honesty that caused many to believe that he is in fact an agent of change.

A review of his speech given in Israel, and remarks that he wrote in a Holocaust museum guest book, indicates that not only does Obama lack the possession of an accurate history of the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine; he completely ignores the numerous relevant international treaties, conventions and UN resolutions that should regulate the US response and policy in respect to the illegal occupation.

As a private citizen, and perhaps even as a partisan Congressman, we might yield to a politician’s desire to follow his heart on such matters, particularly if his desire is based upon what he perceives as a popular position shared by a majority of his constituents. Yet, as President of these United States, he will be prohibited from formulating our foreign policy based upon his personal whims, passions, or desires, even if they are popular, since it is possible that popular sentiment can run counter to what is our national interest. Our President should be guided by law, and never by passion.

Obama’s decision to invoke passion, and to use his personal feelings as representative of a future US foreign policy, should he be elected President, was poor judgment in my view, and represents rather than change, more of the same. It showed that Obama has not grasped the extent to which the Palestine/Israel conflict impacts stability in the region, and how a balanced and dispassionate US policy is our greatest hope for peace.

Rather than to congratulate Israel and Hamas on the month long success of a cease fire agreement, or to mourn the continued and unnecessary loss of Palestinian life, taken by illegal Israeli settlers, and the Israeli army, Obama chose to invoke the Holocaust, thereby strengthening the false impression that it was Palestine, rather than Germany where the Holocaust took place. Palestine had nothing to do with the Holocaust, and the anti-Semitism that is blamed for the Holocaust was European anti-Semitism.

Good judgment if it is real, seldom fails. When it does, it is usually when we allow our good judgment to be overcome by bad advice. This is perhaps what has happened to Obama. It is also perhaps the same thing that happened to George W. Bush. If that is true, then his claim that McCain is more of the same will ring hollow as US voters begin to realize that so long as special interests are running our country, namely the Jewish Lobby, AIPAC and the Zionist Christian right, there will be no real change in US politics, only changes in Presidential names.