NYS Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn) today called upon President-elect Barack Obama to break his existing silence and issue a statement in support of Israel during this difficult time.
“I urge President-elect Obama during this difficult hour in the war against terrorism to speak out in support of Israel and the ground war currently being waged against Hamas,” Hikind said. “Hamas is a recognized terror organization in the United States, and its methodology is consistent with that of Al-Qaeda, a sworn enemy of this nation.”
Speaking in Sderot, Israel in July 2008, President-elect Obama told reporters who asked whether Israel should negotiate with Hamas in Gaza, “I don’t think any country would find it acceptable to have missiles raining down on the heads of their citizens. The first job of any nation state is to protect its citizens…. If somebody was sending rockets into my house where my two daughters sleep at night, I’m going to do everything in my power to stop that. And I would expect Israelis to do the same thing. In terms of negotiations with Hamas, it is very hard to negotiate with a group that is not representative of a nation state, does not recognize your right to exist, has consistently used terror as a weapon, and is deeply influenced by other countries.”
Yet, pressed for a statement regarding the current crisis in Israel, President-elect Obama has repeatedly refused to take a concrete position on the present conflict, stating instead through a spokesman, “There is one president at a time.”
“It seems President-elect Obama has selective presidential powers,” Hikind said. “He has yet to be sworn in, but has already outlined details of his economic stimulus package. How can he then claim he can’t take a position in support of Israel’s efforts because President Bush is still in office?
The eyes of the entire world are now on the President-elect, waiting to see how he will respond, and still, he remains silent.”
(YWN Desk – NYC)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
21 Responses
Insincere words from an actor=politician are meaningless. Yisroel b’tach b’Hashem.Al tivtechu bi’n’divim
Maybe I’m crazy, but the best israel can hope for in any president is to let it do what it wants. To me, obama being silent is supporting israel. Am I wrong?
to #2 yes your wrong- by remaining silent while there are so many protests against Israel and while Bush Bloomberg and others explicitly expressed their support for Israel, Obama is actualy showing a slightly negative face toward Israel
to #1 just be glad that we have yiddin in politics backing Israel without them who knows where Israel would be?
Obama is not Bush we are lucky he is keeping quiet
I think Obama’s current statement is supportive in and of itself; do we have to stand on ceremony for a formal statement? He certainly was not implying that Israel is wrong here, in any which way.
I don’t think its good news.
If he supported the war, he would second the current US Stance,
If he disagrees, well there’s only one president at a time…. so he has to wait.
Why is he opening his mouth at a time like this? Dov if your reading this, stop making ripples in the water and let things remain quiet!
DOV HIKIND is doing great stuff these days!
Keep it up Dov!
Hold on to your chairs and give the guy half a chance. Judge him by his first actual statement and let go of there meaningless hypotheses. He’s enjoying his final days of liberty while he’s not compelled to make a statement.
Don’t hold your breath, Dov! Obama doesn’t want to offend his Arab-Moslem pals; even though he’s no fool & he knows what’s right, he also knows where his allegiance lays. And so do we.
Well done, all you Jews who voted for him. Now you can reap what you sowed. Not I, I’m making Aliyah!
Hey, Hikind, isn’t it enough that Obama is silent to the deaths of 500 Palestinians and 2000 wounded? It’s called shtika ke-hodaa. Why are you so neurotic and desperate for approval??
Dov Hikind as usual is an irresponsible rabble-rouser. It’s just so childish to demand from Obama, as president-elect, to issue a strong statement against Hamas.
Barrack Hussein Obama has already demonstrated with who his friends are, his true traits. This is further proof of what we’ve been warned about.
It will not be long before we all rue the day Mr. Bush left office. Mark my words.
BS”D
Hikind is reminding Obama that whatever power he has can only remain his if he remembers that the source of all power on Earth is Hashem. By making sure Obama is on the side of the am Segula (as are most Americans, who tend to be a G-dfearing nation despite the mistake made in this past election), Hikind is making a tremendous kiddush Hashem berabim.
In short, Hikind is making sure Obama knows just Who is the boss!
Although I’m not sure it’s a great idea to demand an official statement from Obama (at this point in time), I do find it unsettling that he (Obama)hasn’t recently given some sort of supportive gesture towards Israel’s current campaign.
It would be quite rude for a president-elect to kibbitz on what the president is doing (and one might ask what a local politician is doing – he should be worried about doing a better job considering the state he runs is going broke).
I disagree with all of you. Hikind is clearly testing Obama and I mean testing him. Obama has changed his positions so often about anything that it is difficult to pin him down as to what he is for.
In addition, Hikind wants to prevent another David Dinkins story. Remember how David Dinkins said to let the residents of Crown Heights let out their rage? Remember how dangerous it was to walk the streets of New York. Now it has the potential to be 10 times worse, Chas V’shalom. With Obama’a affiliations with the Reverend Jeremiah Wright and his toasting Khalidi in Los Angeles, and his friendship with William Ayers, it is crucial for the safety of all Jews in the United States to know that the President is not going to try to tread the neutral ground or give moral support to the Arabs.
I just can’t figure out why all of you chachomim didn’t see it. And nfgo and bacci40 will you object to what I posted. I dare you!!!!
We will miss President Bush already at 12:01 PM EST on January 20th.
From tommorow’s (Monday) NY Times:
For nine days, as European and United Nations officials have called urgently for a cease-fire in Gaza, the Bush administration has squarely blamed the rocket attacks of the Palestinian militant group Hamas for Israel’s assault, maintaining to the end its eight-year record of stalwart support for Israel.
Mr. Bush, in his weekly radio address on Saturday, said the United States did not want a “one-way cease-fire” that allowed Hamas to keep up its rocket fire, and Vice President Dick Cheney on Sunday echoed the point, declaring that only a “sustainable, durable” peace would be acceptable.
Many Middle East experts say Israel timed its move against Hamas, which began with airstrikes on Dec. 27, 24 days before Mr. Bush leaves office, with the expectation of such backing in Washington. Israeli officials could not be certain that President-elect Barack Obama, despite past statements of sympathy for Israel’s right of self-defense, would match the Bush administration’s unconditional endorsement.
“Obviously Bush, even by comparison with past U.S. presidents, has been very, very pro-Israel,” said Sami G. Hajjar, a longtime scholar of Middle East politics and a visiting professor at the National Defense University.
Thank You President Bush!
I think Obama knows that it is better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt.
According to our mesorah, Lev melachim b’yad hashem. apparently, before the inaugaration, obama’s opinion (and heart) is his own. better for him to be silent now.
A reminder For those who forgot:
Bush had very close friends in the middle east. He was not considered a good bet for the “matzav” in eretz yisroel. However, on 9/11 his plane was thought to be a target. He was moved from place to place, with an airforce escort… because they could not decide where it was safe to land. He did not know where his daughters were. in other words, the Almighty breathed Fear of God directly into him on that day!
Key Lo BaChayil V’Lo Bakoach, Key Im B’Ruchi Amar Hashem (Zecharya)
may we all be zoche to see the nisim that are occuring in front of our eyes every day…
Bush was our best friend in the Oval Office in a long long time, and we will not see his like again for a long time.
He was our friend from the day he entered the Oval Office, until the day he left.