-Caveat Lector-
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From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: March 21, 2007 10:03:30 AM PDT
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: "A Modest Proposal" -- Horrified Reaction Tells the Whole
Story
OBAMA REBUFFS SOROS
BILLIONAIRE'S COMMENTS ON AIPAC ARE SCORED
By Eli Lake
The New York Sun, March 21, 2007
http://www.nysun.com/article/50846
WASHINGTON — Leading Democrats, including Senator Obama of
Illinois, are distancing themselves from an essay published this
week by one of their party's leading financiers that called for the
Democratic Party to "liberate" itself from the influence of the pro-
Israel lobby.
The article, by George Soros, published in the New York Review of
Books, asserts that America should pressure Israel to negotiate
with the Hamas-led unity government in the Palestinian territories
regardless of whether Hamas recognizes the right of the Jewish
state to exist. Mr. Soros goes on to say that one reason America
has not embraced this policy is because of the influence of the
American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
Yesterday, Mr. Obama's presidential campaign issued a dissent from
the Hungarian-born billionaire's assessment. "Mr. Soros is entitled
to his opinions," a campaign spokeswoman, Jen Psaki, said. "But on
this issue he and Senator Obama disagree. The U.S. and our allies
are right to insist that Hamas — a terrorist organization dedicated
to Israel's destruction — meet very basic conditions before being
treated as a legitimate actor. AIPAC is one of many voices that
share this view."
The Soros article puts Democrats in the awkward position of
choosing between Mr. Soros, a major funder of their causes, and the
pro-Israel lobby, whose members are also active in campaign fund-
raising. Pressed by The New York Sun, some Democrats aired their
differences with Mr. Soros.
Rep. Robert Wexler, a Democrat of Florida who sent out an e-mail to
Jewish supporters in his home state last week vouching for Mr.
Obama's pro-Israel bona fides, said he too rejected Mr. Soros's
comments. "Senator Obama says until the Palestinian government
fulfills all three of the quartet requirements, the United States
should not and would not recognize the Palestinian government.
Senator Obama is clear, Mr. Soros appears to have a different
position," Mr. Wexler said. "I agree with Senator Obama and have
felt that way for a long time."
Mr. Wexler also took issue with Mr. Soros's view that Aipac was a
major reason why the Bush administration would not recognize the
new Palestinian unity government. "I have never met him, he's a
very substantial figure in the country," Mr. Wexler said of Mr.
Soros. "I think his views are obviously the views of a prominent
man. I respectfully disagree with him."
A Democratic congressman from New York who has endorsed Senator
Clinton, a Democrat from New York, yesterday was tougher in his
assessment of the new Soros article. "He is obviously very self
absorbed. … I am trying to be kind, but he doesn't leave any room
for kindness," Rep. Eliot Engel said in a phone interview Monday.
Regarding Mr. Soros's claim that Aipac drives American foreign
policy, Mr. Engel said, "It's a myth and lie about Aipac's supposed
stranglehold on the Congress, it's just nonsense. He went on to
say, "I don't think Mr. Soros will sway the Democratic Party one
iota."
Other prominent Democrats yesterday also differed with Mr. Soros. A
vice chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Susan Turnbull,
said in an phone interview, "My view is the problem here is George
Bush, Mr. Soros has made that clear and at that point I agree with
him. I am not going to say that the problem is Aipac. I don't
necessarily agree with him on that." She added, "There are a lot of
reasons why we are in the state we are in. I don't think that
blaming it on one lobbying organization, which is one aspect of the
Jewish community, is the be-all or end-all to the problem. The
problem is not with Aipac, but with President Bush."
A spokesman for the Democratic National Committee, Amaya Smith,
declined to comment.
At one point in his essay, in a section discussing how the pro-
Israel lobby "has been remarkably successful in suppressing
criticism," Mr. Soros recalls the fate of Howard Dean's campaign
for the presidency. "When Howard Dean called for an evenhanded
policy toward Israel in 2004, his chances of getting the nomination
were badly damaged (although it was his attempt, after his defeat
in Iowa, to shout above the crowd that sealed his fate)," Mr. Soros
wrote. Dr. Dean is now chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
The chairman of the Dean campaign, Steve Grossman, yesterday
respectfully disagreed. "While Howard's public statements about
Israel certainly cost him support in the pro-Israel community, I
believe his anti-war positions continued to attract a broad cross
section of support from the Jewish community. No one that I know
ascribes Howard's defeat in 2004 to his public statements about
Israel, even though I'll acknowledge that he lost support among
some pro-Israel activists as a result."
Mr. Grossman, a former chairman of the Democratic National
Committee and past president of Aipac, said he recognized and
respected Mr. Soros' commitment to "progressive American values,"
and his "investment in political change in America." But Mr.
Grossman also said, "I reject out of hand Soros's charges directed
toward Aipac."
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