ZOA "Congratulation" To Obama

ZOA CONGRATULATES PRESIDENT-ELECT BARACK OBAMA

"The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) has congratulated President-elect Senator Barack Obama and his running mate Senator Joe Biden for their victory in the presidential elections....We are proud to point out that Senator Biden was the keynote speaker at a recent ZOA National dinner, where he proclaimed, "I am a Zionist . and the U.S. should not pressure Israel."

"As Senator Obama emerged on the national stage during this election campaign, the ZOA had cause to note a number of deeply troubling aspects to his record and candidacy. As we have said on earlier occasions, we were deeply shocked to discover the views and attitudes of his pastor Jeremiah Wright and his Trinity United Church, which Senator Obama attended for two decades. In particular, we were shocked by Rev. Wright's bigotry and animus against the U.S., against whites, wild anti-white conspiracy theories, anti-Israel words and deeds, the honoring of black racist and anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan, promoted divesting from Israel, accusing Israel of state
terrorism and his blaming Israel for the 9/11 attack by murderous jihadists. We have also been deeply concerned by Senator Obama's association with other deeply radical and hateful figures, including Father Phleger and former Weatherman terrorist Bill Ayers, again, among others.

"Additionally, the ZOA has been deeply concerned about the numerous virulent
anti-Israel activists and propagandists with whom Senator Obama has associated over the years - people like former PLO spokesman Rashid Khalidi, who has called 'resistance' against Israel 'legitimate' and berated Arab academics from participating at events at pro-Israel think tanks...

"There has also been Ali Abunimah..and that, in 2004, Obama told him, "Hey, 'I'm sorry I haven't said more about Palestine right now, but we are in a tough primary race. I'm hoping when things calm down I can be more up front... [You] Keep up the
good work!"

"Equally, our concern is highest regarding President-elect Obama's past and present advisers on the Middle East. The ZOA has noted that the majority of these - Zbigniew Brzezinski, Daniel Kurtzer, General Merrill 'Tony' McPeak, Robert Malley, Samantha Power, Susan Rice to name several of them - all have records that indicate, variously, deep hostility against Israel, keenness on engaging and legitimizing terrorist movements like Hamas, support for down-grading or even cancelling the Israeli-American alliance and blaming the Jewish lobby for controlling U.S. Mid-East policy...

...we urge the incoming Obama administration to review some of the cost-cutting measures to the American military that President-elect Obama foreshadowed in the campaign. By common consent, we are living in a period of great perils with several far-flung theaters of conflict. Now is not the time for ruinous and false military
economies that might embolden our enemies and increase the dangers while reducing our ability to tackle them successfully and decisively.

"We fervently hope that President-elect Obama will live up to his public declarations of support for Israel. We trust and expect that his promise that he will 'do everything, everything' to ensure that the Iranian regime does not obtain nuclear weapons will be honored. We also hope that his statements of support for Israel exercising its legitimate right to self-defense as he expressed it during the 2006 Lebanon war and his forthright condemnation of the cowardly terrorists who use civilians as human shields behind which to attack Israel, as well as other, more general expressions of support and friendship for Israel that marked his campaign,
will be hallmark of his Administration's Middle East policy.

"We at ZOA hope that his past associations and statements - including one
that Hamas and Hizballah, both dedicated to Israel's elimination, have
'legitimate claims' (David Brooks, 'Obama admires Bush,' New York Times, May
16, 2008) - will not be predictive of his future policy towards Israel.

"

Now, that's how to congratulate someone.

Klein Cuts the Cake (and eats it, too)

Seems the ZOA's Mort Klein, or is that Mort Klein's ZOA, did well at the AIPAC Conference, according to this report:-

The annual debate over the Aipac Action Agenda — the pro-Israel powerhouse's lobbying platform — took a turn to the right this year, with the leader of the Zionist Organization of America introducing 14 amendments that were approved as official Aipac policy.

Most of the changes pushed for by the ZOA's president, Morton Klein, were minor, but each gave a right-wing tint to the platform. The action agenda is produced by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's executive committee, which includes representatives from major Jewish groups, as well as Aipac board members.

...The other major change that Klein successfully pushed deals with the American embassy in Israel, which pro-Israel activists have long wanted moved from its current location in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the Jewish state's capital. Congress passed legislation in 1995 requiring the move, but administrations since then have utilized a clause allowing them to delay relocating the embassy if necessary for reasons of national security.

In the Monday meeting, Klein proposed adding quotation marks to the term "national security" and opposing the government's use of this waiver to prevent the relocation of the embassy — language that was reflected in his amendment.

Aipac's leadership opposed the amendment, arguing that it would put the pro-Israel lobby on record as contradicting the government's reasoning on issues of national security. Nevertheless, the change passed with the support of an overwhelming majority of the committee.

Morton Klein said after the meeting that he believes the amendments gained support because "15 years after Oslo, people are finally realizing that the [Palestinian Authority] has no real interest in peace."

...Klein did propose a number of changes that were rejected, including a call to drop the word "peace" when referring to negotiations with the Palestinians and to support the right of Jews to settle in the West Bank, even if the areas are under Palestinian rule.