By E.W. Jackson Sr. , Writing the Wrongs
Like Obama, I am a graduate of Harvard Law School. I too have Muslims in my family. I am black, and I was once a leftist Democrat. Since our backgrounds are somewhat similar, I perceive something in Obama’s policy toward Israel which people without that background may not see. All my life I have witnessed a strain of anti-Semitism in the black community. It has been fueled by the rise of the Nation of Islam and Louis Farrakhan, but it predates that organization.
We heard it in Jesse Jackson’s “HYMIE town” remark years ago during his presidential campaign. We heard it most recently in Jeremiah Wright’s remark about “them Jews” not allowing Obama to speak with him. I hear it from my own Muslim family members who see the problem in the Middle East as a “Jew” problem.
Growing up in a small, predominantly black urban community in Pennsylvania , I heard the comments about Jewish shop owners. They were “greedy cheaters” who could not be trusted, according to my family and others in the neighborhood. I was too young to understand what it means to be Jewish, or know that I was hearing anti-Semitism. These people seemed nice enough to me, but others said they were “evil”. Sadly, this bigotry has yet to be eradicated from the black community.
In Chicago, the anti-Jewish sentiment among black people is even more pronounced because of the direct influence of Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam. Most African Americans are not followers of “The Nation”, but many have a quiet respect for its leader because, they say, “he speaks the truth” and “stands up for the black man”. What they mean of course is that he viciously attacks the perceived “enemies” of the black community – white people and Jews. Even some self-described Christians buy into his demagoguery.
The question is whether Obama, given his Muslim roots and experience in Farrakhan’s Chicago, shares this antipathy for Israel and Jewish people. Is there any evidence that he does? First, the President was taught for twenty years by a virulent anti-Semite, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright. In the black community it is called “sitting under”. You don’t merely attend a church, you “sit under” a Pastor to be taught and mentored by him. Obama “sat under” Wright for a very long time. He was comfortable enough with Farrakhan – Wright’s friend – to attend and help organize his “Million Man March”. I was on C-Span the morning of the march arguing that we must never legitimize a racist and anti-Semite, no matter what “good” he claims to be doing. Yet a future President was in the crowd giving Farrakhan his enthusiastic support.
The classic left wing view is that Israel is the oppressive occupier, and the Palestinians are Israel’s victims. Obama is clearly sympathetic to this view. In speaking to the “Muslim World,”he did not address the widespread Islamic hatred of Jews. Instead he attacked Israel over the growth of West Bank settlements. Surely he knows that settlements are not the crux of the problem. The absolute refusal of the Palestinians to accept Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state is the insurmountable obstacle. That’s where the pressure needs to be placed, but this President sees it differently. He also made the preposterous comparison of the Holocaust to Palestinian “dislocation”.
Obama clearly has Muslim sensibilities. He sees the world and Israel from a Muslim perspective. His construct of “The Muslim World” is unique in modern diplomacy. It is said that only The Muslim Brotherhood and other radical elements of the religion use that concept. It is a call to unify Muslims around the world. It is rather odd to hear an American President use it. In doing so he reveals more about his thinking than he intends. The dramatic policy reversal of joining the unrelentingly anti-Semitic, anti-Israel and pro-Islamic UN Human Rights Council is in keeping with the President’s truest – albeit undeclared red – sensibilities
Those who are paying attention and thinking about these issues do not find it unreasonable to consider that President Obama is influenced by a strain of anti-Semitism picked up from the black community, his leftist friends and colleagues, his Muslim associations and his long period of mentor-ship under Jeremiah Wright. If this conclusion is accurate, Israel has some dark days ahead. For the first time in her history, she may find the President of the United States siding with her enemies. Those who believe, as I do, that Israel must be protected had better be ready for the fight. We are.
NEVER AGAIN!
E. W. Jackson is Bishop of Exodus Faith Ministries, an author and retired attorney
Dear Mr. Jackson,
My wife and I are not jews, nor are we black, but we believe in everything that you are speaking about. It’s a shame that you were not the person that was running for President in the last election. We agree totally with the concept that the jews are Gods people and it is our responsibility to make sure that they are protected and safe from harm. Obama as everyone knows is Muslim and his recent visit with the head of Israel was a disgrace for how he treated him. Thank you for speaking out and may God bless you for the work you are doing.
Sincerely,
Mr. & Mrs. William Osborne Sr. & Family
EVERY American should read this article. But who will publish it?
About time you guys proved that your “president” is a usurper and get him out before he brings the wrath of Yahovah on your nation.
This is laughable. I am a very observant Jew and I am disgusted with the way the Palestinian refugees have been treated by Israel. NO, I am not a Holocaust denier, or a self-hating Jew, but I am an advocate for human rights. Israel has my full support for defending itself against Iran and other radical muslim groups through force, most recently, during the invasion of Gaza after the missle attacks, but Israel refuses to realize that the settlement construction is a massive problem, especially when the refugees are being relocated to shit holes. So instead of killing the terrorists and winning over the average muslim, they kill some terrorists but inspire more muslims to become terrorists. On top of all of this, it is absurd to call Obama an anti-semite. He doesn’t have a “muslim backround”, and even if he did, that does not mean anything. Obama is trying to keep Israel honest and noble, which is a new tone since everyone else is afraid of being labled as a Jew-hater. You can find me at the anti-settlement rallies, I’ll be the one with the kipah and tziztit.
Mr. Cohen,
I truly believe that when, not if, Israel goes to war with Iran and all the other crazies in the middle east, that every Jewish person who voted for Obama will need to pack their bags and go fight in Israel. It will be you that will have put her in harms way. I find it amazing that it is the Jewish people that are going to be solely responsible for the destruction of Israel. Way to go…Enjoy your rally…
Well spoken Mr. Jackson.