How Obama won over a tiny Arab village

[oberliner]

If it were up to Dr. George Ayoub, the mayor of the northern Israeli Arab village of Fassouta, Barack Obama would be the next president of the United States.

While the American Jewish community is split over Obama's views on Israel, it is a little-known fact that he came here on a study tour two years ago to see the realities of the region for himself.

During a five-day visit as a member of the US Senate in January 2006, details of which were only disclosed by the mayor on Thursday, the Illinois senator who has now emerged as the Democratic front-runner in the presidential race was hosted in Fassouta by the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago.

The senator flew by helicopter to a soccer field in the Catholic village on the Lebanese border, where the federation operates a joint project with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago to provide computers to school children.

"We were very glad to see him here for about five hours," Ayoub told The Jerusalem Post by telephone on Thursday. "We didn't know that he was going to be the Democratic presidential candidate at the time, and now all of Fassouta are with him, with Barack Obama, and we hope he is going to be the next president of the States."

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?c=JPArticle&cid=1203605149654&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

[Tom Joad]

1. I think he has lost all of Gaza with his ringing endorsement of Israeli war crimes.

but what does Obama care for the Human Rights vote in the US?

Not much, sadly.


think he takes them for granted.

[Violet_Crumble]

2. I'm not an American, but if I was I'd vote for Obama...

I don't know whether the I/P conflict is on the list of priorities for US voters (it isn't here in Australia), but imo his stance on things to do with human rights is far, far better than that of Hillary. Obama voted for a cluster bomb ban, and Hillary voted against the ban. While he deserves a kick up the arse for not responding to those accusations of him being a Muslim by pointing out that there's nothing wrong with being Muslim, and a letter came out of his office about the I/P conflict (not written by him) that left a fair bit to be desired, he's the only candidate who I think has what it takes to try to approach the conflict with some level of fairness and impartiality....

[Douglas Carpenter]

3. some of Sen. Obama's positions are disappoiting...however

All in all he is at least marginally better than the alternatives. And margins can make all the difference between life and death and war and peace.

[Tom Joad]

4. better than the alternatives is not the same as he will support human rights

and international law. Even some international law. He has shown that he would cater to the whims of those who support militarism and oppression. I think he is sincere when he makes such promises.
I think it is important that Hillary defeated, even for just its symbolism (she supported the Iraq war initially, Obama seemed to oppose it... though both vote for funds to continue it).
and by all means McCain must be defeated---- by any means necessary. So if that means i have to vote for this scoundrel of a politician, so be it, i will.

real change will come by building a movement to oppose US support for ethnic cleansing and dispossession by America's "ally" in the Middle East.

I think the hope that Obama brings, that he will most certainly dash very quickly, may serve as a catalyst for building a movement for bringing peace and justice in the middle east.

[Name removed]

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[Scurrilous]

6. He got my vote in the Florida primary.

Gobama! :thumbsup: