In Speech on Race, Obama Rebuts His Pastor’s View on Israel

[oberliner]

In a bid to quell growing unease about his relationship with a black preacher known for strident rhetoric, Barack Obama described the Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s views on America — including its relationship with Israel — as fundamentally “distorted.”

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In a sermon shortly after the attacks, Wright said, “We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back to our own front yards.”

On Tuesday, Obama dedicated most of his speech to addressing Wright’s general criticisms of the United States and the wider topic of race in America, but also spent a few moments addressing the claim about Israel.

“The remarks that have caused this recent firestorm weren’t simply controversial,” Obama said. “They weren’t simply a religious leader’s effort to speak out against perceived injustice. Instead they expressed a profoundly distorted view of this country — a view that sees white racism as endemic and that elevates what is wrong with America above all that we know is right with America. A view that sees the conflicts in the Middle East as rooted primarily in the actions of stalwart allies like Israel instead of emanating from the perverse and hateful ideologies of radical Islam.”

http://www.forward.com/articles/12956/