Outside of stump speeches, carefully scripted responses to reporters, and the endless recitation of talking points, there are a few moments when a politician, even a slick one, speaks from the heart. It is in these moments when true motivations and core beliefs are often revealed.
Such a moment occurred last week at the World Policy Forum in France, when Jesse Jackson said that "Zionists who have controlled American policy for decades" would lose some of their influence with Obama in the White House, and that "decades of putting Israel's interests first" would come to a close.
Embarrassed, the Obama campaign issued a statement saying that "Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. is not an adviser to the Obama campaign and is therefore in no position to interpret or share Barack Obama's views on Israel and foreign policy."
Jackson reportedly acknowledged that he was not an adviser to Obama, but rather a "supporter." But the words he used to describe their relationship suggest that he thinks he is much closer to Obama than the Obama campaign would like the public to believe. "We helped him start his career," Jackson says. "And then we were always there to help him move ahead."
John McCain's campaign also reacted to Jackson's comments on Tuesday, saying: "Literally, nobody knows what Barack Obama's policies would be if he were elected president, but it's very concerning that people believe he will not be a friend to Israel."
Jesse Jackson's honesty only confirms the Jewish community's long standing distrusts of Obama and his policies towards Israel and with good reason.
"Barack is determined to repair our relations with the world of Islam and Muslims," Jackson said. "Thanks to his background and ecumenical approach, he knows how Muslims feel while remaining committed to his own faith. Bush was so afraid of a snafu and of upsetting Israel that he gave the whole thing a miss. Barack will change that because, as long as the Palestinians haven't seen justice, the Middle East will 'remain a source of danger to us all.'"
Despite Obama's attempts to hide or minimize his pro-Palestinian sympathies and associations with known radical Palestinians, he has surrounded himself with advisers who hold virulent anti-Israel and even anti-Semitic views. No wonder that extremists from Hamas to Ahmadinejad openly hope for his success in November.
Jews heading to the polls this November remember this: What makes Hamas and Iran so comfortable with Obama in the White House?
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