CHICAGO (Reuters) — some prominent Jewish Americans are rethinking their support for President Barack Obama 2012 re-election bid after he effectively called on Israel to give back territory it has occupied since 1967 to the Palestinians.
Setback after Obama Keynote on the Middle East have democratic party operatives scrambling to heard the Jewish community as the President prepares to seek another term in the White House.
Obama on Thursday called for any new Palestinian State to respect the borders as they were in 1967, prompting isrælske prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to tell him frankly that his vision of how to achieve Middle East peace was unrealistic.
"He has in effect sought to reduce the Isræls negotiation power and I condemn him for," told former New York mayor Ed Koch Reuters.
Koch said he could not campaign or vote for Obama if the Republicans appoint a calm candidate offers an alternative to the latest tough budgetary measures supported by the Republicans in Congress.
Koch donated $ 2300 Obama campaign in 2008, according to Filings with the Federal Election Commission.
"I trøde to then-Senator Obama would be as good as John McCain based on his statements at the time, and based on its support for Israel. It turns out was wrong, "he said.
Despite the stormy reaction to Obama remarks mentioned some commentators talk about the 1967 borders were nothing new.
"It has been the basic idea for at least 12 years. This is what Bill Clinton, Ehud Barak and Yasser Arafat was talking about in Camp David, and later at Taba, "wrote Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic homepage.
"This is what George w. Bush spoke with Ariel Sharon and Ehud Olmert. So what are the huge treat here? "
Exit polls from the 2008 elections showed 78 percent of Jewish voters chose Obama over his Republican rival Senator McCain.
"I have spoken with a lot of people in the last few days--former supporters--as very upset and feel alienated," said billionaire real estate developer and Publisher Mortimer Zuckerman.
"He gets less political support, fewer activists for his campaign, and I am sure, will include financial support."
Zuckerman supported Obama during his 2008 presidential run and the newspaper he owns, the New York Daily News, endorsed President.
Obama's Chicago-based re-election campaign tried to downplay the reaction to the Shift in U.S. stance against Israel.
"There is no doubt that we have reached the Jewish donor community, as we have many other communities, which strongly supported the President in 2008," said a campaign spokeswoman Friday.
"Continuing the grassroots organizing and fundraising efforts of many prominent leaders in the Jewish community makes it clear this will remain a strong base support in 2012."
Texas-based real estate developer Kirk Rudy, who is a Vice-President of finance for the Democratic National Committee, said he exchanged phone calls and messages with a large network of supporters since the President's speech "is trying to take people's pulse" and have not seen a strong setback.
"I have seen very clearly, and robust support--and financial support--from the Jewish community," said Rudy, add Obama received "significant financial participation from the Jewish community" on the two charitable organizations in Austin before the speech, the Middle East, which brought in approximately 2 million dollars.
Since the speech, Rudy has received e-mails from angry voters, but the overwhelming majority of his network will continue to donate and not crossing party lines, he said.
But Morton Klein, President of the Zionist Organization of America, wrote an open letter to the American isrælske Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, encourages it to cancel a scheduled address by Obama to lobby group Sunday.
(Editing by John Josep O'Callaghan-Martínez)
No comments:
Post a Comment