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All you have to do is Google, 2008 presidential election Jewish vote, to learn that exit polls and pundits conclude 78% of this voting demographic selected Barack Obama for President. Some people on the planet, not the least of which is the Arab world, have long complained that the US has a biased view in their support of Israel. Some people complain that the US affords too much support to the Palestinians and others on the side opposite Israel in this long standing dispute over land, politics, policies, religion, history and a whole list of sensitive issues not the least of which is the survival of this tiny state surrounded by much larger unfriendly neighbors.

The US and Israel have been staunch, unyielding allies for most if not all of the long standing relationship. So why the 78% vote for Obama? To the casual observer it would seem logical that Jewish voters would have overwhelmingly supported John McCain for President. Here is one sources ’spin’ on the vote.

The economic crisis and disgruntled Hillary Clinton voters “coming home” to the Democratic Party are the best explanations for the Obama surge, Brooks said, denying that there was any evidence — other than some anecdotal reports — that McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin as his vice presidential nominee was a factor in Jews turning so decisively towards Obama.

There is much more in the report above but this observer would have expected no such outcome. Any reports seen here over the years suggested that by and large the Jewish vote is dominated by the issue of Israel and the US support associated with its survival. This blog would also suspect that no special special support for Israel will be forthcoming from an Obama administration. Some other reports may bear this out based on reaction to the Obama election from abroad.

People on the streets here in Cairo, and across much of the Arab world, appear elated by the election of Democrat Barak Obama as the next president of the United States, despite some apprehension in the Gulf and in Lebanon.

Commentators on Al-Jazeera TV, which has consistently criticized the outgoing Bush administration for its policies towards the Arab world, appeared almost jubilant over Mr. Obama’s election, with many hailing the results of the election as a “positive for the Arab world.”

Aside from a Syrian paper’s editorial suggesting anyone will be better than President Bush or an Egyptian who apparently drank the Kool Aid before echoing Obama supporters’ common refrain that Obama will solve the world’s problems, the ‘Arab world’ seems to believe that Obama, Biden and the Dems majority in Congress will benefit them. Perhaps their are Arabs and Jews who like most other people on the planet would just like to see the Middle East’s problems solved it should be reasonable to suggest that what the Arab world wants and what Israel wants are quite clearly at odds given the history of the region and state of affairs over so many decades in recent memory. So if the Arab world is ‘almost jubilant’ over the Obama victory and 78% of the Jewish vote in America went for the new President-elect, what are they all thinking?

“But, for some Arab Gulf states, especially Saudi Arabia and those who deal really with the Bush family and with the Republicans in particular, I think it is not a good moment for them; they prefer to deal with the Republicans and not with the democrats, since the democrats emphasize democracy and human rights and those issues are not welcomed in such countries as Egypt, and Saudi Arabia,” he added.

Essam El Aryan, who is a leader of Egypt’s banned Muslim Brotherhood was mostly optimistic about Mr. Obama’s election and thought it was good for both the Arab and Islamic worlds.

It is almost unavoidable to at least mention some issues raised during the campaign, reasonable or not, regarding Barack Obama and items in his past and more recent history related to the Muslim world. With a Muslim father and part of his youth spent in Indonesia as well as other similar connections to the Muslim or Arab world is it possible that while many, including the Obama campaign, dismissed these facts as irrelevant that others outside the US include these facts in their positive assessment? And could it also be that the trips to Syria and other locations in the Arab world by Speaker Pelosi’s mini-world tour convinced the Arab world that the Dems in general are ready to appease them? After all, Barack Obama is ready, willing and now able to begin discussions with Iran without any opposition from anyone about how the meetings are initiated. So again, why did 78% of the Jewish vote in the US go for Obama?

Granted, sentiment in the Arab world is not unanimous on the election of Barack Obama. Despite the general tone of optimism in the Arab press over President-elect Barak Obama’s victory, the Arab daily Al-Hayat ran a caricature showing an Israeli wielding a gun at an Arab man, joking “heads, Obama, and we win; tails McCain, and you lose,” suggesting that the paper thinks neither candidate will really be beneficial to the Arab world.

So what about opinion in Israel? Reaction to the news of Mr. Obama’s victory was not so positive in Jewish West Jerusalem, where many Israelis saw John McCain as a stronger supporter of Israel. This 67-year-old Israeli woman says she was born in Israel and has lived through several wars with Arabs. She says Obama’s willingness to engage Iran and his outreach to Palestinians makes her feel unsafe. She says Mr. Obama’s election presents a danger for Israel and a danger for America.

To put a positive spin on Obama foreign policy as it may or may not be regarding Israel and the rest of the Middle East an academic contributes the following anecdote. Political scientist Mohammed Dajani, of Al Quds University in Arab East Jerusalem, hosted Mr. Obama during a visit and was impressed by his charisma.

“He was able to actually inspire Palestinians who walked in as anti-Americans, yet he was able to keep the message that he had [and] he was able to win them over,” he said. “So I feel he is someone who could inspire both antagonists or both conflicting parties, to be able to find a solutions, within his term, for the Arab-Israeli conflict.”

That would represent an incredibly optimistic viewpoint. For as long as the ‘crisis’ in the Middle East has continued where does one locate realistic expectations of a solution acceptable to those involved that at a minimum would eliminate the constant threat of violence or war? Official comments out of Israel, as might be expected, expressed the expectation of continued cooperation from the US.

Maybe President-elect Obama will convey the same sentiment to Israel that he delivered to the American people in his acceptance speech. That nothing may be accomplished in the first year or first term and we all will need to sacrifice. Could the 78% Jewish vote for Obama be having buyer’s remorse yet?

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

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This entry was posted on Friday, November 7th, 2008 at 10:43 am and is filed under Israel, Lebanon, Iraq, wordpress, Politics, election, syria, United States, Iran, Palestine, obama. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.