There is a good post over at The Magnes Zionist on the possible makeup of Obama’s Middle East team — based on the author’s opinion as well as his conversations with people in the president-elect’s inner circle. The post raises an interesting question towards the end: while it is perfectly acceptable for people empathizing with the Israeli point of view to be part of Obama’s team, why is it inconceivable for someone empathizing with the Palestinian point of view?
What I find most interesting is that with Barack Obama, his history, and his ties to people like Rashid al-Khalidi*, these kinds of questions become more plausible.
* They know each other from the time they were both teaching at the University of Chicago.
November 12, 2008 at 5:07 pm
you know.. this is the only area of obama’s campaign for which I do not have tooo much hope :s it’s just that well, he’s got some pretty pro israeli dudes in his cabinet it seems, and it’s the “whiter than white” factor: perhaps he might feel obliged to prove to right wing americans that he is no friend of “terorrists” and that therefore, of course he supports the poor little state of israel. I donn’t know. Obama can surprise. hopefully he won’t be this pathetic and will stick to his record of greatness http://www.spinwhip.com/obama :-)
November 14, 2008 at 3:44 pm
Reading Magnes Zionist? Hmmm …
When I was editing a magazine in NYC, a couple of guys from the Israeli consulate requested a meeting to push certain types of articles. Just prior to the meeting, one of the guys could not stop talking about a lecture at Columbia U. the night before. I was dumbstruck. I mean, some random professor gives a silly talk, and the Israeli consulate is all over it. I was awed by the size of their media net.
Pro-Israeli advocacy is big business here in the States — extremely competitive, and democratic in certain regards. Arab advocacy? Not all all. The money is there, but it comes from you know who and does not engage masses.
All that being said, the simple fact that a few majors picked up the Emanuel-Israel connection means something. One irony of the colossal nightmare that is Iraq is that Americans know more about the ME than they did 10 years ago. Those who used to ply their trades purely in the shadows are now having to face a low level of public scrutiny.
I could go on with this, but …
Don’t heed the squawking over appts. It is so political that every hint and/or clue can only be known by the insiders, and often not even they.
November 17, 2008 at 8:14 am
I’ve also wondered why there are no Arab or Muslim appointments, but then again, off the top of my head, I’d have a hard time thinking of any Arab-American or Muslim American appointees that I’d like to see made.
Just out of curiosity, who would you like to see appointed?
November 17, 2008 at 9:05 pm
No wonder you’d have a hard time thinking of any, Sean. They are all in the Republican party!
I do not know of many myself. Robert Malley probably does not count as an Arab-American (a Jewish Arab?), but I think he is invested enough through his father, who was an Egyptian Jew. Other than that George Mitchell has extensive conflict resolution experience. And James Zogby has been a bridge on several occasions. Given my limited knowledge of internal US politics, I am not sure the latter two make for good appointments. Still, there are other ways to get them involved.
November 17, 2008 at 9:59 pm
It’s funny that you say that, because when he was here a few weeks ago, Malley actually started a sentence with, “as an Arab American myself…” And then he clarified to call himself a Jewish Arab American, which actually made me really happy. I’m very interested in inclusive regional identities these days.
Otherwise, you’re so right about Arab Americans being Republicans, but after Bush, maybe there will be a larger shift with the new generation. Also, good call on Zogby, I’d forgotten about him.
He’s not an Arab, but I’d like to see Henry Siegman have some decision making clout.
November 17, 2008 at 10:54 pm
About Malley: That’s good to know. I had no idea he identified himself as such.