By Aaron Klein © 2008 WorldNetDaily
…Ali Abunimah, a Chicago-based Palestinian-American activist and co-founder of Electronic Intifada, a pro-Palestinian online publication, recalls introducing Obama at one such event, a 1999 fundraiser for the Deheisha Palestinian camp in the West Bank.
Abunimah is also a harsh critic of Israel and has protested outside pro-Israel events in the Chicago area.
“I knew Barack Obama for many years as my state senator – when he used to attend events in the Palestinian community in Chicago all the time,” stated Abuminah during an interview last month with Democracy Now!, a nationally syndicated radio and television political program.
“I remember personally introducing [Obama] onstage in 1999, when we had a major community fundraiser for the community center in Deheisha refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. And that’s just one example of how Barack Obama used to be very comfortable speaking up for and being associated with Palestinian rights and opposing the Israeli occupation,” Abunimah said…continue
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/muslim.asp
Senator Bryant,
This is exactly the type of religious intolerance I have referrred to in my other comments. Palestinians suffer just as Israeli’s do. They live in refuge camps where there are few jobs, they have no control over their food supply and they have no dignity. How do I know this? I have learned it from my Christian denomination’s website. If you would like to learn a bit more why don’t you go to http://www.elca.org/Our-Faith-In-Action/Justice/Peace-Not-Walls/Who-We-Are/FAQs.aspx. I happen to believe the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America has a reasonable approach to the situation in Israel. We don’t disparage all Muslims and put them in one “evil” group. Perhaps that is why I am comfortable with Obama’s position that peace is in the best interest of both the Israeli’s and the Palestinians. Those living in refuge camps, many of whom were born there, deserve basic rights. The Israeli’s also deserve the right to live in safety.
The Middle East is a complex issue. I do hope that you will find the time to educate yourself on it. The ELCA website is a good place to start. I hope that after reading it you won’t find us Lutherans to be scary people.