Subscribe to Print Edition | Fri., March 21, 2008 Adar2 15, 5768 | | Israel Time: 11:07 (EST+7) web haaretz.com   Back to Homepage Rosner's Domain Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Advertising Books Arts & Leisure Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File

Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama. (Reuters) But did you know he's a Muslim? By Bradley Burston Tags: Barack Obama, U.S.  Mel Levine, a key Mideast policy advisor to Barack Obama, sits in the genteel courtyard of the American Colony Hotel in East Jerusalem. The former U.S. congressman is some 12,000 kilometers away from home, but even here, the viral rumor campaign is never far away. "Oddly enough, I've run into any number of people who, when I say I'm for Obama, say: 'Oh - did you know he's a Muslim?' "A couple of Israelis I've spoken with - very smart, well-educated, thoughtful Israelis - told me that yesterday. I was a little taken aback, but why should I be surprised, when Americans tell me that all the time?" Levine has seen his fair share of Israel-oriented American political infighting, having served as senior Mideast policy advisor to both Al Gore and John Kerry, as a board member of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) lobbying organization for six years, and as the author of the pre-Oslo Levine amendment, which conditioned any U.S. recognition of Yasser Arafat's Palestine Liberation Organization on the PLO's recognition of Israel's right to exist and its rejection of terror. Advertisement But he has never seen the likes of the ongoing mass e-mail campaigns, which have leveled a succession of allegations against Obama, branding the senator a secret anti-Semite, a closet Muslim who took his official oath of office with his hand on the Koran instead of the Bible, and a disciple of fiery Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, further alleging that several of Obama's Mideast policy advisors are pro-Palestinian haters of Israel. "I've been involved in politics for quite a long time, and I've never quite seen anything like this before," Levine says of the e-mail campaigns. "It's offensive to me, particularly as a Jew who cares very deeply about Israel and bipartisan American support for Israel, because the e-mails are filled with lies, innuendos, distortions and misrepresentations about someone who has been, and is, an extremely good friend of Israel, a strong supporter of Israel, a good friend of the Jewish community, and someone who has been a leader in helping to repair black-Jewish relations in the United States in a courageous way." E-mails portraying Obama as bad for the Jews appeared in great numbers ahead of hard-fought primaries in states with significant Jewish populations, such as California, New York and Ohio. The Obama camp has worked intensively to counter e-mails hinting at or "proving" the Democratic senator's ties to Islam, among them the photo of a turban-clad Obama and a Fox News video clip of radio talk show host Bill Cunningham saying, "His parents called him Barack Hussein Obama, not me." But the pro-Obama counterattack has been so vigorous that concerns have been raised of a possible backlash by U.S. Muslim voters, upset that Islam itself is being viewed as a stain. The responses of Muslims have varied, Levine notes. "Some have said 'it's really regrettable,' of the efforts expended to demonstrate that Obama is, in fact, a Christian. And some have said that it's not popular in America these days to be viewed as a Muslim." Although Levine says Republicans are behind the bulk of the e-mails, and despite his long-standing fondness for Hillary and Bill Clinton, he is particularly incensed about the anti-Obama charges he traces to the New York senator's campaign. He bristles when asked about the comments of Clinton campaign senior advisor Ann Lewis, who recently suggested that Obama disavowed Farrakhan only when publicly induced to do so by Hillary Clinton, in Lewis' words, "in one of those moments of leadership." "Ann should be ashamed of herself," responds Levine to the flap over Farrakhan, who has often been accused of anti-Semitism. "Ann is an old friend of mine, and she should be above that kind of inaccurate condescension." Obama "has been a consistent critic of Farrakhan throughout his career." 'I'm not a pacifist' The night before speaking with Haaretz, Levine says he ate dinner with Israeli friends, one of whom asked him: "Would Obama be willing to use force to defend American interests?" "I was astonished by the question. He's made it very, very clear, repeatedly, even in the speech that he made in 2002 opposing America's invasion of Iraq, which he gave basically to a group of pacifists. He said 'Let me be very clear. I'm not a pacifist. It's not that I don't believe in war. I don't believe in dumb wars.'" Obama, Levine says, "fully understands that the greatest threat to Israel at this time is Iran, and that Iran's ability to obtain a nuclear weapon is completely unacceptable. He's made absolutely clear that his priorities with regard to Iran are to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, to stop Iran from continuing to support terror, and to stop Iran from threatening Israel's existence." What differentiates Obama's approach is that he believes in a combination of "aggressive diplomacy" and a willingness to use force, Levine maintains. "He feels that if you have opened with aggressive diplomacy, it gives you better credibility with your friends, to help you to accomplish your objectives. "If he uses both carrots and sticks, and says to the Iranian leadership, 'Look, if you do the things that we have been pressing you to do, you will be welcomed back into the community of nations. And if you don't do them, we keep all options on the table, including the use of military force.'" If Obama uses that approach at the outset, Levine says, he stands a much greater chance of getting Europe and the Arab nations "to support whatever sticks need to be used, if the carrots don't work." Given the tenor of the e-mails, which suggest that Obama would readily negotiate with Hamas, Levine says that many people voice surprise when they learn of the senator's true stance. "He doesn't believe we should talk to or negotiate with Hamas until Hamas accepts the famous three conditions" (the third was that the PLO honor past UN decisions regarding Israel) which Levine himself wrote into U.S. law in 1983, barring the U.S. from negotiating with the PLO unless and until it accepted them. "Obama insists on those conditions." Obama in Ramallah If American primary campaigns are, to an extent, a clash of opposing advisors, the issue of who is advising Obama on the Middle East has become a centerpiece of the anti-Obama e-mails. Even a seasoned political observer, Martin Peretz, editor in chief of the liberal magazine The New Republic, appears to have been taken in by the e-fueled rumors, writing of Obama and his advisors in late December: "And, frankly, I get the shudders since he has indicated that, among others, they would be Zbigniew Brzezinski - and Robert O. Malley. "The most horrific name on Obama's list," Peretz added, "is Malley's" - referring to the former Arab-Israeli affairs aide to Bill Clinton whom Peretz would later describe as a "rabid hater of Israel." In a subsequent column, which said that Israel supporters could, in fact, trust Obama, Peretz acknowledged that "Malley is not and has never been a Middle East advisor to Barack Obama." The Obama campaign has worked overtime to flatly deny that Brzezinski and Malley are advisors to the senator. At the same time, both the Clinton and Obama bandwagons continue to court endorsements seen as attractive to Jewish voters, with former U.S. ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk backing Clinton, and Indyk's successor, Daniel Kurtzer, now openly supporting Obama. Levine himself acted as an advisor to Obama for six months before making the decision not only to advise him, but to endorse him. The decision, when it came, was wholehearted, he says. "One of the things that makes me as comfortable with him as I am is that I have now been with him enough times, and heard him enough times, spontaneously and personally and on his own, talk about his sacrosanct commitment to the security of Israel. "And it doesn't matter where he is when he makes these statements," he adds. On one of the occasions when Obama spoke publicly of "America's unshakable commitment to Israel," he did so in Ramallah. If Obama wins the Democratic nomination and faces Republican nominee Senator John McCain in November, what will his message to pro-Israel voters be? Levine: "First of all, he references his consistent track record as one of Israel's very strong supporters, both in the Senate and before; he reminds people that nonpartisan groups like AIPAC have said that his record is perfect; then he talks about what he can accomplish that John McCain, as essentially a continuation of George Bush, cannot accomplish. "Barack Obama is running, essentially, to radically alter George Bush's foreign policy, to re- engage America as a member in good standing of the community of nations, as a country which is not arrogant and focused on military preemption." The moment Obama is sworn in as president of the United States, "America's image to the world is dramatically altered for the better," Levine says, adding that an Obama presidency would actually represent a return to traditional American values. "John McCain just doesn't have that ability, through no fault of his own. He is an American hero. But he's not a new face for the United States of America and around the world. "Obama would strengthen America, strengthening America's ability to get our allies to assist in accomplishing our foreign policy objectives, one of the most important being support for Israel." Turning to Israeli-Palestinian points of contention, Levine says: "What Obama has said is that these core issues need to be negotiated as a package in the context of a final negotiation, and that he doesn't want to prejudge how this final negotiating process will unfold. "He has gone so far as to say that Israel must remain a Jewish state, thereby, I believe, essentially taking the right of return [for Palestinian refugees] off the table. But beyond that, it's been his view that the parties need to resolve, between themselves, how these major core issues get negotiated." Outside the East Jerusalem hotel it is unseasonably warm, unseasonably beautiful, and eerily silent on the Friday morning after the Mercaz Harav yeshiva terrorist attack. Asked to what extent he felt personally affected by the incident, Levine replies at once. "Totally. I always feel personally affected by what happens here, and especially when I am here. "Look," he continues, his eyes welling up. "I'm an American, and I'm deeply committed to Israel's security. There's no city in the world I'd rather be in than Jerusalem, and I love it every moment I'm here. "And when I'm having dinner at the home of very, very dear personal friends, two of my closest friends in the world, and sirens start going off, and every Israeli at the table knows that it means that Israelis have been killed, how can it not affect you?" Uncharacteristically, Levine is at a loss. "I don't really know how to put it into words. I do get emotional at times like these." Bookmark to del.icio.us   Good Avraham Hunting An ex-security guard solves a problem that has baffled mathematicians for decades. A better place Some 2,400 African refugees have entered Israel via Egypt since January.   1.   Key advisor:Obama `good friend of Israel. 13:43  |  Mary 14/03/08   2.   Israeli paranoia as a consequence of (political) isolation..... 13:52  |  Swiss (Dino) 14/03/08   3.   But what about his advisors? 14:26  |  Zev 14/03/08   4.   Obama 14:32  |  Nick 14/03/08   5.   Funny name? Must be Jewish 14:33  |  Mark Lincoln 14/03/08   6.   The Slime Machine 14:42  |  Mark Lincoln 14/03/08   7.   Listen to the words of key Obama foreign policy adviser 14:45  |  Joel Stein 14/03/08   8.   Good for the Jews? Anyone seen his minister`s sermon lately? 15:02  |  common sense 14/03/08   9.   The Truth About Muslim Anti-Semitism 15:10  |  Yosemite 14/03/08   10.   Levine Stabbed America in the Back 15:11  |  new_york_loner 14/03/08   11.   Obama good friend of Israel 15:17  |  Eric 14/03/08   12.   Obama good for Jews? 15:18  |  common sense 14/03/08   13.   Swiss (Dino)`s Need for Jew Attention 15:21  |  Tex 14/03/08   14.   obama is another bill clinton hot air and no do ! 15:26  |  v hardman 14/03/08   15.   What a logic! 15:28  |  James 14/03/08   16.   # 4 Joel Stein.....Samantha Power is no longer 15:30  |  Lynn 14/03/08   17.   OBAMA and Jews 15:34  |  James 14/03/08   18.   BARAK HUSSEIN OBAMA 15:39  |  gilbert 14/03/08   19.   Obama and the Minister 15:42  |  e 14/03/08   20.   # 4 Joel 15:43  |  Gunther 14/03/08   21.   Ha Ha HA 15:46  |  Shsosh 14/03/08   22.   Obama zombiess 15:48  |  Joanna 14/03/08   23.   Keep your "friends" close 15:55  |  Der Nister 14/03/08   24.   friend 16:08  |  Shmuelshachor 14/03/08   25.   Mel Levine 16:14  |  Joe 14/03/08   26.   Obama good for USA? For Jews? 16:17  |  common sense 14/03/08   27.   friends of israel 16:23  |  al 14/03/08   28.   article leaves me dumbstruck 16:29  |  al 14/03/08   29.   #8 Obama Zombiess 16:30  |  Phoenix 14/03/08   30.   Joel Stein. Ref. Ms. Samatha Power. 16:30  |  Stephen. 14/03/08   31.   HUH 16:31  |  al 14/03/08   32.   liberal american jews 16:37  |  joe Smith 14/03/08   33.   Obama 16:42  |  Yariv 14/03/08   34.   But did you know he`s a Muslim? 16:48  |  Dementia Praecox 14/03/08   35.   A HALF JEW HE WAS 17:07  |  indrajaya 14/03/08   36.   He`s not Muslim, he`s multicultural 17:11  |  Jeff 14/03/08   37.   Empty words from Mel, just like Obama 17:11  |  Avi 14/03/08   38.   Israel, get over your paranoia.. 17:30  |  betz55 14/03/08   39.   Jimmy Carter in an expensive suit. 17:38  |  Voice of Reason 14/03/08   40.   E-mail from my Israeli cousin 17:38  |  Johnny Weintraub 14/03/08   41.   Misleading Headline 17:41  |  new_york_loner 14/03/08   42.   100% lies 17:48  |  Shmuel 14/03/08   43.   Just that gut feeling tells me he is no good, not for us , the US 17:49  |  Mark Anthony 14/03/08   44.   Obama good for USA? For Jews? 17:52  |  common sense 14/03/08   45.   Barack Hussein Obama will win. 17:54  |  Lou Medel 14/03/08   46.   Hillary where are u? This guy is a joke" 18:02  |  Tom 14/03/08   47.   #4 - Joel Stein 18:10  |  MichaelF 14/03/08   48.   #4 - Joel Stein, PS. 18:12  |  MichaelF 14/03/08   49.   YEAH OK.... EVERYONE IS A GOOD FRIEND OF ISRAEL! 18:17  |  TripleJump 14/03/08   50.   Fish are surrounded by water 18:17  |  Denton 14/03/08   51.   #1 you are right, I just want to know how they did it? 18:18  |  Simon Mohammed 14/03/08   52.   Obama raised money for Palestinians 18:23  |  mk 14/03/08   53.   You gotta read Vergil or Homer 18:27  |  Greek mythology 14/03/08   54.   Anti-Obama Attacks, Pt. 1 18:28  |  MichaelF 14/03/08   55.   Not a Muslim - just NOT a friend of Israel 18:31  |  Mike 14/03/08   56.   Attacks on Obama, Pt. II 18:32  |  MichaelF 14/03/08   57.   #27 Michael F 18:40  |  * BEN JABO 14/03/08   58.   Mel, You are Being Silly 18:58  |  Tod Zuckerman 14/03/08   59.   Definition: Pro Israel & Supporting Israel? 19:03  |  Simon Mohammed 14/03/08   60.   Barak Is like Roosevelt=will do nothing for israel 19:27  |  me 14/03/08   61.   obama 19:47  |  stuart paley 14/03/08   62.   Tod Zuckerman 19:53  |  Connie 14/03/08   63.   He will win! 20:02  |  Baraka Hussein Abdal 14/03/08   64.   No Muslims in Our Village 20:13  |  Rehema Ibrahim 14/03/08   65.   Obama-Muslim or not? 20:15  |  Nathan Weinstein 14/03/08   66.   His Church Pastor Hates America and is Pro Farakan 20:28  |  Semsem 14/03/08   67.   <