Now, since he attempted to come in through Ben-Gurion Airport and was detained there, Israel has the right as a sovereign state to not let him in. Great Britain (Michael Savage and a bunch of others), Canada (George Galloway) and others also prevent people from entering their countries; were he seeking to enter the West Bank via Jordan, that would be another thing entirely.
But I'm more looking here at some of his past work (pre-working for Ma'an), to get an idea about this guy.
Here's some links and quotes:
May 12, 2008
Obama (or his ghostwriters) even published a drooling, sycophantic opinion piece in one of Israel's more right-wing newspapers on Friday:
As the festivities surrounding Israel’s 60th anniversary get underway, Israelis can be forgiven if they don’t feel in an entirely celebratory mood. With terrorism and rockets from Gaza, a serious threat posed by Iran’s nuclear ambitions, hostages held by Hamas, and too many of its neighbors playing tired old games rather than working toward peace and security, Israel can at times feel like a nation facing enormous challenges. It is, but is also much more than that. It is precisely at this moment that, despite the challenges, Israelis should take stock of what they have built, and their hearts should swell with pride. And it is also at this moment that Israel’s friends around the world should raise their voices in a chorus of support. Because Israel has more than just friends -- it also has legions of admirers. I am proud to be one, and I know that millions of Americans join me in saluting the State of Israel and its vast array of achievements over these past 60 years.
Writing from where, I am, in occupied Palestine, this is truly vomit-inducing stuff. Even many Israelis will feel patronized that Obama "forgives" them for having critical thoughts about the situation their country is in.
That is "truly vomit-inducing stuff"? Furthermore, the man is either lying or misinformed (most likely the former) about the slant of Yedioth Ahronoth in the spectrum of Israeli newspapers.
First, note that according to the BBC (not generally considered an "Israeli apologist"), Yedioth Ahronoth is a centrist mass-circulation Tel Aviv newspaper, and notes in a second article about the press in Israel "The paper offers the reader a wide range of views, giving space to commentators from the political right and left. "
Of the 11 daily non-financial Israeli newspapers, including 6 general Hebrew dailies, 1 Hasidic daily, 1 Misnaged (i.e. Lithuanian) daily, 1 Arabic daily, 1 English daily and 1 Russian daily:
Descriptions by the BBC:
Ma'ariv: Center-right line
Ha'aretz: Left of Yedioth Ahronoth and Ma'ariv
Jerusalem Post: Originally left-wing, with a "marked shift to the right" in 1989 ... "he paper's tougher line on issues such as security and the Palestinian territories has remained constant"
other newspapers
Makor Rishon (from Wikipedia): "identified with conservative national and religious values."
Israel Hayom: owned by Sheldon Adelson, who has said something on the order "Everybody thinks I started it solely to help Bibi"; right wing
al-Ittihad: run by the Israeli Communist Party (Maki)
Vesti (Wikipedia) "Vesti has a right-wing editorial stance, like Israeli Russian-language media in general."
Hamodia (Wikipedia): "it is right of center in its Israeli coverage."
Israel Post: a free metro daily, not categorizable
Yated Neeman: misnaged, uncategorizable for several reasons
So it is at worst the fourth most left Israeli daily out of the 9 that are categorizable, definitely left of Hamodia, Vesti, Jerusalem Post, Makor Rishon, Israel Hayom, and probably third, to the left of Ma'ariv.
From his blog, July 27, 2006
"WE ARE VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THIS.
WE ARE LOOKING INTO THE PROBLEM OF CIVILIAN CASUALTIES.
WE THINK ISRAEL HAS THE RIGHT TO TAKE ANY STEPS NECESSARY TO DEFEND ITSELF.
WE DON'T DO BODY COUNTS.
WE HAVE THE BEST MILITARY TECHNOLOGY IN THE WORLD.
PLEASE CONTUNUE TO BE AFRAID.
THE TERRORISTS HAVE BROUGHT THIS WAR UPON US.
"ISRAELI VALUES ARE AMERICAN VALUES."
"ULTIMATELY THIS WILL BE A PRODUCTIVE CONFLICT"
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.
WE WILL CRUSH YOU.
THIS IS THE NEW WAR.
YOUR PARADIGM HAS EXPIRED.
REBIRTH THROUGH BLOOD.
Nice guy.
