Obama on Israel

A fascinating interview of Obama by the Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg. It pretty much refutes nearly all of the misconceptions about Obama being pushed by right wing smear artists. It seems to me that Obama demonstrates a deeper knowledge and understanding of Israel than John McCain, by far. You should really go read the whole thing.

Obama and I spoke over the weekend about Hamas, about Jimmy Carter, and about the future of Jewish settlements on the West Bank. He seemed eager to talk about his ties to the Jewish community, and about the influence Jews have had on his life. Among other things, he told me that he learned the art of moral anguish from Jews. We spoke as well about my Atlantic cover story on Israel’s future. He mentioned his interest in the opinions of the writer David Grossman, who is featured in the article. “I remember reading The Yellow Wind when it came out, and reading about Grossman now is powerful, painful stuff.” And, speaking in a kind of code Jews readily understand, Obama also made sure to mention that he was fond of the writer Leon Uris, the author of Exodus.

David Grossman is one of Israel's best writers. His acclaimed nonfiction book The Yellow Wind was published in 1987, meaning that Obama (if he really did read the book when it first came out, has been engaged on Israeli issues for at least 20 years.

Does anyone think that McCain has ever read David Grossman or Leon Uris? Perhaps Goldberg should ask him. I'd like to know what McCain's Israeli policy is, and whether it is more than a doubling-down of the ineffective Bush policy.