POWER
National briefs
By JTA
article created on:
Power quits Obaman
WASHINGTON (JTA)—A top Obama foreign policy adviser who drew criticism for past statements on Israel quit the campaign over an unrelated controversy.
Samantha Power quit the presidential campaign of U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) March 4 over a recent interview in which she described his rival, U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) as a “monster.”
Power, a leading expert on genocide, had advised Obama as senator for two years and her work on the topic is widely admired in the Jewish community, particularly for how she exposed non-intervention during the Holocaust. However, she also angered some in the pro-Israel community for her withering criticism of how Israel handled the Lebanon war and its occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, going so far as to accuse Israel of war crimes.
Jewish Dems praise McCain response
WASHINGTON (JTA)—Jewish Democrats praised John McCain for rebuking Tennessee Republicans for a press release entitled “Anti-Semites for Obama.” The press release issued Feb. 21 tied Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), a frontrunner in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, to Louis Farrakhan, the Nation of Islam leader who recently expressed support for the candidate. Obama has condemned Farrakhan’s anti-Semitic rhetoric multiple times.
The release also described Obama’s past membership on the board of a non-profit that donated money to an Arab American group as “disturbing evidence of Obama’s anti-Israel leanings.” An early version of the press release used Obama’s middle name, Hussein, and included a photograph of him in what was identified as “Muslim attire.”On March 5, the National Jewish Democratic Council called on McCain, a U.S. senator from Arizona and the putative Republican candidate, to condemn the press release. “The title alone is enough to classify the release as dirty politics,” NJDC said. “The text of the release is filled with misinformation and demagoguery.”After reports that McCain had done so and apologized to Obama, NJDC amended its release, and said: “This was the right thing for him to do.”
Clinton drops Celebi
WASHINGTON (JTA)—The Clinton campaign is no longer taking contributions from a Turkish American who financed a film that depicted an American Jew trading in Iraqi body parts. Mehmet Celebi had been listed on the presidential campaign Web site of U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) as a “Hill-raiser,” someone who had raised more than $100,000 for her presidential bid. Celebi had co-produced “Valley of the Wolves: Iraq,” a 2006 film based on a popular Turkish TV series about a crack Turkish combat unit. The film depicts a Jewish American doctor harvesting organs from prisoners.
HIAS refutes Internet refugee claim
WASHINGTON (JTA)—HIAS refuted an Internet campaign falsely claiming refugees receive higher Social Security benefits than other Americans. The scam e-mail, already exposed as a hoax by Snopes.com, has been targeting newspaper editors. It claims that refugees are entitled to benefits of $1,890 a month, while Americans born in 1924 are entitled only to $791. The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society sent news editors an e-mail countering the campaign, noting that the most that elderly refugees and those granted asylum are entitled to is $637 a month along with a one-time grant of $425. “The U.S. government requirements for eligibility in these categories are extremely strict, and non-governmental organizations, like HIAS, work to help these individuals find refuge here within the guidelines set by U.S. law,” the HIAS letter said.