Obama Campaign Denounces Israel E-Mail as Smear

WASHINGTON — Sen. Barack Obama's campaign on Friday denounced an e-mail circulating around the country that claims his advisers are "Israel haters," calling it a "smear" and "outrageous."

U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Fla., an early, ardent supporter of Obama's presidential campaign and one of the staunchest Israel supporters in Congress, said of the e-mail: "It's not true."

Wexler said he and former Ambassador Dennis Ross, who advised both President George H.W. Bush and President Clinton on the Middle East, are Obama's principle advisers on Israel policy.

"I think it's fair to say that no one in Congress is more dedicated to Israel's security than I am, and that's why Sen. Obama includes me at this level," Wexler said.

Wexler noted that there have been a series of e-mails designed to harm Obama in the Jewish community, which is playing an important role in the close primary contest between the Illinois senator and Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y.

He said that Obama's opponents, unable to find fault with the senator's positions on Israel, have manufactured criticisms based on people who may, or may not, be associated with him.

"What is important is Sen. Obama — and on Israel, Sen. Obama has an A-plus record," Wexler said.

The latest e-mail draws from an article published Wednesday in the IACEB Activist Newsletter. The San Francisco-based electronic newsletter contains articles compiled by Sanne DeWitt, chairwoman of the Israel Action Committee of the East Bay, that are frequently critical of Obama.

DeWitt said in a phone interview that she compiles articles from a variety of sources but, "I don't vouch for the accuracy of the information in any specific article."

The article circulating in the e-mail claims that Obama is getting advice on Israel from advisers who oppose Israel and are sympathetic to the Palestinians and Iran. It focuses on Samantha Power, a Harvard University professor who served as a foreign policy adviser to Obama from 2005 to 2006. It also mentions Robert Malley, a former adviser to President Clinton during the failed 2000 peace talks who has been critical of Israeli policies toward the Palestinians.

Claiming that Power criticized Israel's war with Lebanon last year and has advocated a diplomatic settlement over nuclear issues with Iran, the article asks: "Does anyone think that if the time comes that Power has President Obama's ear, she will advise him to do anything other than repudiate America's greatest ally in the Middle East in favor of appeasing its greatest enemy?"

Power said that, "Like so many of the fabrications that swirl around the Internet, the smears against me are outrageous and false. Barack Obama has made it consistently clear that his policy choices in the region will be guided by considerations of Israeli security and U.S. national security."

Obama's campaign denounced the e-mail as a "smear" and "outrageous."

"Samantha Power is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author of a book about the evil of genocide, which includes an extensive discussion of the Holocaust, so for this smear e-mail to paint her as anti-Israel is outrageous. Sen. Obama has long been a strong friend of Israel and supporter of Israel's security, and U.S.—Israel relations. Obama's closest advisers on Israel include Congressman Wexler, who no one would describe with the smears that are in this e-mail," said campaign spokesman Tommy Vietor.

An Obama staffer noted that the senator's first official trip was to Israel and that Power was instrumental in arranging a special tour for him of Yad Vashem, the Israeli memorial to Holocaust victims.

Wexler, who has worked closely with Obama on Middle East issues, said those advisers do not play a role in advising Obama about the Middle East.

"I know for a fact that this man (Malley) is not providing advice to the Obama campaign on the Middle East or anything related to this issue," Wexler said. "Some of them have submitted position papers, but I suspect they have submitted them to all of the candidates."

Wexler said Obama has an "A-plus record" in opposing Iran's nuclear aspirations and noted that the senator sent a "strong letter" to the U.S. ambassador at the United Nations demanding that Hamas' missile strikes on Israel be included in any Security Council resolutions regarding Israel's dealings with Gaza.

"On issue after issue, Sen. Obama has stood with Israel," he said.

Wexler said he endorsed Obama "only after having a series of detailed conversations with him directly about his commitment to supporting Israel."

"I wouldn't be involved with any candidate that didn't recognize Israel as a Jewish state, that didn't reject the Palestinian right of return, and that didn't demand that Hamas reject terror as a condition for talks with the Palestinians. ... Sen. Obama has done all of these pro-Israel positions. He has an A-plus voting record on Israel and he talks about his pro-Israel stance all across the country."

Wexler noted that Obama spoke about his support for Israel in Iowa and in other states that do not have a significant Jewish population.

This is not the first e-mail that has made unsubstantiated or false claims about Obama. Other e-mails have falsely claimed that Obama is a Muslim, that he took his oath of office on the Koran and that he does not participate in the Pledge of Allegiance. Although those e-mails have been repeatedly debunked, they continue to circulate.