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Aaron Cohen asked:


Yeshiyah Amariel, a recognized Orthodox Jew of Hispanic (Cherokee) American descent, is all about Torah, unity and support for Israel.  His slender form, Chassidic styled black suit, black hat, and dark skin to match would give the first impression that he was a Black Hebrew or Ethiopian Jew, but there is much more to him than meets the eye.  He is a contributor to AIPAC, member of United Jewish Communities, and has also lived in Israel for several years as a volunteer for an Israeli archaeologist, the Nature and Park Authority and other worthy causes.  He has been involved in translations of artifacts and excavations of Tel Arad, which is considered the only archaeologically discovered “BYT-YHWH” in Israel, and received recommendations from colleagues to attend any university in the country to become an archaeologist.  He is also currently studying to take exams to receive semicha from the Chief rabbinic’s office in Israel. 

Amariel’s family are among the Native American tribes that many historical figures, such as the 1800s Jew Mordecai Noah, regarded as brothers to the Jewish people and a lost tribe of Israel.  In 2005 Yeshiyah’s father was published in a Jerusalem Post article by Sheera Frenkel that traced their family’s Jewish links through Cherokee roots and also spoke concerning his translation of the ancient Hebrew Tanakh into English (referred to as the first of its kind).  Howshua Amariel (Yeshiyah’s father) is also a rabbi who sits on a Torah-based judicial committee of black Jews with Rabbi Capers C. Funnye Jr., cousin of Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (Senator Barack Obama’s wife).

In our interview, Yeshiyah Amariel claimed that his grandfather knew Senator Obama back when he was originally running for the Illinois State senate.  Amariel added “My grandfather told us that we should support Obama because he has good intentions.  And given Obama’s record of support toward Israel since he has been in the US Senate, I was inclined to agree with my grandfather.”  “From my work, I have received letters of recommendations from Rabbis, Jewish community leaders, and Orthodox Israeli Jews in support of my goals to become an official rabbi in the State; but it wasn’t easy” said Amariel, stating that it took years for them to know that he was sincere in his objectives.  He imagined that the same would be for Obama and decided to offer his assistance.  So Amariel called the Obama Headquarters in Chicago and volunteered directly with officials and offered his aid to anything he and other supporters in Israel could give.  “When we called the operators were excited to hear from Americans calling from Israel to volunteer for the movement for change.”  “From then I got in contact with Obama’s Mid-East and Jewish advisor Eric Lynn and let him know that we were starting this ‘campaign’ in Israel to support Obama.  I also urged him that Obama should consider a visit to Israel and if he did we would be there to show our support.”

On the political scene, Amariel is a member of Democrats Abroad in Israel, and the lead manager and strategist for the “Israel for Obama” campaign started in Israel.  His group of American Israelis helped comfort Jews and Israelis to the idea of an Obama presidency and organize Americans living in Israel to vote for Barack Obama.  One of the members of the group Samson Altman-Schevitz also lived in Chicago and knew Michelle Obama when she served as the Associate Dean of Student Services at the University of Chicago.  They have a blog on Obama’s official page, but beside that Yeshiyah is also a member of other pro-Obama Jewish groups in the United States like Orthodox Jews for Obama and Jews for Obama (whom have supported their efforts in Israel).  After Senator Obama’s visit to Israel, Yeshiyah and his group have received letters of cooperation with DA Israel chair Joanne Yaron and DNC supported Middle-East regional director Bob Barad in Italy.

Amariel also has written and received at least two letters from the Senator concerning his positions on Iran (Sanction bills passed), Israel (his commit to their continued aid) and the Palestinian conflict (to abstain from additional fighting that could prevent the peace process).   Yeshiyah hopes to provide the Israeli people with a direct link to the Illinois senator to better understand his positions when concerning Israel and the Jewish people.  He also wants to establish this connection for average Israelis to express their views from the grassroots.

“We interview American Israelis all over Israel” stated Amariel as he referred to their ‘IsraelforObama’ YouTube Channel.  “…the number one reason why most Jews we talk to have a good opinion of Obama is because of the idea of unity within his campaign’s message.  Some believe that kind of idea of harmony may be what the Middle East could use to become peaceful.  I believe it’s what should be used to bring Jews together around our common goals.”

 

Sources:

Barack Obama Israel for Obama blog [http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/blog/IsraelforObama]

American’s Election HQ; Wednesday, July 23, 2008; “Obama Calls for ‘Lasting Peace’ in Israel, Warns of Iranian Threat” by FOXNews.com.   [http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/07/23/obama-defends-israels-right-to-self-defense-says-hell-work-for-peace/]

TIME Magazine; Wednesday, Jul. 23, 2008 “Obama Tours Holocaust Memorial” By AP/DAVID ESPO [http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1825777,00.html]

Barack Obama  Orthodox Jews For BO group [http://my.barackobama.com/page/group/OrthodoxJewsForBO]

The Philadelphia Jewish Voice- Democrats Abroad Israel; Bridging the Gap between Israel and America Israeli-Americans: The Hyphenated Citizens. [http://www.pjvoice.com/v31/31200groups.aspx]

Democrats Abroad Israel  [http://www.democratsabroad.org/group/israel-jerusalem-area]

 



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Peter Menkin asked:


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Obama leaves his Church

By Peter Menkin

06/18/08

Considered a man of faith, Barack Obama, the American running for nomination for President of the United States, has left his Church. For reasons of political controversy due to its pastor, The Reverend Jeremiah Wright, Senator Obama left membership in Trinity United Church of Christ (TUCC), Chicago, Illinois after 20 years. (The church website proclaims: “We are a congregation which is unashamedly Black and Unapologetically Christian…”)

Trinity United Church of Christ occupies a tan brick building on West 95th Street across railroad tracks from a public housing project, reports The Christian Science Monitor.

The Senator said about leaving, “Too much press harassment, people couldn’t’ worship in peace.” That wasn’t his reason for leaving, but a complaint on the news media attention. The reason were politically controversial remarks by Trinity’s pastor, Reverend Wright.

Wright’s comments contradicted one of Obama’s campaign’s central messages — that the candidate can transcend past divisions such as those involving race.

The impediment to the African-American’s campaign is highlighted by Wright’s widely reported sermon remark: “God Damn America” (for its racism}, and blaming the September 11 terrorist attacks on US foreign policy. He has also blamed the U.S. government for the spread of the AIDS virus. Mostly, Wright is seen as anti-white and a racist.

On Bill Moyers Journal, Wright says we are unashamedly Black. His philosophy embodies, “Use the culture of which we are a part.” He preaches there is hope, that life has meaning, and that God is still in control. “We can change. We can do better.” Black Liberation theology is Wright’s UCC message. It is a UCC message he offers, since he is a UCC minister who studied under Martin Marty. Martin E. Marty, distinguished Lutheran Pastor, teacher, and writer who has been on the University of Chicago faculty since 1963.

Grounded in the history of the African-American, Black theology is powerful stuff. He is little sorry about his comments, but in Bill Moyer’s interview, Reverend Wright does appear sorry he made the comment “God damn America” in the Pulpit—if only for a few moments. But it wasn’t one remark, but a string of them that caused the significant distancing between the candidate’s spiritual advisor and candidate.

The press in the United States spends a lot of time and space talking about Senator Obama’s faith, his church, and how he is a Christian—the Senator says he is Christian himself, and that is also news. Religion in the campaign makes news, despite separation of Church and State. Time magazine says more voters see Senator Obama as a strongly religious person than they do every major presidential hopeful but Mitt Romney, the Republican former governor of Massachusetts. Romney’s Mormonism drew extensive news coverage.

U.S. Senator Obama was married in Trinity church. His children were baptized in the church, and also like the wedding, Reverend Wright performed the solemnizations. The Senator said on leaving the church, “Trinity was where I found Jesus Christ, where we were married, where our children were baptized. We have many friends among the 8,000 members…” It is a church where he was moved many times. When Wright preached one Sunday about the sustaining power of hope in the face of poverty and despair, Obama says he found himself in tears.

He says in one speech:



“For one thing, I believed and still believe in the power of the African-American religious tradition to spur social change… Because of its past, the black church understands in an intimate way the Biblical call to feed the hungry and clothe the naked and challenge powers and principalities. And in its historical struggles for freedom and the rights of man, I was able to see faith as more than just a comfort to the weary or a hedge against death, but rather as an active, palpable agent in the world. As a source of hope.”



It is the claim of Reverend Jeremiah Wright that Trinity is a church of Black theology. The Reverend Doctor John Cone, the Harvard Professor and African-American theologian interviewed on American Public Broadcasting System (PBS) by commentator Bill Moyers says on the PBS website:



“As we examine what contemporary theologians are saying, we find that they are silent about the enslaved condition of black people. Evidently they see no relationship between black slavery and the Christian gospel. Consequently there has been no sharp confrontation of the gospel with white racism. There is, then, a desperate need for a black theology, a



theology whose sole purpose is to apply the freeing power of the gospel to black people under white oppression.”

Cone says:



The Cross is the same as the lynching tree for the Black American in a Harvard Speech. The Christian Reverend Cone wants to start a conversation on this subject. He offers that lynching was terrorism that “worked to a certain degree.” This includes spectacle lynchings where 5,000 would gather to watch.

Religion is one place where you have an imagination that no one can control.” Black Churches are a place of the spirit… (even though you are living under the shadow of the lynching tree).” … There were 246 years of slavery, and 100 years of segregation and lynching.

America does not see itself as “not innocent,” according to Cone. “No human being is innocent.”



Reverend Cone is ordained in the Apostolic Church of God in Chicago. which is one of the city’s largest black churches and not far from Obama’s home in the South Side neighborhood of Hyde Park.

Apparently the Democratic candidate for his party’s nomination is not turning his back on Black theology, per se, since Sunday, June 15, 2008 he spoke from the pulpit at that same mega-church in Chicago, which has 20,000 members and is also considered a Black American church.

It is the history of the African American church in the United States that it is a center of Black community life speaking to the needs of the church and larger community in social and political ways. But not in so partisan a manner as was recently ascribed to the theology and preaching of the Reverend Wright. So the perception became. But he still associates himself with the African American church in general.

Senator Obama spoke of the role of Black fathers and their responsibilities, perhaps more a campaign speech than sermon from a “religious” man whose campaign motto is “Change That Works for You.” After all, he is running for President of the United States—or its Democratic Party nomination more accurately. He gave his talk from the pulpit of the “20,000-member Apostolic Church of God…a short walk from the Obamas’ home. The church’s pastor, Byron Brazier, is an Obama supporter,” reports The New York Times.

It is from the Black Church that Senator Obama learned many things about hope. Can he really take himself out of the African-American church ethos, as he has known it? Perhaps the Reverend Wright thinks not, though he is not saying. His official press release remark on Senator Obama and his family’s leaving was, “…We are saddened by the news …”

END IT

(Appx. 1100 words)



Content

Joseph asked:


Let’s face it, we as parents always put our children′s needs first.  Doesn′t it go to say by electing The President of the United States, we need to think more about our children′s future than ourselves? After all we are all promised big changes by democrats that never occur. Pelosi and the democrats have controlled congress for almost 2 years and although they made many promises for change, nothing has occurred.

 

We are all well aware of the importance our teachers bring who teach and program our children. Parents and teachers have a profound effect on how are children will think and behave. Furthermore, we also know how important it is for our children to be surrounded with other well behaved positive thinking children from well rounded families.

 

It is no secret that Democratic President nominee Barack Obama has grown up with the teaching of extremely angry, militant, known fanatic people including: the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Louis Farrakhan, William Ayers and Rev. Michael Pfleger. We want to brush aside these conclusions as attacks and believe Mr. Obama, but, how can we? Are you really to believe that we are not affected by teachers who are militant and angry? This type of teaching plays a rule in anyone whom has endured it. Who is anyone kidding that Mr. Obama won’t run this country in the mindset of his teachers.

 

The Democratic Party, in its quest for power, has managed a propaganda campaign featuring change and containing subliminal messages that promote a God-like figure in Obama who falls short in every way. The only change is a dangerous one. It only makes sense that if Obama wins the presidential election, then power will shift and the master teachers of our children will include twisted messengers; Farrakhan, Wright, Ayers and Pfleger. They will gain the power to change America forever and their quest to demoralize this country, create a socialist America, and limit your freedom immensely.

 

Socialism does not work and we have many examples to look at. Socialism is a more gentle way of conducting communism however; do not get it wrong, they go hand in hand.  This is the reason Democrats are targeting young people, our children. Being a product of this teaching, they know how easy it is to program the minds of children. Making our leader appear young, hip, and cool to attract the young vote is all the wrong reasons. Sadly enough, the democrat party as we once knew is obsolete. This disease, “liberalism” has eaten away at most of the democrat party. Why else do they choose to nominate the most liberal, untraditional, extreme Marxism candidates?

 

 Think about it and research past candidates to understand this all began even before Jimmy Carter. If it wasn’t for republicans fighting back and filling the void for democrats, this liberalism would have spread much faster.  Many current leaders now, who marched and protested our soldiers in the Vietnam era are very powerful today in their work to bring down the Iraq war, attack our president, rid the country of God, and throw our freedom and capitalism down the drain. What better source than to find their way into our schools to poison our children’s minds and gain popularity in their votes to control our government. A known dear friend of barrack Obama’s, William Ayers is a prime example of this. Our military and strong leaders remain focused and have fought off the attacks of “liberalism”.  They protect our freedom and democracy under the help of God as we had been founded in America. Whether you believe in Jesus, as the son of God or not, there is certainly enough documentation to prove he was a wise and sincere teacher with many following. This is a teacher I want my children to learn from. There is no comparison to these fanatics Obama has in his closet.

 

President Bush uses faith to aid him in his decision-making and luckily he is so forthright to abscond from negative pressuring and he stayed focus to win in Iraq. This positive direction in Iraq is a huge victory in America as well because the democrat party wanted us to lose so very bad. To hear Obama change his mind and go from ending this war immediately, to now, ending it responsibly and finishing the war with a victory is something that was hard for him to say. If George Bush wasn’t so relentless and steadfast in his beliefs and would have caved into the democrats wishes, we would have mass hysteria and the democrats would have much ammunition to help win the election.

 

 If you haven′t figured it out, the democrats will do anything to win. The leadership of Gen. David Petraeus, also brought hope and stability to Iraq and prevented the terrorists from reuniting in Iraq or elsewhere for that matter, because, they are on the run. We should admire and learn from our soldiers who demonstrate patriotism at a time when most of us have almost forgotten who we are, what we stand for, and what is at stake.

 

If Barrack Obama and the democrat party had their way, they would have kept denouncing this war even if it meant endangering our soldiers just to gain power and win the 08’ presidential election. Obama would have pulled our troops from Iraq severely discrediting and injuring our military reputation throughout the world. Not to mention this would have initiated an unprecedented bloodbath to the Iraqi’s and created a breeding ground for terrorists with one common goal; Kill Americans, Israeli’s, and Western supporters.

 

Obama has openly stated how he would conduct our military in a time of war: quit and return home. He apparently lacks understanding about the true nature of our enemies which is extremely dangerous. How can we accept any notion that Obama is capable of keeping us safe from the terrorists around the world and protect our country as well as our allies.

 

Russia is just waiting for America to weaken so they can reek havoc on democratic nations such as; Ukraine, Poland, Georgia, etc. I have often believed Russia was befriending the Middle East, especially Iran, to gain power like the old Soviet Union. Iran is quickly making great strides toward getting the atomic bomb which would not be possible without Russia’s help. Russia was waiting for America to fail in Iraq so they could swoop in and gain power with the most evil of governments.

 

Doesn’t that scare you that most evil governments wanted to see us fail in Iraq and our own democratic party shared this desire? Look at the facts instead of letting the media sensationalize Obama and make your own decision. Look where Obama comes from, (teachings) how he has voted, and always says whatever it is to sound great even if it is completely opposite from what he originally has said.

 

This is a perilous time and only getting worse with the rise of the “old Soviet Union” and a possible nuclear Iran. Right now more than ever, the world needs a united and strong America. America rose out of nowhere and many have given their life to make us great.

 

Listen to the dead, stay strong and united to keep a free and democratic United States and continue pursuing freedom for the world. Obama and the democrats are waiting time bombs.



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