Rev. Wright's Church Newsletter Includes Commentary Critical Of Israel
Barack Obama's controversial former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, continues to make headlines. The most recent focus? His church's newsletter.
A June 10th, 2007 issue of the newsletter featured an open letter written by Ali Baghdadi, appearing on the "Pastor's Page," that calls Israel an "apartheid" regime. The letter says Israel worked on an "ethnic bomb" that kills "blacks and Arabs." The letter also says "Israel was the closest ally to the white supremacists of South Africa."
In the introduction to an article printed on the "Pastor's Page" on July 7th, 2007, Wright references "the 'state' of Israel" – note the quotation marks around the word "state."
And on July 22nd, the "Pastor's Page" carried a pro-Palestine article by Hamas leader Mousa Aba Marzook excerpted from the Los Angeles Times.
"Why should any Palestinian recognize the monstrous crimes carried out by Israel's founders and continued by its deformed modern Apartheid state?" Marzook asks.
The revelations could hurt Obama's standing with the Jewish community, with whom some commentators have already suggested Obama has a problem. The American Spectator has seized on comments by Obama advisor Merrill McPeak concerning the influence of pro-Israel voters on Middle East policy. ("Obama has a Jewish problem and McPeak's bigoted views are emblematic of what they are," wrote Robert Goldberg.)
But Obama trails Clinton by just five points among Jewish Democrats, according to this recent Gallup poll – a divide that is within the poll's margin of error and one that cuts against the notion that Jewish voters are rejecting the Democratic frontrunner.
A June 10th, 2007 issue of the newsletter featured an open letter written by Ali Baghdadi, appearing on the "Pastor's Page," that calls Israel an "apartheid" regime. The letter says Israel worked on an "ethnic bomb" that kills "blacks and Arabs." The letter also says "Israel was the closest ally to the white supremacists of South Africa."
In the introduction to an article printed on the "Pastor's Page" on July 7th, 2007, Wright references "the 'state' of Israel" – note the quotation marks around the word "state."
And on July 22nd, the "Pastor's Page" carried a pro-Palestine article by Hamas leader Mousa Aba Marzook excerpted from the Los Angeles Times.
"Why should any Palestinian recognize the monstrous crimes carried out by Israel's founders and continued by its deformed modern Apartheid state?" Marzook asks.
The revelations could hurt Obama's standing with the Jewish community, with whom some commentators have already suggested Obama has a problem. The American Spectator has seized on comments by Obama advisor Merrill McPeak concerning the influence of pro-Israel voters on Middle East policy. ("Obama has a Jewish problem and McPeak's bigoted views are emblematic of what they are," wrote Robert Goldberg.)
But Obama trails Clinton by just five points among Jewish Democrats, according to this recent Gallup poll – a divide that is within the poll's margin of error and one that cuts against the notion that Jewish voters are rejecting the Democratic frontrunner.
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See all 117 CommentsI have a number of points of disagreement with the pastor(s) of my church. Why am I still there? Because it is a diverse church where open dialogue is welcomed. When I have a problem with what I''m hearing from the pulpit, I discuss it one-on-one, not in public. On more than one occasion, I was informed by the Senior Minister that, notwithstanding my concerns, he would continue to preach on the same topic.
Should I go elsewhere? I don''t think so. There are also many times when we agree, and I have found many friends and people who enjoy exploring different points of view. One of the Associate Pastors told me that, while the Sr. Minister made no changes, he did bring up my concerns in staff meetings and said that they needed more members who would speak up and make sure they were on track.
My point is that churches are run by humans and are therefore imperfect. Hopefully one of the things we learn is tolerance and forgiveness. This outcry against Obama because of his church seems more a mask for racial prejudice.
Hos 7:1 When I would have healed Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim was discovered, and the wickedness of Samaria: for they commit falsehood; and the thief cometh in, and the troop of robbers spoileth without.
Hos 7:2 And they consider not in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness: now their own doings have beset them about; they are before my face.
... the media would crucify him again as an anti-semite, racist, hatemonger.
As for Rev. Wright and Farrakan; it is no secret the two have joined ranks when the appropriate opportunity arose. Such an opportunity was Their visit to Libia and the meeting with Omar.
Let us not forget Obama''s membership on the board of Wood''s Fund with so-called fellow board member and friend William Ayers(founder of the Weather Underground). Together they voted to approve $40,000.00 for the Arab American Action Network in the 9/11 year of 2001.
There exist a long laundry list on Obama; too long to mention here in this brief comment.
I thank you for this article. I wonder why most of the media doesn''t publish this information. I''m not alledging conspiracy, but such silence is wierd.
This Trinity place is the diabolical trinity of the anit-Christ. It''s a cult and it should have its tax exempt status revoked.
you so much is it that maybe
Rev.Wright as a father figure to
Obama you think they might think
alike
chill blkpresident! it ain''t slippin'' away. this is all part of the process!
Don''t be so mean!
LOL
In 2002, Sharlet (author Jeff Sharlet) joined The Family''s home for young men, forswearing ***, drugs and alcohol, and participating in endless discussions of Jesus and power. He wasn''t undercover; he used his own name and admitted to being a writer. But he wasn''t completely out of danger either. When he went outdoors one night to make a cell phone call, he was followed. He still gets calls from Family associates asking him to meet them in diners - alone. But almost all its real work goes on behind the scenes - knitting together international networks of right-wing leaders, most of them ostensibly Christian. In the 1940s, The Family reached out to former and not-so-former Nazis, and its fascination with that exemplary leader, Adolf Hitler, has continued, along with ties to a whole bestiary of murderous thugs.
After 20 years, Obama and Wright are connected at the hip.
As Sharlet reported in Harper''s in 2003:
During the 1960s the Family forged relationships between the U.S. government and some of the most anti-Communist (and dictatorial) elements within Africa''s postcolonial leadership. The Brazilian dictator General Costa e Silva, with Family support, was overseeing regular fellowship groups for Latin American leaders, while, in Indonesia, General Suharto (whose tally of several hundred thousand "Communists" killed marks him as one of the century''s most murderous dictators) was presiding over a group of fifty Indonesian legislators. During the Reagan Administration the Family helped build friendships between the U.S. government and men such as Salvadoran general Carlos Eugenios Vides Casanova, convicted by a Florida jury of the torture of thousands, and Honduran general Gustavo Alvarez Martinez, himself an evangelical minister, who was linked to both the CIA and death squads before his own demise.
At the heart of The Family''s American branch is a collection of powerful right-wing politicos, who include, or have included, Sam Brownback, Ed Meese, John Ashcroft, James Inhofe and Rick Santorum... And, at The Family''s frequent prayer gatherings, they get powerful jolts of spiritual refreshment, tailored to the already powerful.
Why the media''s blackout on Saddam Hussein''s vast support for Islamic anti American terrorists from CNN? Just curious why we hear endlessly about the costs of the war but NOT the costs of leaving Saddam in power.
a href="http://regimeofterror.com" Regime of Terror /a
Clinton fell in with The Family in 1993, when she joined a Bible study group composed of wives of conservative leaders like Jack Kemp and James Baker. When she ascended to the Senate, she was promoted to what Sharlet calls the Family''s "most elite cell," the weekly Senate Prayer Breakfast, which included, until his downfall, Virginia''s notoriously racist Senator George Allen. This has not been a casual connection for Clinton. She has written of Doug Coe, The Family''s publicity-averse leader, that he is "a unique presence in Washington: a genuinely loving spiritual mentor and guide to anyone, regardless of party or faith, who wants to deepen his or her relationship with God."
Furthermore, The Family takes credit for some of Clinton''s rightward legislative tendencies, including her support for a law guaranteeing "religious freedom" in the workplace, such as for pharmacists who refuse to fill birth control prescriptions and police officers who refuse to guard abortion clinics.
This isn''t adding up for me.
To Gauibel:
Membership in an organization or at a church does not mean you are joined at the hip with the pastor or the president. I don''t agree with everything my husband says, let alone my pastor.
Mr. Obama had a father, so--with all due respect to Pastor Wright--Obama doesn''t look to him as a father-figure. In fact, the last time I heard Mr. Obama describe Pastor Wright it was only as an uncle, who from time to time says things off the wall. Enough of this Pastor Wright story. Let''s talk real issues here: like America doesn''t want a leader who cannot even stay awake to hear critical intelligence briefings or a leader whose idea of foreign policy is to don her apron and bake a batch of cookies for our terrorist enemies.
You never had a friend, spiritual advisor or mentor that you may have thought you knew only to find out that they weren''t the person you thought they were???? Give Obama the same benefit of the doubt then! Enough said. I''m not trying to hear anything else about this DEAD story. Let it be.!!!
So tomorrow, will you blame McCain for everything that John Hagee and/or Ron Parsley ever said? And the day after that, Hillary Clinton will be blamed for Doug Coe?
Until and unless you''re doing that, don''t bother us with this nonsense. You''re just trying to stir things up. Meanwhile, the economy''s tanking, 4,000 dead in Iraq, the Constitution is in shreds, the US is torturing people. And the media is carrying on this useless WANKING about stuff that doesn''t matter. *Great* work.
after 41 years of being a faithful democrat, voting and supporting every single democratic candidate chosen, sometimes taking my babies (3 girls) and their babies (3 more girls) if it was the only way i could vote, in snow, rain, you name it - I read this year that 33% of male democrats "will never vote for a woman"
i have left the democratic party
I am now an independent who supports Hillary and will not vote if she is not the nominee
41 years of watching men screw it up over and over
no more
good luck
.
Ya got to wonder: does Jesse "Hymietown" Jackson also attend hussein''s "church"?
Thanks to "uncle" jeremiah, the true nature of hussein has finally been revealed. For nearly twenty years hussein has been the disciple and avid follower and supporter of the racial bigot. hussein has publicly praised wright on numerous occasions. wright''s vile, bigoted harangues against America, in general, and white Americans, in particular, illustrate the true foundation of hussein and the "church" of which he is a devout member. The foundation of hussein is racial division and strife - not unity. If it were not for the thin veneer of whitewash slapped on him by his handlers, I would expect him to adopt wright''s "God Da''mn America" as his theme song. hussein is clearly an outrageously unacceptable candidate for any elected office or position of responsibility in America.
hussein is just a racial "divider" - not a uniter.
.
Obama knew and spewed the same separatist krap in his book!
He lies.
Until and unless you''''re doing that, don''''t bother us with this nonsense. You''''re just trying to stir things up. Meanwhile, the economy''''s tanking, 4,000 dead in Iraq, the Constitution is in shreds, the US is torturing people. And the media is carrying on this useless WANKING about stuff that doesn''''t matter. *Great* work.
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Posted by writerswrite at 05:43 PM : Mar 27, 2008
+ report abuse
We''ll only blame McCain for Hagee, if we find out McCain has attended Hagee''s church for 20 years, if Hagee married McCain and his wife, if Hagee baptized McCain''s kids, and if McCain publishes a book whose title was thought up by Hagee.
Obama is guilty of all of those things with Hagee, and I''m sorry BUT I''M NOT A "Typical white person."
President material? AHAHAHAHAHA
obama-nation = democrats version of George W. Bush.
I will never vote for the empty suit who used republican tactics to attack Clinton.
When I pick a church, I look for the Pastor''s understanding and obedience to the Bible, not political affiliation.
What if Rev. Wright was a Republican, should he leave then?
Come on. He joined the church seeking God not Presidency. So what if he doesn''t agree on his pastor''s political views.
This isn''''t adding up for me.
Posted by greenfun at 05:05 PM : Mar 27, 2008
Say Greenfun -- If I disagree with your opinion here and think that its an ignorant point of view, does that mean that I should feel that way about everyone who knows you or associates with you?
And Obama has claimed to have NO records of his meetings and other activities for the entire time he was in the Illinois legislature. I''m afraid of who Obama really is and I feel alienated and targeted by the virulent anti-white rhetoric and race baiting I''ve heard in this campaign. We''re being bamboozled.
DNC are you listening? Obama will never have my vote, and I''ve been a democrat my entire life.
And Obama has claimed to have NO records of his meetings and other activities for the entire time he was in the Illinois legislature. I''m afraid of who Obama really is and I feel alienated and targeted by the virulent anti-white rhetoric and race baiting I''ve heard in this campaign. We''re being bamboozled.
DNC are you listening? Obama will never have my vote, and I''ve been a democrat my entire life.
And Obama has claimed to have NO records of his meetings and other activities for the entire time he was in the Illinois legislature. I''''m afraid of who Obama really is and I feel alienated and targeted by the virulent anti-white rhetoric and race baiting I''''ve heard in this campaign. We''''re being bamboozled.
DNC are you listening? Obama will never have my vote, and I''''ve been a democrat my entire life.
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And you forgot:
Reverand Wright Support for Hamas(had it in his churches newsletter)
He is friends with William Ayers(a known terrorist)
And his church is supposed to be the bastion of curtailing free speech that you don''t agree with?
Do you disown your country, state or city when someone writes an open letter you disagree with to your local newspaper?
To me, this is a major hunk of nonsense. Must be a slow day in the news.
When Gen. McPeak spoke against the settlements--again--it was simply speaking the truth. But again this is used against Obama.
No more new crusade in the Middle East in my name.
This feminist is for Obama.
Trinity United Church of Christ adopted the Black Value System written by the Manford Byrd Recognition Committee chaired by Vallmer Jordan in 1981. We believe in the following 12 precepts and covenantal statements. These Black Ethics must be taught and exemplified in homes, churches, nurseries and schools, wherever Blacks are gathered. They must reflect on the following concepts:
Commitment to God
Commitment to the Black Community
Commitment to the Black Family
Dedication to the Pursuit of Education
Dedication to the Pursuit of Excellence
Adherence to the Black Work Ethic
Commitment to Self-Discipline and Self-Respect
Disavowal of the Pursuit of "Middleclassness"
Pledge to make the fruits of all developing and acquired skills available to the Black Community
Pledge to Allocate Regularly, a Portion of Personal Resources for Strengthening and Supporting Black Institutions
Pledge allegiance to all Black leadership who espouse and embrace the Black Value System
Personal commitment to embracement of the Black Value System.
His Church of 20 years says so.
We are a congregation which is Unashamedly Black and Unapologetically Christian... Our roots in the Black religious experience and tradition are deep, lasting and permanent. We are an African people, and remain "true to our native land," the mother continent, the cradle of civilization. God has superintended our pilgrimage through the days of slavery, the days of segregation, and the long night of racism. It is God who gives us the strength and courage to continuously address injustice as a people, and as a congregation. We constantly affirm our trust in God through cultural expression of a Black worship service and ministries which address the Black Community.
Let''s think about this again-20 years as a member of this guys church. Preaching racial hatred to a new generation. Nice. Oh right, Obama never knew this sort of thing was being said-he probably wasn''t on the mailing list for the church newsletter either.
Thank you for your post. It is exactly what I''ve been saying for weeks. AND now the anti-semitic newsletter just shows there was more going on in that church than Obama wants anyone to know. Letters from the leader of HAMAS on the Pastor''s page? Come on people what else do we need to know. It''s a crackpot church. OBAMA says it''s not, but if you''ve got to say it''s not. IT IS.
Thank you for your post. It is exactly what I''ve been saying for weeks. AND now the anti-semitic newsletter just shows there was more going on in that church than Obama wants anyone to know. Letters from the leader of HAMAS on the Pastor''s page? Come on people what else do we need to know. It''s a crackpot church. OBAMA says it''s not, but if you''ve got to say it''s not. IT IS.
Thank you for your post. It is exactly what I''ve been saying for weeks. AND now the anti-semitic newsletter just shows there was more going on in that church than Obama wants anyone to know. Letters from the leader of HAMAS on the Pastor''s page? Come on people what else do we need to know. It''s a crackpot church. OBAMA says it''s not, but if you''ve got to say it''s not. IT IS.
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