He Saw the Torture of Palestinians with His Own Eyes and Will Tell Obama

An emotional talk was given last week at the house of Neriman and Bassem Tamimi by the leadership of the Popular Resistance movement — of course I did not attend.

What follows comes from a meeting with Dr. Vincent Harding, a member in a delegation composed of social activists, U.S. politicians and civil rights movement veterans.

A Haaretz article, titled “To My Brother and Son Obama,” describes what happened.* It was written by Israeli journalist Amira Hass, who follows human rights issues.

The letter to Obama is not from the journalist but rather from Harding. Amira drafted the letter, though, in a humanistic style that entices one to read it. Perhaps what appeared in Hass’ article helps us understand Obama’s positions and manner of resolving political issues, particularly the Palestinian issue.

We can imagine the conversations and discussions that occurred at that dinner, which was held in honor of the guests and complete with the well-known Arab generosity.

The 80-year-old historian and theologian, a Christian born in Harlem, was the subject of much respect and admiration. He remembers King and his black companions that fought for the sake of freedom, equality, justice and human rights. Additionally, he mentioned that Franklin Roosevelt appointed nontraditional advisers who were not known to his aides.

Likewise, he said that Obama relies on the advice of his advisers in the White House who, as we know, include Jews biased toward Israel. During the discussion, it appears that Harding compared Obama with his “ancestors.” After the comparison, he concluded by saying that “Obama’s problem is that he was not sufficiently daring… ‘to go out of the expected respectable ways,’” as Roosevelt and King did.

Yes, and we consistently say that Obama lost his enthusiasm to solve the Palestinian issue because he promised Arabs and Muslims this in his famous speech at Cairo University. Unfortunately, he has done nothing since that speech to deter Israel and stop it from looting and pillaging Palestinian lands in broad daylight.

Now he is busy with the election, and he is trying to keep the votes of Jews, who compose a large voting bloc that presidential contenders usually depend on. Often, these contenders avert their eyes from the war crimes, violations of human rights and blatant racism that is happening in Palestine. This is exactly like what happened in South Africa. All too often, they do not listen to Hass and other journalists like her, who are trying to objectively cover the news.

The old historian admits “how ignorant [he] was about what is really happening in this part of the world….”

Undoubtedly, this was the most important thing he said. The majority of foreign leaders, historians, intellectuals and journalists usually hide their true feelings. Unfortunately, they also admit their lack of knowledge on the Palestinian issue and what occurs by way of pain, racism, death and deprivation until they visit Palestine for themselves. Perhaps the other reason is the power of the Jewish lobby in the U.S., which is partial toward Israel and responsible for negatively affecting U.S. public opinion toward Arabs and positively affecting this opinion toward Israel and its cruel occupation. I would say that Arabs, too, are failing to deal with the truth.

Harding said that he would personally convey to Obama what he saw. Additionally, he would probably send his letter to “the large network of Jewish friends, students and colleagues in America,” especially since he feels, after learning the truth, that there are tragedies and apartheid occurring in Palestine.**

Will he deliver the letter during his visit with Obama that both he and I hope will happen? We only desire to say to the old teacher: Thank you, and we wish you good health and old age.

*Translator’s note: The title clearly translates as “To My Brother and Son Obama,” but the original Haaretz article has a completely different title: “You Need to Have a Dream, Veteran U.S. Civil Rights Activist Tells Obama After Visiting West Bank.”

**Editor’s note: This quotation, while accurately translated, could not be verified.