world
BIRMINGHAM
fe
BIRMINGHAM
#1 Kids Martial Arts Program
Straight Talk from page 25
MARTIAL ARTS
Kids Karate
NOW ENROLLING
2219 Cole Street
Birmingam MI 48009
www.bmartialarts.com
248 646-6608
1970330
DESIGNS IN DECORATOR WOOD & LAMINATES, LTD.
It Doesn't Have
To Cost A Fortune...
Only Look Like It!
Complete kitchen and bathroom remodeling
as well as furniture design and installations
including granite, wood and other materials.
Lois Haron Allied Member ASID 248.851.6989
If you are not wearing it... sell it!...
or BORROW on it!
You can't enjoy jewelry if it's sitting in your safe
deposit box. Sell or borrow on it for immediate cash.
We deal in jewelry, watches, diamonds and coins.
---
I Service t_
)rivate Owners,
Banks & Estates
e0414 & peefieeirey
Contact Larry Allan
33700 Woodward Ave. • Between 14 Mile & Adams •
248-644-8565
26 March 5 • 2015
1966930
ties there are for them in an America that
is reluctantly accepting the notion of real
inclusion. Even my own 5-year-old son
is enamored by Obama. He is not yet
mature enough to understand the weight
of history, but he already associates the
American flag with Obama.
Yes, America advanced into the palace
of democracy by electing Obama twice.
But for black America, it carries a deeper
meaning than just having a president
who is black It means arriving at a cycle
of history that is comprised of an essen-
tial bitter past. And the vilification and
delegitimization campaign carried out
by detractors of the first black president,
which continues into his second term
with the latest psychological assault from
a mainstream GOP leader, Rudy Giuliani,
that Obama doesn't love America, only
goes to reinforce what many blacks see:
There is a deep reluctance and resent-
ment in this nation to accept the legiti-
macy of the first black president who was
legitimately elected twice.
Since Obama became the occupant of
1600 Pennsylvania Ave., we've witnessed
unbelievable assaults on the presidency in
ways never seen before. From outrageous
and nonsensical assertions that he is a
Muslim to preposterous remarks like "We
want our country back:' his critics have
tried to remove any veneer of respectabil-
ity for the office of the president because
of its occupant.
Thus when the White House is not
properly and duly notified of an invitation
to Netanyahu to speak to Congress, many
in black America see this as part of the
continued attempt to remove the veneer
of respect for Obama, despite the storied
history of Jews standing side by side with
blacks during the Civil Rights Movement.
That is why prominent African
Americans like Rep. Lewis, prophet of the
Civil Rights Movement, who himself has
led dialogue on black-Jewish relations,
quickly came to Obama's defense, saying
to Netanyahu in unmistakable terms,
"Don't disrespect our president:'
I told Gilad during our breakfast that
this could be a pivotal moment in black-
Jewish relations because it is bad for the
historical record as well as the legacy of
black-Jewish relations, for Israel's current
prime minister to be placed in history as
part of the coalition that failed to accept
the legitimacy of the first black president.
"I think it is not good for the CBC
to not attend. I agree there might be a
protocol blunder," Gilad told me, "but we
would like to have our day in the court
of the American people, which is the
Congress. Could things have been done
differently? Yes. But at the end of the day
this is where we are. I don't think there
will be any setback because at the end of
the day Israel will be the best U.S. ally in
the Middle East:'
Gilad said he does recognize the
potential fallout with black lawmakers
in Washington could strain relations
between African Americans and Jews,
and it is something he discussed in
Chicago prior to our breakfast meeting.
But he maintained that the bond between
blacks and Jews is too important to be
broken in light of what some only call a
diplomatic hiccup.
But here's the problem: It's more than
a diplomatic hiccup. When Netanyahu
came to speak to Congress on March 3,
his audience was mostly Republican and
mostly white.
If the members of the Congressional
Black Caucus didn't show up, it is very
bad optics and is telling on a number of
levels. Ironically, the leader of the Jewish
state is coming to Washington, seemingly
at loggerheads with Obama, at a time
when blacks are preparing next month
to commemorate the 50th anniversary
of the March on Selma. That event will
be headlined by Obama and is expected
to be attended by all former living U.S.
presidents except George H.W. Bush.
Key in that historic march to Selma was
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, a fore-
most liberation thinker and leader of the
American Jewish community who was a
staunch ally of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Heschel described his participation in the
Selma march this way: "When I marched
in Selma, my feet were praying:'
In 2012, I began doing some research
on black-Jewish relations for a literary
project. I was curious about the much-
publicized rocky relationship between
Netanyahu and Obama. Because I wanted
to document how these two leaders view
each other, I decided to interview Israeli
journalist Natasha Mozgovaya, who was
at the time the Washington bureau chief
for Haaretz, a daily newspaper.
"Personal relationship between lead-
ers matters, and the two are obviously
not in love with each other. They have
different styles, in some spheres quite dif-
ferent ideology, and they surely had some
awkward encounters. However, these
moments received far greater attention
than the negative impact it really had on
the relationship between the countries:'
Mozgovaya told me.
"Did President Obama make a mistake
talking publicly about disagreements
over Jewish settlements? Should Prime
Minister Netanyahu have 'lectured' him
during their press availabilities? These are
questions for another discussion, but it's
quite clear President Obama didn't voice
criticism to undermine Israel standing,
but merely gave his sober assessment of
the perspectives7
❑
Bankole Thompson is the editor of the
Michigan Chronicle who, together with
JN Publisher and Executive Editor Arthur
Horwitz, has led some initiatives about black-
Jewish relations.