Obama's Speech Brilliant and Troubling

Note Farnaz does not respond to the fact she was caught using other ID's by

kjohnson3 | February 17, 2009 10:29 AM

by: themoderate | February 11, 2009
9:42 PM

and by: Mary_Cunningham | January 13, 2009 7:22 AM

Again her other ID's-

Observer12, Observer31, Yael1, ivri5678, Billy8, nadinebatra, stadtbear, Spark1, Shark2, Spidermean3, DOUG_WHITE, FTH123 MANSOUR112, hsnkhwj, Zebra4 and ????

and some possible straw-men-

Whistling and pgibson being recent straw men.

and a combination straw-man and then a "friend".

stadtbear

and one must wonder after all this trickery, if Farnaz was not the infamous impersonator named SUSAN_JACOBY????

And she says "Jesus" weeps?? Farnaz is a professed Jewish atheist who believes said Jesus did not even exist!! Again, Farnaz is one very strange person!!!

from: kjohnson3 | February 17, 2009 10:29 AM "

"Interestingly, the proof of the multiple aliases is on display
prominently in this thread. Look carefully at the posts in which
her (Farnaz) sign-on name doesn't match the alias she's writing under.

For example, in her (Farnaz's) post of Feb 10, 3:18 a.m., she signed on as the Yael alias but then wrote a "Dear Yael" message and signed it "Farnaz."

Another, more recent example: her post of Feb. 16, 9:52 a.m. She
signed on as Farnaz but wrote a "Dear Farnaz" message and
signed it "Yael."

I guess it's tough keeping up with the finer details of having
several personas."

See also comments posted by: themoderate | February 11, 2009
9:42 PM

See also comments posted by: Mary_Cunningham | January 13, 2009 7:22 AM

Farnaz, Farnaz, Farnaz,

You definitely have the "gift" of obfuscation especially in regards to using straw-men as a means to rant on about Judaism. Tis a bit strange though since you are a professed Jewish atheist!!!

And I have only two ID's,ccnl and ccnl1.
At last count you and your "friends" have 15 and probably a few more with Whistling and pgibson being recent straw men.

The Farnaz "friend" count so far:

Observer12, Observer31, Yael1, ivri5678, Billy8, nadinebatra, stadtbear, Spark1, Shark2, Spidermean3, DOUG_WHITE, FTH123 MANSOUR112, hsnkhwj and Zebra4

For those interested in Farnaz's problems with being honest see the following comments by other members:

from: kjohnson3 | February 17, 2009 10:29 AM "
.
For example, in Farnaz's post of Feb 10, 3:18 a.m., she signed on as the Yael alias but then wrote a "Dear Yael" message and signed it "Farnaz."

Another, more recent example: her post of Feb. 16, 9:52 a.m.
See also comments posted by: themoderate | February 11, 2009
9:42 PM
See also comments posted by: Mary_Cunningham | January 13, 2009 7:22 AM

Whistling/CCNL opines:

"Hirschfield is SUCH a penny-anti
twit.

His so superior attitude, the distain, the
declaration of what IS..

it's an attitude always detested and explains much of history."
__________________

And here, again, is whistling aka Youngj1 aka pgibson aka Shark2 aka Spark1 aka EarlC aka CCNL, turning up like the proverbial bad penny he is.

Your Christianist days are over Whistling aka CCNL.

You no longer write history. Your books are growing old, moldy in the closet.

Go dress up in your white sheet, burn a cross on your lawn, swill your Bud, eat your mayonnaise sandwich and do a Seig Heil for them good ole days.

Hmmm, add another to the list of Farnaz's friends???

Observer12, Observer31, Yael1, ivri5678, Billy8, nadinebatra, stadtbear, Spark1, Shark2, Spidermean3, DOUG_WHITE, FTH123 MANSOUR112, hsnkhwj, Zebra4 and now captn_ahab ????

To pgibson:

Yezz, boss. I be a good Jew boy, and I thanks you for beins so good to me.

Ah is so happy boss, that I don' have ta sit at da back a da bus wit' my yaummuka on anymore, boss.

Ah is so happy you done gib me my own country to go back to boss.

I is so sorry to trouble you boss, when you been so good to us ungrateful, ungracious, and smelly Jew boys.

All da best boss.

The conclusions of the Conservative Jews to include their rabbi David Wolpe support the comments of pgibson1.

To wit:

"New York Times
ARTS & IDEAS/CULTURAL DESK | March 9, 2002
New Torah For Modern Minds
By MICHAEL MASSING (NYT)

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20E1EFE35540C7A8CDDAA0894DA404482

New Torah For Modern Minds

"Abraham, the Jewish patriarch, probably never existed. Nor did Moses. The entire Exodus story as recounted in the Bible probably never occurred. The same is true of the tumbling of the walls of Jericho. And David, far from being the fearless king who built Jerusalem into a mighty capital, was more likely a provincial leader whose reputation was later magnified to provide a rallying point for a fledgling nation."

"The notion that the Bible is not literally true ''is more or less settled and understood among most Conservative rabbis,'' observed David Wolpe, a rabbi at Sinai Temple in Los Angeles and a contributor to ''Etz Hayim.'' But some congregants, he said, ''may not like the stark airing of it.'' Last Passover, in a sermon to 2,200 congregants at his synagogue, Rabbi Wolpe frankly said that ''virtually every modern archaeologist'' agrees ''that the way the Bible describes the Exodus is not the way that it happened, if it happened at all.''

The rabbi offered what he called a ''litany of disillusion'' about the narrative, including contradictions, improbabilities, chronological lapses and the absence of corroborating evidence. In fact, he said, archaeologists digging in the Sinai have ''found no trace of the tribes of Israel -- not one shard of pottery.''

This article is more crying from a people that have already been delivered!
Posted by: pgibson1

Pardon MOI, Whiner, but I think you're confusing anger with your pity-filled self.
POOOOORRRR yyyouuu! Oh, no! We ain't contented with what you gave us? Well, guess what, Cry Baby. YOU didn't give us anything except death. That's what you all know. Human sacrifice, child-raping and death.

No thanks. Don't need it. Don't want it. Not our way. Get lost. Go to church. Finish your last beer. GTHOH.

HSKNW pontificates thus:
"Even if Obama is a Muslim, so what? Collin Powell was the first one to speak out against this bigotry."

I did not hear him or any of his ilk complain when a so-called Egyptian Mufti (supreme cleric) stated that he would rather have an Indonesian or Malaysian Muslim as president of Egypt rather than an Egyptian who is a Christian.

The rapid repeated political and economic changes that have rocked this world over the last century ending in the Bush era of eight years that the world will take a thousand years and more to forget, and which also brought all the good admirable American values to naught, internationally and domestically - I think USA badly needed a leader who could win back the confidence of a shaken and dazed world not forgetting the American people themselves who have had their first taste of creeping state surveillance under Bush Jr.

The massive uncontrolled public and private spending under President George Bush has left a legacy of an uncontrolled economic spin for the whole world to tackle. This too requires a world leader who can reassure the world that he intends to deal with US over-spending habits and stop the uncontrolled economic fall.

To win back world confidence in USA, I feel President Obama has done well to start with the people most affected by the Bush policies and form not only one fifth of the world population but geographically lie at the center of the world. These people also possess a very large part of the future needs of the world.

Obama has made a good speech and one sincerely hopes that deeds would soon assure the world that United States really intends to follow what it offers as a gesture of future cooperation not only with the Muslim world but with the whole of it.

Farnaz says:

"Can we, therefore, assume that when he speaks to "you," he will omit the DISTORTIONS of history, outright DISHONESTY, that characterized this speech?
And when he speaks to Christians? To Hindus? Aren't you being cynical? I mean, aren't there just so many sides of the mouth that any politician can talk from?"

Are you sure our President was speaking out of his MOUTH ?? It sounded to me like it was coming from somewhere decidedly south and posterior to his mouth..

A "brilliant" speech? It was a speech based on a Muslim revisionist history designed to flatter the Muslims. The Muslims inspired the European Enlightenment and the Renaissance? The Muslims invented algebra and printing? Obama bills himself as a "student of history" but both he and his speechwriters need to re-study their history texts.

Also, interesting that Obama failed to mention that 60 years ago, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution that called for the establishment of both Jewish and Arab states in what was then Palestine. The Arab states of Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria opposed the plan, declared war on Israel, and told the Palestinian Arabs to leave their homes while promising they could return after the Arab victory. The Arabs lost, and as a result, those homeless Palestinians continue to live in refugee camps.

suck it up, Hirschfield.

Your people were essentially "given" a state of Israel.

Your people have chosen to take a path that essentially undercuts the Grace of that gift, and you write this tripe?

Get over yourselves. We know there was a holocaust, we know that Judaism has been persecuted (well, according to a book called the bible) over the years.

your people get a break, and this is your grace?

It must be a real pisser to know that B. Obama is in an excellent position of International Relations and Diplomacy, and your people still seem to be crying over something that happened in biblical times.

These are NOT biblical times, Mister.

It's a time to grow-up and take your seat in the hall of all people, not just yours, and learn to co-exist.

Yeah, once upon a time - it was a fairy tale.

Now upon a time you are not making any friends crying about the same old thing, century after century.

You have your land. What you chose to do with it is your decision.

I think we all know that your lovely Israel isn't exactly a peaceful state, and that is YOUR decision.

Too bad; your people have been given much and much is expected of them.

Get on the bus or turn in your typewriter.

This article is more crying from a people that have already been delivered!

I agree with the first part of your analysis. In fact in my analysis http://mark24609.blogspot.com/2009/06/obamas-message-to-islam.html I stated much the same thing, but I disagree that relations in the Islamic world will improve much because of what Obama said which I also describe in my analysis of the speech.

Mark

Bottom Line: Israel's goal has been and still is peace through replacing Muslims in Palestine, Gaza and the West Bank with Jews. Period

Lrobby1: thank you for your insightful and spot on comment. You pointed out how when taken in context, the Prz's speech does the opposite of what the critics slam. Like what he said about civil rights being won by peaceful means, something MLK and Ghandi both advocated, both peaceful men, both asasinated. I guess peace is a BIG threat to extremists of any religon, or political party. May God/Allah/Yahweh/Buddha/etc... bless and keep President Obama safe.

Brad is obviously reacting to President Obama's speech with a historical perspective that is rather devoid of other historical traditions and perspectives.

In fact, most of us growing up in the "West" have a Western Civilization indoctrination.

Unless Brad is steeped in global history generally, he is going to miss the subtle comparisons and connections that Obama made in his speech as Obama attempted to bring people together rather than to point out the differences. While acknowledging that differences have existed and exist today, Obama's main emphasis was to try to link all people together in a mutual desire for peace, prosperity, and hope.

As those who have said that Obama never mentioned the word "democracy," which is clearly not the truth, others are upset over this and that. It sounds like children being upset with their parents because one parent spoke one word more to one child than to another. This type of petty squabbling needs to stop. President Obama is so much more a diplomat and adult than many who are critiquing him.

Yes, the Jews have had a hard time. The Bible tells us that much of their hard times were brought on by themselves. Has one even bothered to add up the Jewish deaths that can be directly attributable to God's punshment as recorded in Holy Scripture? The Negroes in the United States have had hard times, also. There were things done to slaves and Blacks throughout American history that were as damning as were the concentration camps to the Jews (as well as the tens of thousands of non-Jews that were also in those same concentration camps).

I am thankful that we have a leader who is willing to deal in the open with the tough topics. He is truly placing all of his cards on the table. This President does not worry about being vulnerable because he has grown up with a healthy respect for truth, a respect for others, and a respect for governing authorities. When one tells the truth, there are are no regrets.

Cheney is a living example of living a lie. He will try to explain until he draws his last breath why we had to torture, why torture is no big deal, and why we had to put aside American ideals after 9/11. He is a living example of a draft dodger who became a warmonger for political gain. There is no virtue in this. As Jesus would say, Cheney is no peacemaker. "You will know them by their fruits."

"Obama speaks half-truths as if it is natural for him... I hope a lot of the 52% of the electorate who supposedly voted him..."
---
Posted by: DoTheRightThing
------------------------------------------

Supposedly voted for him? I wish people would comment on the articles and stop trying to grind their own ax, no matter what the topic. Some posters obviously have no credible opinion and they simply waste other people's time.

I prefer options base on something substantial. Please read the speech and then comment on its contents and the article about it.

VGailitis:

"Around the world, the Jewish people were persecuted for centuries, and anti-Semitism in Europe culminated in an unprecedented Holocaust.... On the other hand..."

I think the problem with the two hands, as it were, is that they held a mess of "inaccurate" innuendo, to put it kindly. Now, why the inaccuracy, I wonder? One knows Obama has fact-checkers....Couldn't they come up with a fact or two?

Barack "It's OK to call me Hussein again" Obama wasn't brilliant but very troubling! His speech given in Cairo was a signal to Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, he gives them the creedibility they demand in being addressed on "religious terms". He credited Islam with contributions that were neither a product of or attributable to Islam, but not one "journalist" challenged his falsehoods! But there's more, when he said, ""Around the world, the Jewish people were persecuted for centuries, and anti-Semitism in Europe culminated in an unprecedented Holocaust.... On the other hand..."
There he lays the blame on the Jews, and once again gives credibility to the notion that the Jews don't have any right to Israel. This man Obama is an ego maniacal danger to the free world!

Well put, Rabbi.

This process has to be started somehow and President Obama balanced his remarks well in the service of a "teachable moment."

Intra-Islamic violence is appalling. Islam is hurting as a culture for a variety of reasons and it's time to take a deep breath and start to open up on this.

I agree with the other posters who note that religion is the problem. The separation of church and state is the brilliant conception of our founding fathers. We need to stoke that notion to the rest of the world. Otherwise we have exactly what we have now: violent towers of babel aiming rockets at each other.

It's called 'diplomacy', and I, for one, am glad to have a President who understands the art of "what goes around, comes around." When you are a guest in someone else's house, do you act respectful or do you criticize the decor, the wallpaper, and how the furniture is arranged? Obama was simply walking the well-paved road between criticism and fawning.

If Obama was to be totally truthful, I suspect he'd say that all organized religion is a crock. But that would get him nothing other than the jaw-dropping appreciation of athiests. He is being a realist. He knows he has to kiss some Muslim booty to get their support. I would think that even those that do not support him realize he is very strategic, very focused and very intelligent. Give it time-- in a couple years we will see the results of the strategy he's now rolling out in the region.

Obama speaks half-truths as if it is natural for him. He also says he's in favor of one policy and then implements the opposite. I hope a lot of the 52% of the electorate who supposedly voted him into office are developing serious-and-well-deserved cases of buyer's remorse.

Couldn't agree more with your basic point - speech brilliant, but troubling. The decisive factor is, will it work? In other words, lead a majority of parties towards a broad-based consensus for peace. Possibly Obama has the brains and charisma to actually do it. It reminds me very much of Wilson's "14 Points" proposal for ending WWI. This went a long way to encouraging the Germans to stop fighting, but couldn't deliver on a peace in which they didn't feel betrayed. Alas, hope itself can be dangerous - when it is raised but not satisfied.

Can we all be honest here? Ultimately the elephant in the room is religion. To say Bin Laden doesn't represent the teachings of islam is incorrect. While I am not an expert on the Koran the Al Queida folks sure seem to qoute the Koran quite often. I know, I know, for you religious folks this is the part where you say.."yeah, but they are taking the holy scriptures out of context. Because..see here the scripture says love everyone here in this verse."

See, isn't this precisely the problem. When you take a book and recount verses that were written in a past age and try to apply them to a modern age you get delusions which result in conflict. All founded upon a belief system devised when the fundamental dogma at the time was that the earth was flat and the best way to heal a sick person was to drain them of all their "bad blood".

No, the heart of this conflict rests upon the delusion of religion and the idea that their is a "holy land" where people are willing to die for. Over a crucifiction which by most objective accounts did not happen and started by the patriarch Abraham which if he were alive today would be facing serious murder and adultury charges according to the common muslim law of today.

I believe it is one thing to beleive in the common good of all from a spiritual standpoint, but quite another to believe in what can best be described as "majical thinking" in this age of science. Most of the conflicts of the world are based around a religious dogma that most of us would have a straight face repeating to our kids.

So, mideast peace is important, but remember the fundamental premise of a "holy god" that controls the every move and intention of his subjects and creations is destined to be fleeting. lasting peace will only be realized when religous dogma has given way to modernity and scientific understanding and acceptance.

Couldn't agree more with your basic point - speech brilliant, but troubling. The decisive factor is, will it work? In other words, lead a majority of parties towards a broad-based consensus for peace. Possibly Obama has the brains and charisma to actually do it. It reminds me very much of Wilson's "14 Points" proposal for ending WWI. This went a long way to encouraging the Germans to stop fighting, but couldn't deliver on a peace in which they didn't feel betrayed. Alas, hope itself can be dangerous - when it is raised but not satisfied.

youngj1 writes:

"Bin Laden no more represents Islam just as Isreal doesn't represent Judaism."

I think he could not be this despicable. Must be one of CCNL's aliases. No doubt it meant to write "Bin Laden no more represents Islam than George Bush, Dick Cheney, Condoleeza Rice, et al, et al, et al, represent Christianity."

The history of every religion is filled with lies, deception, murder and larceny. It's time we stop looking at these issues through the prism of religious conflicts and focus on the human and national costs to constant avarice practiced by all concerned. Bin Laden no more represents Islam just as Isreal doesn't represent Judaism. The bastardization of the teachings of all three major world religions continues to propel the world toward unspeakable chaos. So I make a plea to all of you who consider yourselves good stewards of your respective religions...Just practice them and we will in time reach accord. Keep pitting one against the other and we will all perish.

Farnaz, Farnaz, Farnaz,

Yes, you are not a right-winger as Jewish atheists are left-handed but you do have many friends who share your beliefs:

i.e. Observer12, Observer31, Yael1, ivri5678, Billy8, nadinebatra, stadtbear, Spark1, Shark2, Spidermean3, DOUG_WHITE, FTH123 MANSOUR112, hsnkhwj, Zebra4.

: hsnkhwj:

No, I'm not a right-winger, and I agree that there are "honorable Jews," just as there are "honorable" Muslims, Christians/Catholics, Pagans, Animists, Hindus, Sikhs, atheists, agnostics, etc. Just as surely, each group can also claim its fair share of dishonor.

As for "right-wining" it, being "right-wing" anything is not necessarily without honor; being left-wing anything is not necessarily honorable.

If you think you've seen anger on these "Jewish" web sites, check out the Christian/Catholic, some of which not only claim that Obama is Muslim (horror of horrors! :]), but that he is selling the country to "the Muslims."

As for Jews, there were things relevant to Jews that bothered some of us, certainly me. That which this rabbi mentioned are the least of it. The polemical stance you are witnessing on the web is new to most of us. It's reactive and it took us a couple of thousand years to get here.
It's still taking shape and could probably be quelled when it is safe for Jews to walk in the streets of Europe, when dictators such as Mubarak stop using us as a scapegoat, when internet antisemitism ends, etc.

Otherwise, I don't see it subsiding. There are other developments long overdue, IMHO. Such as Jews getting into the conversion business, more in the way that Muslims convert, that is, through explanation. With more of us, we would, of course, be physically and psychologically safer. Arguably, the world might be better.

There are lot of honorable Jews both in America and Israel. They have deep faith in Human Rights as well as equality of all humans from birth.

Unfortunately, I am reading blogs, and opinions (right in WP main section) from the right wing of the GREAT religion of Judaism showing a great deal of hostility to President Obama. Some others are professed conservatives, it seems.

These are the people who don't want two state solution, want to preserve the status quo. Bigotry is abundant in these blogs--calling Obama a Muslim. This, despite President Obama is a practicing Christian.

Even if Obama is a Muslim, so what? Collin Powell was the first one to speak out against this bigotry.

Farnaz, no I do not think you are a right winger. This is not personal to any one.

In all due respect Rabbi...lighten up and listen to the speech again.

Begin anew tomorrow for we all have past mistake no matter our country, our religion.

Its like my wife..she calls to mind my mistakes and 20 years later still remembers them like it was yesterday but lays them down cause I choose to recognize and respect her. With no respect there in no union of any kind.

Rabbi Hirschfield wrote:

"And none of this even addresses the President's unfortunate comparison of contemporary Israelis and Palestinians with black slaves in America and their white owners, or his unwillingness to mention that the biggest issue related to violence by Muslims is their murder of other Muslims, which far exceeds the amount of either Jewish or Christian blood which they shed."

Perhaps the good Rabbi would do well to set aside his own preconceived notions and expectations and review President Obama's entire speech before commenting on it.

The President specifically mentioned that Islamic extremists have killed more Muslims than Christians or Jews.

President Obama:

"They have killed people of different faiths but, more than any other, they have killed Muslims. Their actions are irreconcilable with the rights of human beings, the progress of nations, and with Islam.

Also, President Obama did not compare Israeli Jews AND Palestinians with black slaves and their white owners. In fact, Mr. Obama did not even mention the phrase "white owners".

Mr. Obama offered the Palestinians a lesson from the history of the African American struggle for liberty from oppression and disenfranchisement.

He said:

"Palestinians must abandon violence. Resistance through violence and killing is wrong and it does not succeed. For centuries, black people in America suffered the lash of the whip as slaves and the humiliation of segregation. But it was not violence that won full and equal rights. It was a peaceful and determined insistence upon the ideals at the center of America's founding."

In other words, Rabbi Hirschfield, Mr. Obama acknowledged the suffering of Palestinians but told them that violence only begets violence and the only proven way to end oppression is by peaceful means, especially when they are so outnumbered and overpowered.

At no time did President Obama include Israeli Jews in the comparison.

Rabbi, I do not think that President Obama was equating the suffering of slaves to the suffering of Palestinians, he was showing the different outcomes between violence and non violence ie violence is a poor method to bring lasting change. Any analogy used to promote non violence is acceptable.
I find it hard to understand criticism of this speech if the whole speech was listened to. The combination of Moral Authority and oratory skills in the President of the world's superpower can only be a blessing.

My thanks both to President Obama and to Rabbi Hirschfield. I am a committed Christian raised in a conservative-evangelical Baptist home. As a young adult I drifted away from the faith of my family and youth. I have struggled back to a deeper faith in my maturity (although I'm certainly not conservative-evangelical now). My experience has, I think, helped me to understand and empathize with the skeptical and unbelieving. My point in relating this is to say that I am persuaded that, if we are committed to faith, we cannot avoid being troubled by those who believe differently than ourselves any more than we can escape God's non-negotiable command to love them and live in peace with them. I understand Rabbi Hirschfield's discomfort with aspects of Obama's speech, and I applaud his willingness to move beyond his own concerns. Would that the world had his attitude.

The world may be filled with those that we call infidels and apostates, but we won't improve it by killing them. Nor will we improve it by regarding ALL people of faith as delusional mental defectives. Some are, no doubt, and the least reasonable and least flexible among them who are the most committed are surely the most dangerous, as al Qaeda surely demonstrates. In a world in which religious intolerance and fanaticism command too much of our attention, it's easy to forget that religion IS a significantly positive influence in the lives of most people of faith. I recommend Rabbi David Wolpe's book _Why Faith Matters_.

Rabbi Hirschfield,

Obama was not writing a history or ruling from the bench. One hundred different people could come up with one hundred different lists of things he didn't say. The list from an Islamic cleric would look different from yours. One could argue that Jews, when in power, also suffer from chauvanist tendencies. Religious equality? Why are the Orthodox more equal than others, even other Jews? ALL truths are partial.

But this is all digression, diversion. The main point is the one you understand and explain so well.

The good news about Obama's speech is that he did not apologize for the Iraq War started by Bush43. Obama gave a proper explanation of why we are in Afganistan. I agree with you, Rabbi, that something he said about the past and present Muslims's doing are inaccurate.
How about the Supreme Leader saying that Iran has no intention of making some nuclear bombs? What a lie!

Rabbi,

You write:

"Yet with all of that concern, I remind myself that this speech was not for me, not designed to please my ears or address my concerns. It was addressed to the Muslim world and it was brilliant."

Another thought on this pronouncement: Can we, therefore, assume that when he speaks to "you," he will omit the distortions of history, outright dishonesty, that characterized this speech?

And when he speaks to Christians? To Hindus? Aren't you being cynical? I mean, aren't there just so many sides of the mouth that any politician can talk from?

I had hoped for a speech that looked toward the future. Instead, I saw a "road map" for the same old same same old--bloodshed. The direction of the compass is clear, Rabbi; that the arrow painted in a brighter color only makes it more dangerous.

Well said.

The only point of contention that I'd argue with is the false dichotomy between doing what some may call "right" and doing what is "productive". Sometimes setting the historical record straight is part of moving forward. However, in fixating on the past there is always the danger that the future will be neglected. Obama did what he could to strike a balance between those two needs.

Also, I agree that understanding the needs of a given audience are an essential part of understanding the speech. Context always matters.

Rabbi Hirschfield,

You wrote,
"And none of this even addresses the President's unfortunate comparison of contemporary Israelis and Palestinians with black slaves in America and their white owners, or his unwillingness to mention that the biggest issue related to violence by Muslims is their murder of other Muslims, which far exceeds the amount of either Jewish or Christian blood which they shed."

President Obama specifically mentioned the latter issue,
"Indeed, none of us should tolerate these extremists. They have killed in many countries. They have killed people of different faiths -- but more than any other, they have killed Muslims. Their actions are irreconcilable with the rights of human beings, the progress of nations, and with Islam. The Holy Koran teaches that whoever kills an innocent is as -- it is as if he has killed all mankind. (Applause.) And the Holy Koran also says whoever saves a person, it is as if he has saved all mankind. (Applause.) The enduring faith of over a billion people is so much bigger than the narrow hatred of a few. Islam is not part of the problem in combating violent extremism -- it is an important part of promoting peace."
...
"And if we are being honest, fault lines must be closed among Muslims, as well, as the divisions between Sunni and Shia have led to tragic violence, particularly in Iraq."

Yet with all of that concern, I remind myself that this speech was not for me, not designed to please my ears or address my concerns. It was addressed to the Muslim world and it was brilliant.

Equivocation is almost as unappealing as appeasement. If he had made analogous statements about the Christians, would any Christian cleric have written as you have?

What of my child? Your children? Your children's children's children?

At a more practical level, what of B.B. Netanyahu who heard this speech? I don't yet know if the Israeli people were permitted to hear it, but imagine those still treading the middle ground? Imagine some on the left? And, Rabbi, imagine the right.

There is, in the commandments, something on false witness, lying, etc., that occurs in the president's speech. That is wrong. It does NOT matter to whom or for whom it was said. Period.

On TILLERS MURDER extended:

Mr. Hirschfield:

Is'nt the CIA's, MOSSAD, M5, KGB's... Code-Word for Assasination means to "ABORT" (something or someone)?

Please: Ask {CCNL} about that!

Note: Like Fatal Attraction: there is Fatal Abortion!

In some cases, Bad Judgement has a Boomerang effect & it Haunts the decision makers & or their PERPS!

This is the Nature or law of 2nd & even 3rd Thoughts [Via Regretts & Repurcussions] hence the Angst!!

I am appreciative of this essay. Mr. Hirshfield made the points of concern for him but saw the brilliance of "reaching someone where they are". He praised President Obamas speech as effective and "productive", and recognized that it is not only important but wise, (and common!), that we craft our words to the ears listening if we seek control of our message and maximization of our desired intent.

The fact that President Obama did not broadside Al-Azhar University for strict conservative policies, for instance, is an act of brilliance, not an indication that the speech was untrue. We do not move forward when we go into the home of another an criticize how he keeps his home. We build bridges and friendships before we criticize what are failings in our eyes.

We all have different perspectives in life, otherwise there would be little need for conflict, and there clearly is conflict in the world. And certainly between America and Muslim countries, and between Israel and the Muslim Mid East. We have different truths. A path to peace and conflict resolution is the ability to see through the eyes of your opponent.

This writer is merely clinging to the past rather than look to the future. President Obama cautioned this in early part of his speech. There is no end to the bickerings.

Where do we go from here is the question of our time?