Why Barack Obama would be the most pro-Zionist President in American history. He managed to single-handedly disprove much of the argument I made alleging that non-Jews could not effectively advocate for Zionism as understood by Jews in the public sphere. Obama’s interview with The Atlantic is simply fantastic — it hits every base I could have asked for. He called Zionism “just”. He related it to anti-Semitism — not just as something in the past, but as something Jews need to worry about today. He seemed to truly “get” why the Zionist idea has such a hold on Jews — not just intellectually, but in his gut and soul. And he recognized that keeping Israel in a perpetual, apocalyptic conflict with its neighbors and the Palestinians is not something ultimately in the interest of Israel or the Jews — something non-Jews often forget because their brothers and sisters aren’t the ones ending up in body bags.
This is something we haven’t seen from any major public figure in my memory. It is something immensely to Obama’s credit, and something that should earn him the support of that vast portion of the Jewish community which identifies as Zionist and progressive.