Speak up, Obama
In 12 days, President-elect Barack Obama will speak in front of thousands of people at his inauguration to be sworn in as president of the United States.
However, Obama has been silent so far on the Gaza conflict — not a word.
We think it is unacceptable for the next president of the most powerful country in the world to refuse to issue a statement about the events unfolding in Gaza over the last week and a half.
Obama’s advisers have issued a statement saying that Obama won’t comment because he is currently not the acting president. While we understand that there is only one president at a time, in less than two weeks, Obama will be in charge, and it will be his problem.
Let’s also not forget that despite not yet sitting in the Oval Office, Obama has been outspoken on several other issues that are technically still Bush’s problem.
For example, Obama was outspoken during the Russia-Georgia conflict, and has voiced his opinion about the economy and the ensuing struggles he will face once he takes office.
Obama stressed during his campaign that, if elected, he would continue the U.S. long history of support for Israel. As president, he will need to lay out a plan for our country’s interaction with both Israel and its enemies. We’re not asking for him to disclose the details of his plans, recognizing he has no actual power until Jan. 20. But he needs to reassure us that he does support what Israel is doing and that the United States will be there to help Israel along the way.
His silence thus far has been disturbing to many around the world. Everyone can try to figure out why he’s keeping silent, and most news organizations have speculated, but we can’t think of a plausible reason for the president-elect to be mum on this topic.
So we ask President-elect Obama to make a statement condemning the terrorist actions of Hamas, and supporting Israel’s right to defend herself. He must verbally reassure America, Israel and its allies that the President of the United States will continue to support Israel, when so many other countries are calling it a terrorist nation.
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