Obama’s Israeli Fans Sing His Praises
“Tank you Mister Obama, about everyting.”
So says a random Israeli interviewed in an exceptionally strange new video out today from the National Jewish Democratic Council.
The video opens with jaunty music playing under images of missile batteries. Then Israelis stopped on the street say nice things about the president.
One woman in a shopping mall laughs “Viva, Obama!” Residents of Sderot, the southern Israeli city that’s faced rocket attacks from Gaza, praise him. An older, bearded man standing on a sidewalk calls the president “a very bright man.”
Obama is apparently being thanked by Israelis for the Iron Dome system, which was designed to intercept missiles form Gaza. That’s strange, too, because the Iron Dome system is built in Israel. The United States partially funds the program.
The new ad comes a week after Sheldon Adelson initiated a libel suit against the NJDC.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news. All donations are still being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000 until April 24.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.

