Israel

Gaza

Gaza

U.S.

Amman

Gaza

American

University

Beirut

Israel

Gaza

Iraq

Israel

Cairo

Israel

Israel

Israel

US

Gaza

J Street

U.S.

Israel

Gaza

Gaza

Gaza

Palestinian Territories

- U.S. President-elect Barack Obama, with his silence on's attacks in, has confirmed Arab expectations that foreign policy changes will come small and slow when he moves into the White House next month.On the fourth day of Israeli air strikes which have killed more than 380 people in, the U.S. President-elect has yet to take a position, though he spoke out after militants' attacks in Mumbai and has made detailed statements on theeconomy."He wants to be cautious and I think he will remain cautious because the Arab-Israeli conflict is not one of his priorities," said Hassan Nafaa, an Egyptian political scientist and secretary-general of the Arab Thought Forum in"Obama's position is very precarious. The Jewish lobby warned against his election, so he has chosen to remain silent (on)," added Hilal Khashan, a professor of political science at theof"If Obama continues to remain silent . . .his silence will be seen and will have the operational effect of providing an endorsement for's war on," said Paul Woodward of Conflicts Forum, an organization aimed at changing Western policy toward Islamist movements such as Hamas.The Arab world was largely enthusiastic about Obama's election victory in November, in the belief that a fresh face in the White House must be better than outgoing President George W. Bush, who invadedand gave strong support toBut his choice of a foreign policy team, especially Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State and Rahm Emanuel as chief of staff, have raised doubts that much will change.Mustapha el-Sayed ofUniversity said: "I am really pessimistic ... because when I see the kind of people who surround President-elect Obama I find they are the best friends ofwho do not dare to distance themselves from the positions of the Israeli government.""Silence sounds like complicity," Mark Perry, the Washington Director of the Conflicts Forum group, told Al Jazeera. "Obama has said thathas the right to defend itself from rocket attacks but my question to him is 'does he believe that Palestinians also have the right of self-defense?'. . . And Obama repeatedly spoke out in support forduring his election campaign, describing the country as one of the' greatest allies and has vowed to ensure its security.- Expressing views that are surely representative of American Jews as a whole, here's what some American Jews are saying about the violence inhas a petition demanding that theintervene to bring about an immediate resumption of the ceasefire betweenand Hamas; the petition also calls for lifting the blockade of. . .Brit Tzedek v'Shalom has an action alert asking folks to write to President-elect Obama, insisting that he speak out now and call for an immediate cease-fire and humanitarian aid to, noting that he has spoken out on other issues. As Representative Barney Frank pointed out, "Obama says we have one President at a time, but I'm afraid that seriously overstates the number of Presidents we have right now.". . .Americans for Peace Now is asking its supporters to write to President Bush and President-elect Obama in support of a ceasefire and humanitarian relief forJewish Voice for Peace condemned the Israeli attacks on Gaza, calling for an immediate end to attacks on all civilians, whether Palestinian or Israeli, and noting that the blockade of Gaza is a violation of humanitarian law and has been widely condemned around the world. Meanwhile they have been organizing support for Israeli high school students who have been imprisoned for refusing to serve in an army that occupies the