From Times Online:
Barack Obama completed his trip to the Middle East with a pre-dawn visit to the holiest place in Judaism where he received a mixed reaction from Orthodox Jews.
The US presidential nominee was heckled as he visited the Western Wall in the early hours of Thursday morning, bowing his head in prayer and observing traditional custom by placing a folded piece of paper into the crevice of the wall.
Orthodox men interrupted their morning prayers to catch a glimpse of the Illinois senator, reaching out to shake his hand as he passed them by. But not all were taken by the Democrat. One yelled out: “Obama, Jerusalem is not for sale!” before Mr Obama was whisked away to his waiting plane.
From Reuters:
Obama, wearing a Jewish skullcap, placed a prayer he had written in the wall and bowed his head while a rabbi read a psalm calling for peace in the holy city.
One worshipper chanted "Obama, Jerusalem is not for sale" and "Jerusalem is our land" as the Illinois senator stood at the wall, a relic of the ancient Jewish temple destroyed during Roman rule nearly 2,000 years ago.
From the New York Times:
Senator Barack Obama made a pre-dawn visit here Thursday to the Western Wall, arriving in the Old City as a clear moon helped illuminate a still-dark sky.
Mr. Obama, wearing a white yarmulke, made his way down a walkway toward the Wall. He was escorted by the Rabbi of the Wall, Shmuel Rabinovich, and surrounded by many other followers at one of the holiest sites in Judaism.
As the rabbi quietly read from Psalm 122, both he and Mr. Obama flipped through a Holy book on a wooden stand. The moment unfolded as a lone man standing about 10 yards away yelled over and over, “Obama, Jerusalem is not for sale! Obama, Jerusalem is not for sale!”
After the prayer, Mr. Obama walked a final few paces to the Wall and followed the custom of placing a personal prayer between the stone cracks, with his note left alongside hundreds of others. He placed his hand on the Wall, bowed his head and stood in quiet contemplation for a few moments.
The heckler continued his chant as Mr. Obama walked away from the Wall. Several other men tried to drown out his voice with chants of, “Obama, Obama, Obama.”
“It was a little rowdier than the last time I was there,” Mr. Obama said later.
Ooh. Not good.
This moment had to be captured on video.
I can't believe that Obama's Western Wall prayer photo-op wasn't caught on tape.
Let's see the footage.
I'd like to hear the heckler. I'd like to see how Obama looked. Was he shaken by the disruption? Did he tense up or was he relaxed, confident in knowing that the media are his guardian angels and he will be protected by them?
I'd like to see the heckler. Some news photographer must have snapped his picture.
Is there a blackout on Obama hecklers?
__________________
Raw video here, but no view of the heckler.
The still photos of Obama's moment of prayer present a much different picture than the video.
Perhaps Obama also prayed for the heckler to stop.
4 comments:
so where's the heckler - did OUR media "forget" to snap a closeup of him yelling "Jerusalem is not for sale, Obama"?
How does Obama get away with such things with OUR press??
"OUR" media?
It's Obama's media.
What does "Jerusalem is not for sale" towards Obama supposed to mean?
JERUSALEM -- Sen. Barack Obama's campaign plastered the entrance to the Western Wall – the holiest site in Judaism – with official campaign posters, WND has learned.
Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld confirmed to WND posters that adorned police barricades erected at the Western Wall plaza for Obama's visit were distributed by the presidential candidate's campaign.
"These posters were his campaign and not the doing of the police," said Rosenfeld, whose police department coordinated security and provided protection for Obama's visit today to the holy site.
Asked if it was traditional practice for politicians visiting the Western Wall to bring along posters or campaign materials, Rosenfeld replied, "No."
The posters display Obama's name in Hebrew. One poster erected on the main police barricade used by Obama to enter the holy site boasts the official red, white and blue campaign "O" symbol and advertises the candidate's campaign's website.
A second poster also displays Obama's name in Hebrew and contains an image of Israeli and American flags.
Reuters posted images of the Obama campaign posters showing a handful of people waiting behind the police barricades.
Reuters images had the following caption:
"Supporters of U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) stand behind banners printed with his name in Hebrew as they wait for his arrival at the Western wall."
The caption implied supporters brought along the pro-Obama material.
But an eyewitness speaking to WND tells a different story.
"The kids waiting for Obama may not even be Obama supporters. No one knew Obama was coming in advance. We saw the police barricades erected. We saw Obama's face on the posters, and some police said Obama was on his way. So a few people gathered by the barricades and waited for Obama," said the witness.
Obama's media relations department in the U.S. did not reply to a WND phone call request for comment.
The heckler was apparently troubled that Obama defaced the holy site with his posters and used the holy site as a campaign photo-op.
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