Obama’s Day in Palestine

Palestinians in the West Bank woke up Wednesday morning to a glorious sunny 75 degree day and the news of a new American leadership — as President Elect Barack Obama put it, a new dawn — not just for the US but for the world. THe earliest news reports and my own conversations with people in Ramallah indicate an obvious satisfaction at the very least with America’s choice for preseident, if not the same celebratory and hopeful mood we saw on TV in Washington, New York, Kenya and around the world.

Digging deeper, there exists for the Arab world reasons to be skeptical toward the idea of radical change in the Middle East. But optimism is the prevailing sentiment with the election of America’s first African-American president. During my day in Petra, Jordan last Sunday, I spoke with the young men who sell colorful Petra sand designs in bottles to tourists from all over the world. Cultured and knowledgeable, they had much to say about the US elections and it echoed messages from other non-Western countries.

Palestinians on US elections – questions and speculation

With just a week left until possibly the most highly anticipated US elections in history, I’ve arrived in Amman, Jordan on my way to the West Bank excited to feel out the reaction there to Senators Obama and McCain and this heated race.

The Palestinian-Israeli issue is always a big one in a US government. But to what degree are people in Palestine paying attention to the transition in the US administration? With the difficulties of daily life – from putting food on the table to Israeli travel restrictions – do Palestinians have any room for concern about elections half a world away? Surely the American government has significant impact on the daily lives of Palestinians and on Israeli policy, and my experience visiting Ramallah over my lifetime leads me to believe that people realize this.