- Title: ISRAEL/FILE: What's in a name? Plenty, if you're Barack Hussein Obama
- Date: 21st October 2012
- Summary: JERUSALEM (FILE) (REUTERS) WIDE OF JERUSALEM'S WESTERN WALL VARIOUS OF ORTHODOX JEW PRAYING AT WALL AND WEDGING NOTES INTO CRACK OF WESTERN WALL
- Embargoed: 5th November 2012 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Jerusalem, Czech Republic, Israel, Usa, West bank
- City:
- Country: Israel
- Topics: International Relations,Politics,People
- Reuters ID: LVADUZJRDUK7QIIO6RWISHA4A57V
- Story Text: U.S. President Barack Obama's middle name 'Hussein' makes Israelis believe the President is less pro-Israeli, according to research conducted by the University of Haifa and the University of Texas.
Since Obama's first presidential run in 2008, fringe groups and a smattering of opponents have espoused rumours that he is secretly a Muslim. Obama, a Christian, called it "nonsense".
But researchers Israel Waismel-Manor from the University of Haifa and Natalie Jomini Stroud of the University of Texas believe a name in itself, and not just its religious or ethnic association or meaning, could have implications, especially for politicians.
Waismel-Manor and Stroud set out to study the effects of Obama's middle name 'Hussein' on perceptions of Jewish Israelis, Arab Israelis and Americans.
"Ever since Barack Obama decided to run for the presidency there has been a world wide buzz about his middle name," explained Waismel-Manor from his office at the University of Haifa.
The study was conducted in a controlled environment where participants were divided randomly into two groups. One group watched a video clip with 'CNN' inserted on screen and the caption 'President Barack Obama' appearing during an official address about Middle East peace talks while another group watched the same clip with the caption altered to read 'President Barack Hussein Obama'.
Following the three minute, forty seconds long clip, participants were asked whether Obama was supportive of Israelis or Palestinians; how they perceive Obama's policies towards peace in the Middle East and their overall opinion of the President.
"What we found is that the people among Israeli Jews that saw Barack Hussein Obama, they thought of him as less likeable. They thought his peace initiative was less fair for the Israelis and overall they thought that his sentiments towards Israelis was lower than the people who saw Barack Obama," said Waismel-Manor.
The third group in the study, namely the pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian Americans, were not affected by the appearance of the name 'Hussein'.
In addition, Waismel-Manor said, if a population is repeatedly exposed to the name 'Hussein', it will have a stronger effect and depending on the character of that population, it will strengthen the sentiment.
"In Israel we had an MK, a member of the Knesset, who repeatedly called him Hussein Obama and therefore that queue would be constant if some parts of the population are in favour of it. The same goes for Arab news stations. If they decide to call him Barack Hussein Obama, obviously in al-Jazeera it will get some more favourability in Arab countries than if they call him Barack Obama," explained Waismel-Manor.
Waismel-Manor says the effects of Obama's name are unlikely to play a significant role in the forthcoming U.S. presidential elections, scheduled for November 6, because the public now has sufficient knowledge about President Obama to make an intelligent decision.
"As President Barack Obama himself said it's not the best name to have if you are running for office in America after 9/11. Nevertheless, he never made use of his middle name in his campaigning, he never made an issue out of it even long before when he was a young student, he never made use of it formally and therefore it's not something that you can turn on and turn off," said Waismel-Manor.
Most students at the University of Haifa who were asked about the effects of Obama's name aligned themselves with Waismel-Manor and Jomini Stroud's research conclusions.
"Most of the people are affected by the name since they are completely ignorant of the guy's policies," said Dor Edelist, who supports Obama.
Another student said Obama is Muslim and therefore he has a clear preference to Muslims. "Barack Obama is a Muslim guy, you can never forget it, his name is Hussein, he will always prefer Muslim over Jewish, no matter what we are going to do about it," said the student who remained anonymous.
Od those asked only Essa Mattar, an Arab Israeli student at the university, said Obama's name does not have an affect on his pro-Israeli policies.
"I don't think the name affects policy or thinking of people, I don't think that the name matters, his policies are pro-Israeli and that's it," Mattar said.
Obama was criticised by some Americans after a speech in August 2010 in which he backed plans to build a privately funded mosque in Manhattan, close to Ground Zero, the scene of the Twin Towers attack on September 11, 2001 which killed around 2,750 people.
He told reporters: "I understand the emotions that this issue engenders. Ground Zero is, indeed, hallowed ground. But let me be clear: as a citizen, and as President, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as anyone else in this country. That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community centre on private property in lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances."
False rumours that Obama was not born on American soil, potentially making him ineligible for the presidency, were eventually quashed when a copy of his birth certificate showing his long-form birthplace to be in Honolulu, Hawaii was produced. Obama made fun of the story at his speech at the annual Washington Correspondents Dinner in January 2011, telling listeners he was going to release a video of his birth.
With 163,000 eligible American voters living throughout Israel and the West Bank, including 10,000 registered in the crucial battleground state of Florida, a strong showing of absentee voters from the Holy Land could swing next month's presidential election in which Democrat incumbent Obama faces a close fight against Republican candidate Mitt Romney. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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