Obama finally admitted to Jewish Golf Club

Whether or not Barack Obama still wants to join a club that didn't want to have him as a member remains to be seen, but at least Woodmont Golf & Country Club has now officially extended an invitation to join.

This, following a bitter and unseemly string of incidents in which a group of members decalred their hostility to allowing Obama in, due to Obama's Israel policy.

Woodmont GC. The epicentre of tolerance

“Political views have never been part of our membership criteria, and our members have always reflected a range of opinions on issues of the day,” said Woodmont president Barry Forman in an email to club members, according to the Washington Post

“In the current, deeply polarized political environment, it is all the more important that Woodmont be a place where people of varying views and beliefs can enjoy fellowship and recreation in a relaxed environment,” Forman added.

There was also consternation about whether or not Obama should be admitted without having to pay the usual $80,000 initial membership fee. Bad news again for the opposers, as Forman added that the ex-president would be granted “special membership,” allowing him to bypass the fee and the normal application process. Well, he was the leader of the free world and all that.

Coming to a country club near you. The Obama Ballet Experience...

But it ain't necessarily over yet. The move may still invite lawsuits from members upset at the special treatment given to a president they don’t believe is pro-Israel.

“We are proud of our Jewish heritage, and we are also proud that our membership is now more diverse, which reflects significant changes in our society in recent years,” the club’s president told members.

“Given our legacy, it is regrettable that we have now been widely portrayed as unwelcoming and intolerant, because that is not who we are,” he added.

As a result of the controversy, a local mayor publicly resigned his membership, backing Obama and saying he could not belong to an intolerant community.

It is not yet known whether Obama will accept Woodmont’s offer to join. He must be a bit confused after all this. As Woody Allen so infamously put it (para phrasing Groucho Marx): "I wouldn't want to join a club that would have him someone like me as a member."

In this case half of them do want him in and half of them don't. Watch this space... Or not...

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