Israel Lobby Pulls the Strings in America
"Settlers attack West Bank mosque and burn holy Muslim books" was a London Times headline on Dec. 11, 2009.
These attacks, together with the demolition of Palestinian homes, the uprooting of Palestinians' olive groves, the innumerable checkpoints that prevent Palestinians from accessing schools, work and medical care, the Israeli wall that denies Palestinians access to the land stolen from them, and the isolation and blockade of the Gaza ghetto, are part of the Israeli government's policy of genocide for the Palestinians.
The Israel lobby has such power over America that even former President Jimmy Carter, a good friend of Israel, is demonized for using the polite term—apartheid—for the genocide that has occurred over the decades during which American "Christian" preachers, together with bought-and-paid-for politicians, justified Israel's policy of slow genocide for Palestine.
Israelis who still have a moral conscience—a small part of the population—endeavor to use moral protests against the inhumanity of the Israeli government. Israelis Jeff Halper and Angela Godfrey-Goldstein lead the Israeli Committee Against House Demolition (ICAHD), a nonviolent, direct-action group established to oppose and resist Israeli demolition of Palestinian homes in the Occupied Territories.
Under international law, an occupier by military force is forbidden to steal the occupied land. The U.S., however, has protected Israel's violation of international law for decades by vetoing U.N. resolutions. Israel has been able to steal Palestine from the Palestinians because the U.S. government used its power to prevent Israel from being held accountable under international law.
In March 2003, American citizen Rachel Corrie stood in front of an Israeli bulldozer, made by Caterpillar and sent to destroy a Palestinian home. Her courageous act of defiance was regarded as an annoyance, and she was run over and murdered by the Israeli bulldozer operator. Israel suffered no consequences for its murder of an American citizen who had a moral conscience.
In the Israeli-controlled American media, we hear endlessly that Palestinians are terrorists who strap on explosives in order to kill innocent Israelis and who terrorize Israeli towns by firing rockets into them. One look at the maps is enough to make clear who the real terrorist is. The success of Israeli propaganda in the face of totally obvious facts damns the ignorance and unconcern of the American people.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz, which also has a moral conscience and is intelligent to boot, wrote on Dec. 4, 2009: "Every appointee to the American government must endure a thorough background check by the American Jewish community." Haaretz notes that any American that the president of the United States proposes for an appointment to his government is subject to the approval of the Israel lobby, which can blackball appointees at will.
Haaretz gives the example of Charles Freeman, whom President Obama intended to appoint as head of the National Intelligence Council. The Israel lobby proved, again, that it was more powerful than a mere American president and prevented the appointment, citing Freeman's "anti-Israel leaning." In other words, because Freeman was not an overboard apologist for Israel's crimes he was unacceptable to the Israel lobby.
Haaretz reports: "The next attempt to appoint an intelligence aide, in this case, former Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel, also resulted in vast criticism over his not having a pro-Israel record." The Israel lobby has blocked Hagel's appointment by President Obama. Hagel doesn't want to start a war with Iran for Israel's benefit and was blackballed by Morton A. Klein, the president of the Zionist Organization of America. Hagel, it seems, "refused to sign a letter calling on then-president George Bush to speak about Iran's nuclear program at the G8 summit that year."
Now it is a Jewish daughter of a Holocaust survivor, Hannah Rosenthal, whose appointment to head the U.S. Office to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, an office that is another indication of America's puppet state status, is under attack. Rosenthal was the head of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs during 2000-2005. Her black mark came from serving on the advisory board of the J Street Lobby, a recently formed American Jewish organization formed in opposition to AIPAC's murderous militarism.
The Israel lobby's opposition to Rosenthal shows that no moral person can survive the Israel lobby's blackball.
The U.S., "the world's only superpower," has no independent voice in Middle Eastern affairs. The real power rests in the hands of the settler thug, Avigdor Lieberman, deputy prime minister of Israel and minister of foreign affairs. This is the man who controls the Obama government's Middle East policy. Lieberman forced the "all-powerful president of the U.S., Barack Obama," to rescind his order to Israel to halt the illegal settler settlements on occupied Palestinian land. Obama was given the bird and submitted to his master.
Macho Americans who prance around as if they owned the world are nothing but the puppets of Israel. The U.S. is not a country. It is a colony.
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While much of what is written here is indisputable, one must recall that following wars, the losing side often loses territory. In this instance, one of those nations on the losing side was the Kingdom of Jordan. The consequence of defeat for Jordan was the loss of the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Israel has not annexed these territories, though, of course, settlers are creating annexation in fact. On a comparative basis, we should perhaps insist that Russia return the territory of East Prussia to Germany, that Silesia and Pomerania ought to be returned to Germany, and, in turn, Germany ought to return Silesia to Austria. And France ought to return Alsace to Germany, the Peace of Westphalia to the contrary, notwithstanding. And maybe the U.S. ought to return California and other states to Mexico. The question is, why should Israel be a special case. May be it is, but that is what requires explanation.
That Israel has a significant influence on U.S. policy cannot be doubted and we may be deeply concerned about that influence, but that would appear to be no reason to make Israel a special case as regards its policies in the conquered territories.
And the implied thrust of Dr. Roberts' comments here even question the legitimacy of the Jewish State. One assumes that is not his intent.
And why shouldn't the legitimacy of the "Jewish State" be questioned? Try this thought experiment: Imagine the world, especially the Middle East and U.S. foreign policy, without Israel.
"One look at the maps is enough to make clear who the real terrorist is." How bloody naive.
Dear Chronicles Editors,
Why is this Paul Craig Roberts writing such things in this magazine? Isn't he a specialist in economics???
"The question is, why should Israel be a special case." David, in nearly all the historical cases you mentioned, the population was allowed to remain on their land by the occupiers, unlike the Palestinians who are being driven off of theirs. The exception is Silesia, whose residents were driven en masse from their land and homes,never to return, by the Red Army in 1944-5.
Comment 4: I think the Germans were driven out of Pomerania, East Prussia, and Silesia. This was said to have been the largest mass expulsion in history, up to that time (See the recent recommended (by me) book, "Germany--1945." (The split off of Pakistan from India in 1949 may have involved a larger population.) You are correct that the Prussians did not drive the Austrians and other ethnic groups from Silesia after Prussia annexed that territory in the eighteenth century. Nor did the United States expel Mexicans from the territories the country acquired (conquered)after the Mexican War (In Texas, the "gringos" had already achieved majority status.)
Comment 2. Well, that great world body, the United Nations has conferred legitimacy on the State of Israel. Most countries recognize the state as such and so, we can say that Israel's legitimacy is ipso facto established. One may say what he likes about this fact, but that does not change it. It has de jure status in the world. In sum, a right to exist, at the very least. The issue at hand just now is the extent of that country. And that puts us back to my earlier comment on the loss of territory as a consequence of losing a war. Further, without approving of the fact, losing a war often as indicated in another comment, involves expulsion of (now) alien populations. Again, why is Israel held to some different standard. Mind you, this question is not meant to be a provocation. It is only to try to understand why what is sauce for one gander is not sauce for another.
If it is legitimate, it shouldn't need our money. Let's end foreign aid to Israel (and every other country) now. Charity begins at home and we really can't afford to give our tax dollars away.
Well, turning a green map white is one thing, but Israel is neglecting to outbreed the Arabs living in Israel proper let alone the former territory of Jordan. Since ab-similation is proving a problem throughout the West, I'd say Israel's problems are only beginning.
As a Hebrew minority living high on the US taxpayer-subsidized hog, and with Arabs doing their dirty work while living as second class citizens, their police state could get really nasty. The solution, make Americans who move to Israel stay there. And the ones who refuse to go voluntarily should be sent there with no right to return here.
I see no good reason why the UN should carve out a nation for people who refuse to live there.
If mistreating, displacing or exterminating indigenous populations were an absoluted bar to legitimacy, what state or country could claim to be legitimate? Mr. Van Sant is correct. The real problem with Israel and other countries is US aid. Yes, end it now, end US arms sales, and bring all US troops home within our own borders. Then watch how quickly all of these problems become someone else's, not ours.