The jailed Israeli spy, Jonathan Pollard, came out fiercely on Tuesday against the proposed deal with Hamas in which Israel would release 980 Palestinian prisoners in return for kidnapped soldier Gilad Schalit.
IOA Editor: Pollard is an extreme right-wing Israeli, as are his friends. He is an interesting case for one reason only: Since his jailing, some 25 years ago, every US president has been asked – by every Israeli leader and by many prominent US Jews – to let him go to Israel before completing his jail term. Despite the on-going pressure, every US president refused to do so. Apparently, AIPAC and the Jews are not “dictating” US foreign policy or, surely, they would have by now brought about Pollard’s release.
See also: Adam Shapiro: Selling Out in Congress
Congressman Perriello, I am afraid, has become like so many of his colleagues, a mere tool of a hard-right AIPAC agenda that has no business dictating American policy. He has become part of an American dog wagged by an Israeli and AIPAC tail.
IOA Editor: AIPAC is a strong and highly influential organization. But there is no evidence, in this article or elsewhere, that it is “dictating” American policy or that it is the tail that wags the dog – it is bad enough that AIPAC buys influence, and that it does so better than most.
History shows that when a US president wants to apply pressure on Israel, he can do so without much resistance from Congress: whether it is blocking persistent Israeli attempts to release its jailed spy, Jonathan Pollard, or punishing Israel for selling to China advanced military technologies against the wishes of the US. This has been done and could be done again, if only there were a president who wanted to do more than just talk about peace and justice. It is easy to focus on AIPAC, and much more difficult to deal with a president who talks about peace and justice while pursuing war and destruction throughout the Middle East – in many ways, reminding us of his predecessor, except for his far greater propaganda skills.
