The Coalition to Stop $30 Billion to Israel, a multi-ethnic, multi-religious coalition working to “end to the ten year commitment of $30 billion in U.S. taxpayer-funded military aid pledged to Israel in 2007 by the Bush administration,” reports they have a new set of billboards with a new company and slightly altered message. Seventy-five percent of US military aid to Israel is, by law, given to US arms manufacturers.
US-Israel
A Holocaust survivor, a retired military officer wife and I issued an invitation to Elie Wiesel to come to Gaza with us. This invitation was extended as he spoke before a standing-room crowd of around 2800 people on Tuesday evening, December 1, at St. Louis University… He responded with an immediate and dismissive “I heard you.” He then turned and looked in the other direction.
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.
[T]he organization that offered every soldier refusing to evacuate a settlement… NIS 1,000 for every day they spend in military prison, is a registered non-profit organization and has a license to operate. Like many of the extreme right-wing organizations receiving money from U.S. supporters, the funding for the group enjoys tax-free status. Peace groups and Palestinians have complained to U.S. authorities, but there has been no change in the status of the organizations supporting the right wing.
Peacemaking takes strategic skill. But we see no sign that President Obama and Mr. Mitchell were thinking more than one move down the board. The president went public with his demand for a full freeze on settlements before securing Israel’s commitment. And he and his aides apparently had no plan for what they would do if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said no.
IOA Editor: Even Mr. Obama’s natural allies, the US “liberal media elite” are not impressed by his ME peace initiative. What should the rest of us think? “Hope?” “Change?” Blah, blah. Incidentally, the New York Times has no criticism of Israel. None.
The United States is expected to ease its opposition to incorporating Israeli systems in the F-35 if Israel expedites its order for the stealth strike fighter… a version of the F-35 that would include command and control systems developed in Israel, as well as the ability to carry advanced missiles that are made in Israel.
“For now he is doing nothing, but he has invited us to revive the peace process. I hope that in the future he can play a more important role,” Abbas said in an interview.
[The US] defines terrorism as “premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents.” The Hebron settlers’ violence is certainly premeditated. It is, by their own admission, politically motivated. It is perpetrated solely against noncombatant targets (overwhelmingly children), and it is obviously the work of a subnational group – the settlers themselves. The business of the Hebron settlers is terrorism, pure and simple.
Noam Chomsky in BBC interview:The war in Afghanistan is “immoral.” He spoke to Stephen Sackur and answered viewer questions, among them several on the Middle East.
Dov Hikind is not only a U.S. citizen, but also a member of the NY state legislature… and he wants to buy property in an illegal Jewish settlement, in an East Jerusalem neighborhood that the U.S. government considers a disputed area where no additional construction should be taking place? Indeed, it is an area that would be the capital of Palestine, if and when we achieve a two-state solution.
IOA Editor: Irrespective of the warped comment on “the deal negotiated by Bill Clinton (and foolishly rejected by the Palestinians),” a view common in US media and among those not doing critical, careful fact-checking – including Klein, “a lifetime supporter of the Jewish state,” who feels the need to state it – this commentary shows the changes currently underway in how Israeli aggression is covered in the US.
For facts and myths on the Bill Clinton “deal,” see Gush Shalom’s presentation: Barak’s “Generous Offers”
[T]here is a gradual mobilizing, galvanizing of public opinion such that… you can see the writing on the wall, that Israel is getting closer and closer to being held accountable… And in that respect you can say the Goldstone report marked a qualitative change. They recognized now for the first time that the shadow of accountability is hanging over them.
Obama’s fury was over not only the principle, but also the way Netanyahu handled the crisis… U.S. embassies in Arab countries are reporting that Obama’s charms are wearing off as it becomes clear that nothing has changed since his June speech in Cairo.
It seems Israel is taking full advantage of the crisis in the peace process to push its anti-peace agenda… It is a rogue state, in contravention of international law, occupying another people’s land in contempt of human rights law and common decent standards of human behaviour… Israel has been given a free pass for too long. Without returning occupied land, it cannot arrive at peace with the Palestinians and there can be no comprehensive peace in this region.
At noon, Mr. Hikind, [a member of the New York State Assembly,] led a group of about 50 American Jews in laying a cornerstone for the next phase of Nof Zion, with construction scheduled to start next spring. “I want to buy here,” Mr. Hikind said. “I might make a deal while I am here this time.”
IOA Editor: This Jerusalem ground is “contested” and the territory “disputed” only in the American media: all international organizations, and the vast majority of countries – including, most of the time, the US – treat East Jerusalem as occupied territory.
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas: “This is a clear decision and a clear message… that Israel is not willing and is not ready to stop settlement activities and… that they are not ready for peace.” And: “The Americans should take seriously what is going on,” he added. “The whole situation is deteriorating. The Americans this time should change their policy, the change which we have been promised by President Obama.”
IOA Editor: Again, your move, Mr. President.
An influential Jewish community leader and Democratic state assemblyman from New York is currently heading a mission of about 50 Americans through the West Bank and East Jerusalem to promote home purchases in the area and to protest U.S. President Barack Obama’s Middle East policy.
This signals an improvement in the currently strained Turkish-Israeli relations, as Ankara excluded Israel at the last minute from the Anatolian Eagle international maneuvers
In a NY Times op-ed… condemning the Obama administration… argu[ing] that the lofty talk of “openness” and the promise of “dialogue” with the Iranians are just empty rhetoric… [C]ritical of the U.S. support of Israel’s nuclear ambiguity and… horrified by the possibility of Israel attacking Iran’s nuclear installations.
“I would suggest that time has come for Israel to look at the allegations not only of the killing and injuring of so many civilians but also the collective punishment meted out to the people of Gaza by the substantial destruction of the infrastructure, and particularly the food infrastructure of Gaza. The debate should continue, not attempt to be silenced.”
The White House expressed disappointment in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent visit to Washington, with officials saying that they had hoped that the prime minister would present a concrete plan to scale back Israeli construction in West Bank settlements, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
Obama – Netanyahu meet: “The president reaffirmed our strong commitment to Israel’s security, and discussed security cooperation on a range of issues,” said a statement issued by the White House after the closed-door session that lasted an hour and a half concluded.
Assuming Lockheed maintains its original production timetable the first fighters will be delivered in 2014. Two years later, Israel will have its first operational squadron of F-35s, consisting of 25 fighter aircraft representing the cutting edge of U.S. technology, capable of any mission. Iran too?
The air force has already ruled in favor of the aircraft, even though it is uncertain that the Americans will include specialized electronic warfare suites: “the deterrent effect that comes with Israel having the most advanced aircraft is very important. This is the effect that was created when we received the Mirage [in the 1960s] and the F-15 [in the 1970s].” In the air force they insist that at a time when the Turkish air force and other Muslim countries intend to procure the F-35, “it is inconceivable that Israel will stay behind.”
“People feel he’s anti-Israel. I don’t read it that way, but the leadership of AIPAC (the American Israel Public Affairs Committee) and other elements of the Jewish community do and I don’t want to get into an argument with them,” said Siegel, who is Jewish.
[The US] has no intention of being a “balanced mediator”… Netanyahu and Ehud Barak, allies of the final takeover of the West Bank, know very well that U.S. policy has not changed… The prevailing attitude of all U.S. administrations [is] essentially that any possible settlement must match the positions of the stronger party. This is how the Americans abandoned the refugee issue, and this is why they abandoned the opposition to settlements.
The reports indicated that Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has reached a secret understanding with the Obama administration over U.S. recognition of an independent Palestinian state. Such recognition would likely transform any Israeli presence across the Green Line, even in Jerusalem, into an illegal incursion to which the Palestinians would be entitled to engage in measures of self-defense.
IOA Editor: Highly unlikely, given US moves to crush the Goldstone Report, its actions on recent ME ‘peace efforts’ and in the past 42 years, but important to watch. The mere concept of a Palestinian State presents an existential risk to Israel – strictly in a philosophical sense: An independent, viable Palestinian state, however theoretical, could mean the end of Israel as we know it – a state with no official borders, equipped with an insatiable appetite for land, resources and regional domination – by creating the first meaningful boundary to its colonial program and greatly weakening a US ally, potentially crucial for global control. All the more why US support is unlikely, no mater how business-like Prime Minister Salam Fayyad’s plan appears. Undoubtedly, Israel will do all it can to defend itself from the threat of peace.
Israel will coordinate with the U.S., U.K. and France to ensure the Security Council vetos Arab countries’ resolutions on the Goldstone report, Israeli officials told Haaretz.
IOA Editor: International business as usual, Occupation as usual.
Chomsky on the US’s unwavering support for Israel and “rejectionism” of the two-state solution, effectively on offer for 30 years: That’s not because of the overweening power of the Israel lobby in the US, but because Israel is a strategic and commercial asset which underpins rather than undermines US domination of the Middle East… America’s one-sided role in the Middle East isn’t harming their interests, whatever risks it might bring for anyone else.
IOA Editor: Noam Chomsky has just concluded a speaking tour in the UK and Ireland. For coverage of his tour, see:
Israel’s worst enemies are those who support its policies
Hundreds flock to hear Noam Chomsky in Dublin
Discussion with Workers Solidarity Movement
Obama has made clear that the United States intends to retain a long-term major presence in the [ME] region. That much is signaled by the huge city-within-a city called “the Baghdad Embassy,” unlike any embassy in the world.
The [US] House dismissed the Goldstone report as “irredeemably biased and unworthy of further consideration or legitimacy.” It also called on the Obama administration to “strongly and unequivocally oppose” discussion of the report’s findings in any international setting. The resolution passed 344-46. The members of the House who voted in favor of the resolution have received $51,260 more on average from pro-Israel organizations ($81,020 versus $29,770) since 1989 than those who opposed it, the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics has found.
The Goldstone… conclusion was that the civilian areas were targeted and the devastation was deliberate… the criticism of Israel in the Goldstone report is justified… it is imperative that the United States and the international community take steps to assure that the rebuilding of Gaza be commenced, and without delay. The cries of homeless and freezing people demand relief.
Egypt: “Negotiations can start only if settlements are frozen — and this continues to be our demand — or if we receive unequivocal guarantees that a Palestinian state will be erected on 1967 borders, including (Arab east) Jerusalem,” Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said.
IOA Editor: It is time to move to the ‘next level,’ now that both Mr. Obama and Madam Mouthpiece have spoken: nothing said by either suggests that any meaningful US action is forthcoming. It is time for the Palestinians and the Arab League to consider their next moves on discussions with Israel and the US. Sitting and hoping that the Obama Administration will suddenly ‘discover’ that time is of the essence, is both unrealistic and unwise.
At the same time, every day that passes allows Israel to continue its colonial program – specifically designed to prevent a viable, independent Palestinian state from becoming a reality. If anything can be learned from the past 42 years, it is that Occupation is a normal state of affairs for the ‘only democracy in the Middle East,’ and that there is no reason to assume any of this will change, unless it is stopped by outside intervention. What ‘intervention’ and how to bring it about are, indeed, the key questions.
The Obama administration is so focused on bringing the state actors — Palestinian, Arab, Israeli — back to the negotiating table that it has missed the signs of a resurgent activism among Palestinians around the world which is beginning to shape a new national movement.
The time has come for Obama to summon both sides for serious, continuous negotiations, accompanied by a timetable for establishing a Palestinian state alongside Israel on the basis of the June 4, 1967 borders. There could be no clearer expression of the United States’ commitment to Israel’s security and its future as a Jewish and democratic state.
IOA Editor: There could certainly be no clearer expression of US commitment to all peoples in the Middle East, the inherent conflict between a “Jewish” and a “democratic” state notwithstanding.
