President Obama Faces Growing Hill Pressure On Israel

Politico.com:

As President Barack Obama prepares to depart for his first trip to the Arab world, the administration's escalating pressure on Israel to freeze all growth of its settlements on Palestinian land has begun to stir concern among Israel's numerous allies in both parties on Capitol Hill.

Read the whole story: Politico.com

Comments

[balrog221]

AIPAC been workin the phones. All Palestinian phones disconnected

[MemoryAlpha]

Relevant Semantics:
In the case of institutional racism, certain racial groups may be denied rights or benefits, or get preferential treatment
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism

Example of Preferential Treatment:
The US government is to drop espionage charges against two officials of America's most powerful pro-Israel lobby group accused of spying for the Jewish state because court rulings had made the case unwinnable and the trial would disclose classified information.

The case has been further complicated by a scandal revealed last month by a political publication, Congressional Quarterly, around a member of Congress, Jane Harman, who was secretly taped telling an Israeli agent that she would pressure the justice department to reduce spying charges against the two former Aipac officials.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/may/01/aipac-israel-lobby-lobbying-washington

Example of Denial of Rights:
The five [from the Holy Land Foundation] were never accused of supporting violence and were convicted for funding charities that aided needy Palestinians. The government’s case relied on Israeli intelligence as well as disputed documents and electronic surveillance gathered by the FBI over a span of fifteen years.
http://www.democracynow.org/2009/5/29/holy_land

[Samlas]

The Israeli lobbying is very strong in the US. They practically own our government.

[castlerider]

I hate Politico. With their ridiculous little charicatures thinking they're something cute.

It's a media source that is so obviously bought and paid for, in this case by the zionist influence on our media.
Of course Obama's under pressure about Israel, that is the one most displayed and apparent money hold on our government that exists in our country, before every American and every citizen in the world.
How else would it make any sense that we pretend that these people are right in choking to death and
suffocating the Palestinian's right to exist?
How else do we explain that so much strife and conflict that we as Americans have to endure from one of the most populous peoples of the world, the Muslims, we do so simply out of loyalty to these people who always take, take, and take, and expect us to continue to not only support them, but prop them up in the face of their greedy, selfish and inexcusable actions?

I'm not pro-Muslim or Arab by any means, but enough is enough. America needs to stop supporting Israel and think about America first. The damn settlements need to stop. They needed to stop decades ago, when they agreed to do so with past administrations.

.Enough, Israel. Find your own damn way to peace.
.

[JustForComments]

Israel has had to deal with their Arab neighbors for all of her existance.

Reminder, there are now four sides to every story:

Party A Party B The Truth How the media skews the story to fit it's agenda

[UnknownSoldier]

A One State Solution is the only recourse. A country where everyone can practice their religion freely and without persecution, or Loyalty Oaths ala Lieberman.

First we must stop calling them Israelis and Palestinians, they are Hebrews and Arabs, and they can live together in peace under 1 Flag.

[Veeve]

That is a non starter for Israel because then Muslims would outnumber Jews and Israel would cease being a Jewish state. As an avowed agnostic, I think it is a rubbish excuse, but that is their reasoning against a one state solution with equal citizenship rights.

[AtheistUS]

Your suggestion is a complete fantasy. In real world a two states solution would give chance to these two nations with so different political cultures and traditions live in peace, cool down in a couple of generations, evolve with their own dynamics. It will be absolutely great if two states solution will be reached, with agreement about land and with recognition of each other.

As for your fantasy, let me continue: Let's create one single World government with citizens of the Earth where "everyone can practice their religion freely and without persecution" and let's live all together under one flag. This is a One State Solution.

[MemoryAlpha]

Two state solution:
Requires Israel to return land taken by military conquest.

[littlelordfauntleroy]

it's refreshing to see people are catching up on this Israel debate, this has gone on too long, please send Obama word of encouragement www.whitehouse.gov/contact i truely believe the world will be a much better place when this problem is settled, do your part and send out word, only americans will solve this problem.there is a list for the congressmen/women on this board too, let them know what you think



www.whitehouse.gov/contact/

[AtheistUS]

You supported the following, of 'Happyprogressive':

"Installing the jews into isreal was the worst decision made by the west post ww2. If there was any real justice in this world they would have some land in germany. ... Isreal has been arab land and has always been arab land."

Replying to my objections you posted:
"jew is a religion, there were jews who lived here just not the same jews from europe.
there are jews in africa too, can they claim the land was given to them by God and go occupy it ? if am catholic can i go claim land in the vatican? that is why they named themselves Israel to create all this confusion. most palestinians still have their title deeds for the lands currently occupied by israel. the lies are starting to come apart"

9th time I try getting through censorship:

Your comment has no any relation to my comment, you are talking about something completely different. But let see:

Your very first statement is incorrect. Jew can be understood as religion or as ethnicity. There are many Jews in US too. I never stated that some ethnicity (or some religious group) can destroy a country or occupy part of some country. I also did not write anything about steeling somebody's property. I also did not mention god or gods.

Please read again what 'happy progressive' wrote and what I and others answered. Reading with attention can do wonders and will help you write comments here.

[gladys46]

Help J Street help President Obama :


http://action.jstreet.org/t/3184/tellafriend.jsp?tell_a_friend_KEY=1472

[303]

Just who is leading this expatriot, Obama-bashing posse-- double-agent Jane Harman or
Bibi's BFF Joe Lieberman?

In the interests of Transparency, We Want NAMES~!

[FlaExRepub]

I don’t see what the big deal is. After all, if the Mexican government gave permission to hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens to flood the lower states, choosing its high resource areas and prime real estate locations to build massive settlements, claiming it under squatter rights, wouldn't we as Americans, just take the land from the rightful owners and give to the illegal Mexicans as a gift. Really, what's Palestine's problem with this?

[wisecrack]

I'm surprised it took as long as it did for Dems to come out on this issue.

[Veeve]

I am very happy that Robert Wexler and Rahm Emmanuel and Hillary have the president's back. Without a freeze on the ethnic cleansing resulting from this so called 'natural growth', there will never be peace.

[bnww]

"Natural growth" includes bribing (with American taxpayer dollars) non-born Israelis to MOVE INTO Israel and settle onto land that belongs to the Palestinians.

[IncredulousGeezer]

C'mon, Ackerman. For a usually sensible fellow like you to be using the canard that the Israelis are expanding existing and building new settlements on the West Bank for security reasons is shameful.
They are doing so because Netanyahu and his Likud-led coalition are beholden to the radicals on the religious right and no other reason. Those zealots consider the West Bank an exclusively Jewish territory.
If this band continues to dictate policy in Israel, a peace settlement will never be reached.

[NPA]

Israel is not in the Union. The United States does not include Israel last I checked. It was really pathetic when both parties we pandering to the Israelis during the 2008 election.

[AirForce Vet]

What is a true friend? A true friend is one who cares about your welfare and needs. True friends share a mutual respect for one another. A true friend is one who is there through the good times as well as the bad times. A true friend will not lead you astray. True friends do not use friendship as a bargaining chip. A true friend is supportive when you are right and not when you are wrong. Supporting a friend when they are wrong enables them to continue that which is wrong. I will leave these comments for you to ponder. You have the right to conclude the friendship between the United States and Israel, as I have. Remember this, just because you say you’re my friend, doesn’t automatically make it so. Saying something is mere words. As they say, the proof is in the pudding.