While terrorism has been the most important topic of discussion in Washington since 2001, what continues to be considered an irrelevant subject to discuss is American policy toward Israel, which terrorists have used as one of their most important reasons for attacking us. Our government, academic and media institutions indoctrinate us into accepting America's unconditional support for Israel out of the fear of getting dismissed as irrelevant or even getting branded as anti-Semite. An example is many people's knee-jerk reaction to President Carter's latest book on the Middle East, or the reaction by Bill Maher - the host of Real Time with Bill Maher, who is someone that I like -- to Michael Scheuer, the former head of CIA's Bin Laden Unit in a recent exchange. But as someone who has lived under Iran's propaganda machine for almost two decades, loves this country and doesn't want to see another terrorist act against it, I strongly believe we should reconsider our unconditional support for Israeli policies.
Here is the dialogue between Bill Maher and Michael Scheuer.
This blogger recognizes Israel's right to exist, but not its right-wing unilateralism and policies. While the American government has repeatedly portrayed the image that it is in support of peace in the Middle East, it has been the biggest single force in blocking peace and the creation of a democratic Palestine side-by-side with Israel for over thirty years.
Establishment of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Golan Heights following the 1967 six-day war have long been recognized as illegal by the United Nations Security Council, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the states parties to the Geneva Convention and International Court of Justice. In the face of the will of the international community, Israel has refused to follow through with its complete withdrawal from the occupied territories with the full support of the United States.
Despite America's stated policy of support for a double-state solution, it has been a major obstacle in the path to reaching that very end and contributed to the radicalization of opposing forces in the Middle East. In the early 1970s, Sadat offered a full peace treaty to Israel in turn for Israel's withdrawal from the occupied territories. While Sadat's offer was closely in line with Washington's policy, the U.S. put its support behind Israel's rejection of the plan as the latter preferred to have its army under General Sharon expand into the Egyptian Sinai, driving Bedouins out, demolishing their homes and building all-Jewish cities and villages. It was rejection of this plan that led to the ignition of the 1973 war and gave rise to the Gush Emunim settler movement and the consequent Palestinian resistance during the first Intifada. In 1976, Syria initiated another peace treaty, calling for a two-state settlement on the international borders backed by the major Arab states and Arafat's PLO, with very much the same wording as that of internationally ratified U.N. Security Council Resolution 242. United States, once again alone, rejected the offer. During the Camp David Accord in 1979, Sadat made the same offer he had made eight years earlier with an amendment to recognize Palestinians' national rights. Once again, Israel and the United States became the only two countries in the international community to reject the offer. And in December of 1989, as Washington announced "Baker Plan," which was Washington's official endorsement of Israel's unilateral rejectionism, the U.N. General Assembly called for an international peace conference to reach a diplomatic settlement based on the pre-1967 borders, which guaranteed the security of all states in the region. The vote was 153 to 3, with the U.S., Israel and Dominica opposing.
Following Arafat's democratic election in 1996, the U.S. was the sole power to refuse to accept democratic elections in Palestine out of the fear that Arafat would be elected again, giving him farther democratic legitimacy. In September of 2005, Ariel Sharon let the U.N. know that he was going to use any means necessary to disrupt Palestinian elections if Hamas was permitted to run, because of Hamas's "commitment to violence." Based on that logic, Palestine should do the same to Israel if Likud or Labor ran, and Iran should have the right to disrupt U.S. elections next year. The fact is that despite America and Israel's pro-democracy rhetoric, they have an impeccable record of only supporting democracy and elections if their outcomes are favorable to their interests.
In the meantime, Israel continues to consume disproportionately large segments of Palestinians' natural resources, including 80% of water extracted from the West Bank, which has left Palestinians some of the most water-deprived people in the world. In addition, Moshe Negbi, a leading Israeli legal analyst informs us that while Israel claims to be a democracy, its courts have been contributing to the deterioration of democracy by complying to the "thugs of the racist fundamentalist right" by committing acts like imposing a six-month sentence on an interrogator for torturing a Palestinian to death or another for murdering an Arab child, just to name a few. He is not the only Israeli who vocally criticizes his country's outright and brutal violations of human rights. Others include, diplomatic correspondent Akiva Eldar, reporter Amira Hass, historian Idit Zartel and Journalist Gideon Levy, all of whom are prominent and mainstream figures in their own fields.
There are three major factors that explain why the U.S. has blocked peace in the Middle East: 1) The power of the absolutist pro-Israeli lobby in America, backed by Jews from the right and also the left, and their influence in Washington; 2) The strength of the American defense lobby, which earns billions of dollars in sales of weapons to Israel because of the conflict and Israeli aggression; and 3) Christian conservatives who have somehow convinced themselves that existence of a peaceful Israel justifies its unilateral, undemocratic and right-wing policies.
It is impossible here to reveal more than the tip of the iceberg of the role that the right-wing U.S. and Israeli politicians have played in continuing the occupation in the face of international opposition. America's silence about Israelis' nuclear weapons with the latter's lack of membership to the NPT while maintaining such harsh rhetoric with regard to Iran's nuclear program, which is legally allowed to enrich uranium as a NPT member is an example of the kind of outright double standard that the United States has been following in its foreign policy. Israel has also maintained a close relationship with the military government in Burma and repeatedly given authorizations to Israeli military contractors to sell weapons to Burma, which the latter is now using to crack down on pro-democracy protests, shooting and killing peaceful protesters and monks and cutting off people's contact with the outside world.
Regardless of how you feel about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, there is now little doubt among intelligence experts that while there is certainly a radical and irrational element to terrorism, terrorists do not attack us out of hatred for our freedoms, but they do so because we continue to place the self-interests of this country before the defense of our principles and suppress any debate that is sought to address this self-defeating strategy.
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THE BIN LADEN VIDEO THEY ARE REFERRING TO IS FAKE!
GOD DAMN IT!
The very concept of changing US middle east policy, whether for or against Israel, due to acknowledging arguments by those who attacked America on 9/11 or perpetrated other acts of terrorism, is in and of itself immoral. I understand morality has taken a back seat to expediency in this modern world (probably always did), but this constant cry to "understand" these actors of destruction who would send their own children to die in suicide bomb missions, is too much to tolerate. Israel has faults, its policy has faults, and its democracy is certainly not perfect - who's is? But it is certainly vital, and certainly more vital than other nations in the middle east - Syria, for instance? All this attention paid to little Israel - why don't you show some real courage, and advocate reform in a place that could really use it, like Syria, which is killing Lebanon's leaders in mafia-like fashion. There is so much wrong with your argument it is hard to know where to begin - but I would say one more thing - "the biggest single force in blocking peace and the creation of a democratic Palestine side-by-side with Israel for over thirty years" has not been US policy - it has been the Palestinians and the other Arab nations of the region, who have refused to see, for whatever reason (and antisemitism is certainly not an implausible one) a vibrant, thriving - albeit flawed - Jewish state called Israel in their midsts, and to deal with it with the respect it deserves - this change in policy by the ARAB world - NOT the US - is the only way that peace in the Middle East will be achieved.
Flawed? What can you say about a country that elects a former military officer that its own courts found to be guilty of crimes against humanity (Massacre at Shatila)? Flawed? Yeah, Gernamy had a few flaws too right around that golden era between 1935 and 1945.......
And by the way - unlike the blind support Israel gets, the US doesn't support Syria. Comparing Israel to the other countries around it is not an excuse for apartheid. Your weasley assessment of Israel's serious faults , to coin another Israeli euphemism, makes you look like an Israel "appeaser".
ISRAEL = APARTHEID
ALL INSTITUTIONS BOTH GOVERNMENT AND PRIVATE THAT STAND FOR EQUALITY, JUSTICE, HUMAN DIGNITY, AND THE VALUE OF HUMAN LIFE CANNOT IN GOOD CONSCIENCE SUPPORT THE ISRAELI GOVERNMENT AND ITS REIGN OF TERROR ON THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF PALESTINE. AS WITH SOUTH AFRICA - THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE SOLUTION - DIVEST!
Your caps lock is on. Kthanxbi
Ahmed,
or should I say Mordechai or David or Eliyahu or whatever name you are called in the settlements where you're dreaming of playing Lord to the locals.
Drop the charade, the fact that you don't have the courage to state your allegiances and use false-flag techniques to hide your identity shows both your lack of credibility and your utter stupidity.
I hope you are well paid for the propoganda job you're attempting to do well. May I suggest spending some of that ill-begotten money to take some classes on propoganda. I'm sure AIPAC will finance it for you, then perhaps you'll sound less hollow. You are not serving your masters well. You're not believable.
Stop wasting Israel's money (American tax-payers' money really) and learn your craft.
I'm an Italian American. I picked the name Ahmed because I liked it.
Silence? How many know of this American hero?
CNN 3/25/03: Israeli bulldozer kills American protester
RAFAH, Gaza (CNN) -- An Israeli bulldozer killed an American woman Sunday who had been peacefully protesting its use to destroy Palestinian houses in Rafah.
The woman, Rachel Corrie, 23, of Olympia, Washington, was taken to a hospital, where she died of her injuries. She was a senior at Evergreen State College in Olympia but was not enrolled this quarter, the school said.
Since January, she had been working with the Palestinian-led International Solidarity Movement to protest Israeli actions in the occupied territories, said Huwaida Arraf, co-founder of the group.
Corrie had recently appeared in a televised mock trial in Gaza in which President Bush was accused of war crimes for his alleged support of Israel's actions in Gaza.
"This morning, when she was killed, she was attempting to prevent the Israeli military from destroying Palestinian civilian homes," Arraf said.
"She was raising her hands and yelling at the bulldozer driver to stop," Arraf said. "The bulldozer driver paid no attention. ... He buried Rachel with dirt, which ended up, obviously, knocking her down. Then he ran over her, and then reversed and ran over her again."
It was not clear whether the bulldozer operator could hear protesters' yells over the sound of the machine.
A member of the solidarity group, who identified herself as Alice from London, said she and Corrie had sat for about three hours in front of houses belonging to their friends. The driver of the bulldozer must have seen them, she said, but drove over Corrie anyway.
Tom Dale, who said he was about 10 yards from Corrie, said she was in plain view and was wearing an orange jacket. As the bulldozer lifted a pile of earth, it moved forward and caught Corrie under its blade, he said.
Arraf said the activists use only nonviolent tactics. "We definitely don't believe that this was an accident," she said.
Corrie's parents, who live in Charlotte, North Carolina, said their daughter felt an obligation to help others.
ATOM'S FOR PEACE
ahmed writes:
Israel's destruction of Saddam Hussein's nuclear power facility more than paid us back for every penny we have given them in aid.
Apollo says:
Amen, ahmed! And we mustn't forget Israel's recent act of Zionist aggression and war mongering against Syria's illegal nuclear facility.
If Israel has the bomb why can't these monsters have one too? If Israel really wanted peace with the Palis they would share their nuclear technolgy with them. You know a new kind of ATOM'S FOR PEACE PROGRAM to show some goodwill, followed by the PEACE OF THE GRAVE for millions of Jews.
Israel never signed the Nuclear Non-proliferation treaty. They have as much right to develop nuclear weapons as the United States.
You know Sam, I'd love to see you try to post this someplace like David Horowitz's www.Frontpagemag.com and have a good discussion (ok, heated debate) with those who are sure to try and discredit the factual evidence you cite.
I'm just saying that posting this on HuffPo is only preaching to the choir and does little to change minds, inform the ignorant or make headway on what must be the most contentious issue of the past 50 years.
Most everyone here needs no more convincing.
Great article.
I know most will consider what I say cynical at the very least, but I'm afraid the writer and most of those who've commented are missing the whole point. The reality of every conflict (between nations) throughout history has been about who controls the resources of a specific area. Christians, Muslim's and Jews have fought one another for most of the past two thousand years over control of the middle east. The reasons given the common man for going to war, whether it be religious domination, who is most righteous in God's eyes or defending oneself from those who wish to harm you have always been provided to inflame the sensibilities of men. The true purpose of engaging in such conflicts has always been about making rich men richer and the accumulation of power.... and doing so without regard for loss of life or the destruction of families/communities that are incurred in the process. It's unfortunate we allow ourselves to be manipulated by those who pretend to act in our best interests while fulfilling agendas that benefit only themselves. Until we recognize these truths and make those in positions of leadership accountable, who supports who or the policies of one government with regard to another will continue to divide us and keep us from asking the most important questions. Worst of all is we'll never escape the atrocities of war or the division war creates among people around the world.
Excellent point - people don't like say "I'm attacking you because I want your oil, or water, or diamonds." It's always "I'm bringing you democracy, or freedom or religion."
I normally enjoy Bill Maher, but I feel that he's wrong on this one.
Israel is no friend of the US. They have attacked our military, spied on our country and are the prima facie cause of problems in the middle east.
to Janeane Garofalo - you go girl!
They attacked the Liberty by accident during a war in an area we told them we had no shipes,
Jonathan Pollard was giving them information we had promised to share with them but were withholding, and calling Israel the prima facie cause of problems in the Middle East is like blaming women for causing rape.
Congressional_Record:
FINDINGS OF THE INDEPENDENT COMMISSION OF
INQUIRY INTO THE ISRAELI ATTACK ON THE
USS LIBERTY...
1. on June 8, 1967, after eight hours of
aerial surveillance, Israel attacked the USS
Liberty...
2. ...Israeli planes were jamming all five American emergency radio channels;
3. ...attack involved the machine-gunning of the Liberty"s firefighters and stretcher-bearers as they saved their ship and crew; the Israeli torpedo boats returned to machine-gun three of the Liberty"s life rafts...
4. ...Israel"s attack was a deliberate attempt to destroy an American ship and kill her entire
crew;...
5. ...Israel committed acts of murder against American servicemen and an act of war against the United States...
6. That fearing conflict with Israel, the
White House deliberately prevented the U.S.
Navy from coming to the defense of the Liberty
by recalling Sixth Fleet military rescue
support while the ship was under attack... never before in American naval history has a rescue mission been cancelled when an American
ship was under attack;
7. That although the Liberty was saved
from almost certain destruction through the
heroic efforts of the ship"s Captain, William
L. McGonagle (MOH), and his brave crew,
surviving crewmembers were later threatened
with ""court-martial, imprisonment or
worse"" if they exposed the truth; and were
abandoned by their own government;
8. That due to the influence of Israel"s powerful supporters in the United States, the White House deliberately covered up the
facts of this attack from the American people;
9. That due to continuing pressure by the
pro-Israel lobby in the United States, this
attack remains the only serious naval incident
that has never been thoroughly investigated
by Congress;
10. That there has been an official cover-up
without precedent in American naval history...
11. That the truth about Israel"s attack
and subsequent White House cover-up continues
to be officially concealed from the
American people to the present day and is a
national disgrace;
12. That a danger to our national security
exists whenever our elected officials are willing to subordinate American interests to those of any foreign nation...
No. It is nothing like rape. And it is a very insulting metaphor and degrading toward women who have suffered rape.
Nice post. My wife and I watched Bill Maher's reaction to Scheuer's comments.
As sated by a Turkish man to John Perkins, as quoted in "The Secret History of the American Empire, Economic Hit Men, Jackals, and the Truth about Global Corruption."
For the U.S., "Israel is all about domination, about controlling oil. For the Jews, it is a dream - one that will prove illusory. For Palestinians, it is their home - a home they've been forced to vacate. For Arabs it is an enemy fortress built on Arab lands. For Muslims everywhere, it is an insult, a humiliation, a reason for us to hate you."
"Israel isn't about democracy, or protecting a people victimized by Hitler. You (the U.S.) torture, lie, and steal for oil."
There are some thirty separate laws in Israel, which neutral on their face, are applied in an uneven manner to Palestinians. President Carter points this out as being Apartheid.
I remember the days of South Africa or even in the South of the United States when "separate but equal" was the law under Plessey v. Ferguson. Can't happen here. Guess again!
My wife is German and my family were slave owners. Injustice is real. Just look at the Burmanese Buddhist monks - and then examine Hallibuton's and Dick Cheney's roles in this slaughter - and you will see that the U.S. has once again "outsourced" slavery and is engaged in global imperialism for resources and cheap labor.
Israel is just part of the tyranny of corporate globalization, with corruption, cronyism, and corporate manipulation behind the American Empire. Assassinations of Allende, Mossadegh, Arbenz, Goulart, Qasim are known to school boys in all foreign countries but Americans are too ignorant to realize the truth about what America has turned into and who has profited from the death squads and the regime changes.
In his long list of UN Resolutions condemning Israel for defending its interests against its enemies, and appropriating land that was justly seized from aggressor nations in defensive wars-a justifiable age old practice-Sedaei curiously omits Resolution 3379 equating Zionism with racism. I guess he didn't want his list to appear anymore ridiculous than it is.
6.--Israel should not remove it's settlements in Palestine because:
A. Those Arabs had way too many olive olive trees to begin with
B. Real estate is way too expensive in Tel Aviv
C. The Palestinians could just move to some Arab country, heck they already speak the lingo
D. God said they be fruitful and go forth to build apartments and condos
E. When you win a war you get to keep all the good stuff
7.--America always back Israel because:
A. They have excess weaponry and they should give them to someone who will use it
B. That stinkin' foreign aid money is burning a hole in their pocket
C. No one else likes us
D. All those other middle east countries speak some crazy language
E. Israel is so close to all that oil
Take the quiz:
1.--I believe the Jewish State is legal because:
A. It was created by U.N. resolution 181 in 1948 and that makes it legal
B. Because they bought most of the land from the Arabs at a really good price
C. They deserve it because of the holocaust and other stuff
D. God said it belongs to them and he approves the U.N. resolution
E. All of the above
2.--U.N. resolution 242 requiring Israel to withdraw from occupied land does not apply because:
A. U.N. resolutions are not legal or binding for anyone
B. U.N. resolutions only apply when they favor Israel
C. We don't have to because some Arab countries don't recognize Israel
D. God didn't approve that resolution like he did in question #1
E. All or any of the above, they all sound pretty good
3.--Israel has a right to put settlements on Palestine land because:
A. There never was a Palestine therefore there must be no settlements
B. They need those civilian settlements to insure the safety of Israel's nuclear weapons
C. No one lived there anyway, the land was empty and just used for goat herding
D. God said they should live there and not those dumb Arabs
4.--The rules of the Geneva Convention don't apply to Israel because:
A. Well they just don't that's all
B. They ignore them so there must be a good reason, just shut up
C. Remember the holocaust? Enough said.
D. Two wrongs always make a right in the middle east
5.--When do you accuse someone of being an Anti-Semite?:
A. Whenever you can't find a fact or reasonable answer in defense of Israel
B. Whenever you don't understand the question, or just get confused
C. Whenever anyone talks about pre-1967 borders
D. Whenever anyone asks a question about Israel's occupation of Palestine
E. All of the above
"This blogger recognizes Israel's right to exist, but not its right-wing unilateralism and policies."
I concur. Excellent post and a great job of supporting your position with facts.
right-wing unilateralism? Israel is ruled by by a center-left coalition that is trying to negotiate peace with the Palestinians at this very moment.
There is nothing sacred, holy or special about the ongoing hateful war zone in Israel, thus it should not require any special treatment or rewards by anyone.
US citizen / taxpayers have been paying their bills and funding its military objectives and operations for a very long time and it way past time to stop.
Let the French, with their massive immigration problem, support the lion's share of the Israel government's demands for a while and let us see how that goes.
Israel's destruction of Saddam Hussein's nuclear power facility more than paid us back for every penny we have given them in aid.
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Posted October 2, 2007 | 05:14 PM (EST)