Israel Lobby

Michele Bachmann Loves Israel

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I’m sure there are some good things to be said about Michele Bachmann of the “at least she is better than X” variety. However, it’s very worrying that she seems determined to break all the records for fealty to the Israel Lobby. In a talk before the Republican Jewish Coalition in Los Angeles she said:

I am convinced in my heart and in my mind that if the United States fails to stand with Israel, that is the end of the United States . . . [W]e have to show that we are inextricably entwined, that as a nation we have been blessed because of our relationship with Israel, and if we reject Israel, then there is a curse that comes into play. And my husband and I are both Christians, and we believe very strongly the verse from Genesis [Genesis 12:3], we believe very strongly that nations also receive blessings as they bless Israel. It is a strong and beautiful principle.

There is simply no other civilized country in the world where a member of the political elite would claim–proudly and in public–to base her policy on an ancient religious text. She continues:

Right now in my own private Bible time, I am working through Isaiah . . . and there is continually a coming back to what God gave to Israel initially, which was the Torah and the Ten Commandments

It’s probably always a bad idea to base your actions on other people’s holy books. Isaiah also has quotes like these: “And the peoples shall take them, and bring them to their place; and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the Lord for servants and for handmaids; and they shall take them captive, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors” (Isa. 14:2).” “They shall go after thee, in chains they shall come over; And they shall fall down unto thee, They shall make supplication unto thee” (Isa. 45:14); “They shall bow down to thee with their face to the earth, And lick the dust of thy feet” (49:23).

Here’s a video where she develops her views on Christianity and its “deep roots” in Judaism. She claims that because of these connections she worked on a Kibbutz in Israel as a teenager.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7cMxE1oFf0&feature=player_embedded#at=285

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Netanyahu on American History

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I stumbled on Sean Hannity interviewing Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu in the immediate aftermath of his triumphal speech to both houses of of our slavish Congress. (Around 30 standing ovations.) As expected, it was the softest of softball interviews, Hannity doubtless gloating at the possibility of Republican gain by fawning over the Israelis while the Obama administration has to deal with the rest of the world and therefore must at least give a show of impartiality.

Hannity, who has my vote for being the biggest jackass in “conservative” talkdom, basically sets Netanyahu up so that he can run through his familiar set pieces on Hamas, Iran, Israeli democracy, freedom, etc. But what really amazed me was his statement, at around 3:50 of the interview, that the reason he identifies with the Enlightenment slogans of the equality of all humans, inalienable rights, and government for the people that decorate the monuments in Washington is because these are “basically Jewish concepts.” Israel therefore has a natural affinity with the US. The implication of course is that in supporting Israel, the U.S. is supporting its own values.

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John Mearsheimer on Obama versus Netanyahu

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This is a short interview of John Mearsheimer commenting on the recent U.S.-Israel flap. His points are familiar, but it’s great to see his brutally frank comments on the power of the Israel Lobby in suppressing discussion of the issues and on spineless American politicians who fail to protect U.S. national interests.

As in the past, Mearsheimer takes the view that Israel is hurting its own interests by pursuing the West Bank settlement project and resisting a two-state solution. I am not convinced of this (see here, p. 49ff), but, as Mearsheimer notes,  it is certainly true that Israel is increasingly isolated in the world. In any case, armed to the teeth, politically dominated by messianic fanatics who would engage in a civil war if there was any meaningful pullback, and supported to the hilt by a very wealthy and powerful Diaspora community, Israel is not going to change its current direction. Indeed, they may well have the military power to annex most of the West Bank  with impunity — as I think likely if the Palestinians succeed in getting a UN resolution declaring it a state.

Obama Offends the Lobby

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Obama’s speech urging that the 1967 borders be the starting point for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations has been rejected by  Netanyahu in the sort of in-your-face manner that can only mean that the Israeli Prime Minister is absolutely confident that Obama does not have the power to really force Israel to do anything. The LA Times article describes Netanyahu as “infuriated” and Haaretz headlines the talks as “Confrontation.”

But we’ve gone through this before. Tensions have been high between Obama and Netanyahu for over two years, but Israel hasn’t changed its behavior at all, indeed announcing 1500 more housing units in East Jerusalem timed to coincide with Netanyahu’s visit. Read more

The Tony Kushner Affair: Jeffrey Wiesenfeld’s Faux Pas

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It is nothing new when someone gets blacklisted or relentlessly attacked for challenging Jewish interests. When it comes to actual Jews challenging the interests of the “tribe” regarding Israel, a different tack must be taken. After all, destroying the career of a fellow Jew is not desirable to most other Jews; but some degree of punishment mixed with reward must be introduced to correct undesirable behavior and it should be done behind the scenes so as not to draw media attention.

The recent events surrounding Richard Goldstone backtracking on the Goldstone Report go a long way to illustrate how the Jewish community deals with someone how strays outside the playbook on Israel. However, another example has recently cropped up which further illustrates how members of the “tribe” are dealt with when they criticize the Jewish State. The New York Times reports that Tony Kushner, a Jewish playwright and screenwriter, who wrote Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes (a mediation on gay themes that is a contribution to destruction of traditional cultural attitudes on sexuality), was recently denied an honorary degree from the City of New York University system for statements critical of Israel. However, in this case, it seems that the main antagonist aligned against Kushner, a fellow Jew, crossed the line, or at least did not go about his business in an acceptable manner. Indeed, his efforts ultimately backfired: Kushner will receive the degree, and the faculty union demanded that Weisenfeld resign from the CUNY board. Read more

Our Rachel

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For Patrick Willis, a true lover of Palestine, who decided to take a Rachel poem of mine and turn it into a moving new video: In Memory of Rachel Corrie.

It is hoped that the essay presented below will serve as an introduction to this widely acclaimed video as well as a tribute to Rachel on the 8th anniversary of her death on March 16.

She was called “St. Pancake” by her killers soon after her death. It was a term of derision for a young woman determined to make a martyr of herself. She had gotten herself pancaked. Flattened. Crushed beneath the blades of a bulldozer while giving succor to terrorists.

In the words of Zionist professor Steven Plaut, Rachel is “a sort of Mother Teresa for the radical left and apologists of Islamofascism. She is a martyr-saint for the pro-terror lobby.”

16 March will mark the 8th anniversary of Rachel’s death. It’s a good time to remember her and ask ourselves what she died for. Are the Palestinians any nearer to achieving their dreams of an independent state? Are those who killed Rachel in a stronger or weaker position than they were eight years ago? Read more

David Horowitz: “Ron Paul is a Vicious Anti-Semite”

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A very encouraging development is that the Israel Lobby is increasingly on the defensive with the Republican base. Both Ron Paul and Rand Paul have proposed cutting the foreign budget. A letter from Ron Paul was headlined “Stop buying friends overseas, save $6 billion!”

“Borrowing money from China — or printing it out of thin air — to hand out overseas in [an] attempt to purchase friends has been a failing foreign policy, as we see most recently in Egypt where there is not even a government in place!” Paul wrote in his Dear Colleague letter. “We should seek friendly relations and trade overseas, but we cannot justify lavish gifts to foreign leaders when American taxpayers are increasingly feeling the pain of our economic crisis…. We cannot afford to have ‘business as usual’ when we are bankrupt.”

The bill is not endorsed by the leadership and probably won’t pass, but “Paul’s amendment represents the rising tide of opposition to foreign aid and the increased difficulty of defending such aid in Congress.”

These calls to restrict foreign aid are framed entirely within the context of a completely out of control federal budget. But that hasn’t stopped the David Horowitz from his usual over the top craziness, painting anyone who doesn’t do everything Israel wants as an anti-Semite: “Ron Paul is a Vicious Anti-Semite and Conservatives Need To Wash Their Hands of Him.” Read more