Focus on Matters Israel

December 2011

From the Weekly Standard
Iceland recognizes Palestine
On November 29th, Althingi, the Icelandic parliament, voted to recognize Palestine as a state. Yesterday, a ceremony was held in Reykjavik in the presence of the Icelandic and PLO foreign ministers. From the resolution:

"Althingi reaffirms that the PLO, the Palestine Liberation Organization, is the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people and also recalls the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their former homes in accordance with resolutions reaffirmed by the United Nations.

"Althingi demands that the conflicting parties in the Arab-Israeli Conflict cease warfare and acts of violence forthwith and respect human rights and humanitarian law."

Excerpt from thehill.com
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. - House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) delivered a severe rebuke to Palestinians on Thursday, linking their culture to terrorism and questioning their worthiness to have an independent state. Speaking to a conference of Reform Jews, Cantor told of a Palestinian woman treated for burns at an Israeli hospital who tried to return for a follow-up visit wearing a suicide belt.

“What kind of culture leads one to do that? Sadly, it is a culture infused with resentment and hatred,” Cantor said.

“If the Palestinians want to live in peace in a state of their own, they must demonstrate that they are worthy of a state,” said Cantor, one of the highest profile Jewish Republicans and a staunch Israel supporter. Detecting a weakness for President Obama among voters who believe he has forsaken the U.S. alliance with Israel, Republican rhetoric toward Palestinians has become increasingly caustic in recent weeks."

Dual allegiance?
Cantor's speech seems more suitable for a member of Israel's unicameral Knesset.

NYT guilty of anti-Israel bias?
JERUSALEM (AP) - A senior adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the leader has refused an offer to write an opinion piece for the New York Times, accusing the paper's opinion pages of anti-Israel bias. The unusual public refusal appears to reflect the hard-line Israeli government's increasingly prickly relations with much of the outside world.

In a letter to the Times published in The Jerusalem Post website, Netanyahu adviser Ron Dermer says the prime minister decided to "respectfully decline" penning an opinion piece. He says past op-ed articles in the Times have "vilified" Israel and "constantly distort the positions of our government." The letter was confirmed as authentic by an official in the prime minister's office.

 

 

For reasons historical and religious and economic and moral, the relationship between the United States and the State of Israel has been close, if now and then controversial. Israel's invasion of Lebanon in 2006 and our unconditional support of its thrust against Hezbollah generated considerable American criticism of Israel. Immediately, charges of anti-Semitism were launched against such criticism. It is likely that our relationship with Israel will be tested and challenged and modified as developments in the Middle East and Asia cause the United States to re-think its unconditional support of Israel. Together with Focus on the Mideast, elsewhere in this website, this page will provide information and opinion about Arab/Jew/Muslim/American approaches to all this.

From the Jerusalem Post
This above all, to Israel be true?
WASHINGTON -- A Republican Congress would seek to remove funding for Israel from the foreign operations budget , a GOP leader said.

U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor, the Republican whip and the only Jewish Republican in the House of Representatives, told JTA that a GOP-led House would seek to defund nations that do not share U.S. interests, even if it meant rejecting the president's foreign operations budget. Cantor, of Virginia, said he wants to protect funding for Israel should that situation arise.

"Part of the dilemma is that Israel has been put in the overall foreign aid looping," he said when asked about the increasing tendency of Republicans in recent years to vote against foreign operations appropriations. "I'm hoping we can see some kind of separation in terms of tax dollars going to Israel."

Cantor's statement was a sign that the Republican leadership was ready to defer to the party's right wing on this matter. Some on the GOP right have suggested including Israel aid in the defense budget, and a number of Tea Party-backed candidates have said they would vote against what is known in Congress as "foreign ops."

However, until now at least, the GOP leadership has backed deferring to the executive branch when it comes to foreign spending, albeit after it has completed budgetary negotiations with the Congress.-- 25 Oct 2010, online

Dual citizenship? Israel Lobby at work? Certainly fodder for anti-Semites.

"No" to temporary Palestinian State
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has officially rejected an offer by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to demarcate temporary borders for a sovereign Palestinian state on more than 60 percent of the West Bank, Al-Hayat reported on Saturday, citing Palestinian sources.

According to the report, Abbas said Netanyahu's overture was aimed at jump-starting negotiations by agreeing to the creation of a Palestinian while blurring the specifications of the future state's borders. The offer, the sources told the UK-based Arab paper, was a “trap” which would “drag” Abbas into negotiations that delved deep into controversial regional issues without compromising Netanyahu's insistence on continuing Jewish construction in east Jerusalem.  -- Jerusalem Post: Apr 2010

§ America first or Israel first?
If I were a Palestinian or Arab or Persian (Iranian) -- whether Christian, Muslim, or Secular -- I would suspect that all this gnashing of the teeth between America and Israel is merely an old video tape being replayed. Not until the U.S. stops unconditionally granting $2.8 billion in aid and initiates actual reprisals to Israel's repeated military ventures and violations of international law would I believe the U.S. is really reconsidering its one-sided support of Israel.

Neither Palestinian nor Arab nor Persian, I will be much happier when my government openly challenges the loyalty and priorities of that part of the American Jewish community which publicly chastises our President because he publicly chastises Israel's Prime Minister. Do German-Americans, Polish-American, Italian-Americans so strongly identify with their ethnic heritage that they support the goals and policies of their "home" country when those goals and policies conflict with America's? It is good to learn that newer Jewish lobby groups are forming to counter the Israel-firsters who have dominated the arena till now.

American media are complaining that they were denied open access to the Obama/Netanyahu meetings. This is one time when transparency is not a virtue. I'm sure the meetings were like collective bargaining, where the interlocutors were exchanging frank barbs like "You're full of it." Nothing is gained from conducting those, necessary, kinds of negotiations in the press. -- April 2010

§ Israel will build a barrier along the entire length of its southern border with Egypt, the Prime Minister’s Office said today in a statement posted on its Web site. The barrier is meant to keep out “intruders and terrorists,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in the statement, including “illegal workers who try to enter Israel by way of its southern border.”

The barrier will cost at least a billion shekels and take several years to construct, the statement said. -- Bloomberg
To contact the reporter on this story: Calev Ben-David in Jerusalem at cbendavid@bloomberg.net

Another wall.
 Is it wise for the State of Israel to convert an understandable psychological/mindset ghetto into a self-imposed concrete one?
January 2010

24 Nov 09
Israel's primary strategy is to maintain "the occupation," in the words of M. J. Rosenberg, former worker, or member, of AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee), writing in Huffington Post.

Rosenberg maintains that AIPAC itself is not the entire Jewish lobby in the U.S. He sees the great number of Washington politicians who "even without speaking directly to AIPAC or the Israelis know instinctively what the Israelis want" as the "Israeli lobby." After reviewing the repeated failures by American presidents to resolve the Mideast problems, he insists that only a persistent and aggressive posture by the U.S. will enable the dual state solution. Rosenberg quotes "one former head: of AIPAC:

One day the President of the United States will get on television to announce a peace plan that will get Israel out of the occupied territories and establish a Palestinian state in exchange for ironclad security guaranties for Israel. If he did that, everyone would fall in line behind the President. Congress, the Jewish community and, in fact, AIPAC would too. What choice would we have? We are not going to war with a President who has the backing of the American people. And he would.

Rosenberg says, "One has to wonder" why the people around Obama don't understand "a simple truth . . . The President is infinitely more powerful than AIPAC! In fact, the President of the United States cannot be harmed by the combined forces of AIPAC, the government of Israel, and its acolytes in Congress, if he puts forth a clear policy to achieve Israeli-Palestinian peace and sticks to it."

Some Israelis are complaining that the Pope's speech while visiting their country was restrained and "cold" and are suggesting he is "one of them" [a neo-Nazi?] because he was born German and served in the Hitler Youth (read: Boy Scouts). Is there no limit to the Israeli sense of victimhood and grievance? No end to their demands for sympathy and understanding? The current irritation, I suppose, is that the Pope has simultaneously been reaching out to the Muslim community and supports a Palestinian State. -- 20 May 09

It's tough to be an American Jew
Israeli and some American Jews are expressing concern that Obama isn't sufficiently pro-Israel. One Israeli newspaper openly says, "No less a figure than White house chief-of-staff Rahm Emanuel -- whose father fought with the militant Zionist group the Irgun,* and whose appointment has provided such reassurance to Israeli officials -- was quoted this week laying down the law to Israel." An Israeli parliamentarian has reminded Emanuel, "You're Jewish."

For those gentiles and American Jews who are uneasy that American Jews are understandably suspected of dual-allegiance, the quotations above would seem to confirm that some Jews think that an American Jew serving in the White House should display allegiance to the State of Israel.

* Irgun was the militant group of Jews, fighting for a Jewish state, who fought the British in Palestine after World War I. Many of Irgun's leaders became officials in the government when Israel came into existence after World War II. -- 22 Apr 09

§ American Jews are expressing dismay and disappointment at what they see as a less-Israel-friendly attitude than previously by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Former President Jimmy Carter, of course, has been labeled as anti-Israel primarily because his book about the Palestinians was definitely one-sided. Reading The Reagan Diaries offers yet another take on all this: Although Ronald Reagan was identified as a friend of Israel, his book contains more than 50 references to Jews and Israel, more than about any other country or group of constituents. They begin on page 14 with, "I'm disturbed by the reaction & the opposition of so many groups in the Jewish community. First of all, it must be plain to them, they've never had a better friend of Israel in the W.H. than they have now." -- March 2009

From The Jerusalem Post -- 14 May 2007
"Jews have too much power in business," is the Post's headline on its report of a 5-nation European study conducted by the Anti-Defamation League. The countries: France, Italy, Germany, Spain, and Poland. Of the 2,714 adults sampled:

The Post touched briefly on the respondents' attitudes toward Palestinians, Hamas, and Iran but published no numbers. Without attribution, The Post states, ". . . a large number of Europeans continued to harbor anti-Jewish attitudes, holding on to the classical anti-Semitic canards and conspiracy theories that have haunted Jews through the centuries."

Early Churchill on Anti-Semitism
Writing in 1937, before he came to power, Winston Churchill suggested that "The Jews can combat persecution" at least in part by overcoming their "refus[al] to be absorbed." Recognizing the evil of anti-Semitism, Churchill tried to explain its existence even in countries, like the United States and Great Britain, where "large numbers of Jews have found not only asylum, but opportunity."  He says Jews may "unwittingly" be "inviting persecution" and that they may be "partly responsible for the antagonism from which they suffer."

"The central fact which dominates the relations of Jew and non-Jew is that the Jew is 'different.' He looks different. He thinks differently. He has a different tradition and background. He refuses to be absorbed."

The 1937 article was only recently discovered by Cambridge University historian Richard Toye in the university's archive of Churchill papers. Indications are that Churchill's secretary at the time suggested it would be "inadvisable" to publish the piece.

A new name for anti-Semitism?
The charge of "anti-Judaism,"  -- as distinct from anti-Semitism? -- has been leveled against writers who point out that American Jews exercise considerable political influence through powerful lobbying activity. The following letter appeared in the 18 September 2006 issue of the Wall Street Journal.

William Kristol accuses us of "anti-Judaism" because we criticize the impact of the Israel lobby on U.S. foreign policy. This charge is vile and absurd.

Mr. Kristol appears to be upset because we argue that some Americans have an attachment to Israel that influences their thinking about the Middle East and U.S. policy there.

To be clear, we emphasize in our writings and talks that the lobby includes both Jews and non-Jews (e.g. Christian Zionists), and that they do not all think alike regarding Israel. Furthermore, we never questioned the loyalty or patriotism of pro-Israel individuals and groups. Rather, we believe all Americans have many affinities and commitments -- to family, church, ethnic groups, etc. -- and that in the United States, where interest groups routinely work to influence public policy, it is entirely legitimate for these attachments to manifest themselves in politics.

That is what organizations like AIPAC claim they are  doing, and all we did was point that out.

Mr. Kristol clearly believes that unconditional U.S. support of Israel is good for the U.S. and Israel alike, That is his privilege. However, we think that this reflexive support harms American as well as Israeil interests.

In a country that prizes free speech, it ought to be possible to debate this issue without resorting to unfounded accusation and character assassination.

John J. Mearsheimer
University of Chicago
Stephen M. Walt
Harvard University

In Michigan, American Jews have generated some concern about their selective belief in free speech by interposing themselves in otherwise routine contacts or dialogues between a U.S. Representative and a gubernatorial candidate and Dearborn-based Arab American spokesmen.

As long as so much of the world thinks of the United States and Israel as "one country" . . . 
There are those who contend that nothing America can do will keep Islamic fundamentalists from wanting to kill all us infidels and to destroy our civilization, physically and economically. So, the argument does, any reduction in our support for Israel would generate no respite from Muslim ill-will..

But what of Moderate Muslims? 
Religion aside, especially in the Mideast, countries think in nationalistic terms. So long as the United States refuses to adjust to the Realpolitik of Arab/Israeli relationships, so long as the U.S. maintains unconditional approval of Israel's foreign policy, Arabs -- Muslim, Christian, secular -- have few incentives to help us or to cooperate with us.

Moderate Muslims (and non-Muslim Arabs) weaken their case, however, so long as they refuse to proclaim a worldwide and sustained rejection of the behavior of the Islamic extremists. Quick to take offense over cartoons or of the Pope's words, the Muslim world seems too accommodating of the uncivilized and brutal actions of the jihadists. 

No need to desert Israel.
The need is to re-position that country among our worldwide priorities.

Lack of reciprocity by Muslims
"[Recent violent incidents] spotlight a total lack of reciprocity by Muslims. The Saudi government bans Bibles, crosses and Stars of David, while Muslims routinely publish disgusting cartoons of Jews. . . . The basic message - 'You Westerners no longer have the privilege to say what you will about Islam, the Prophet and the Koran; Islamic law rules you too.'" - Jerusalem Post: 27 Sep 06.

 

Jews in America
 To avoid discussing their political influence is to deny reality
Even before the Lebanon Mess, it was uncomfortable for other than anti-Semites to draw attention to the disproportionate influence that American Jews have on our country's foreign policy, largely through such lobbying groups as AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. As a recent example, according to a statement attributed to former Secretary of State Zbigniew Brzezinski, an attempt to add words urging "all sides to protect innocent life and infrastructure" to a support-of-Israel congressional resolution was struck down by AIPAC, which wanted the resolution passed "the way they wrote it."

The United States will for decades pay the price in the Arab World and Asia and Europe for losing its way in unrestricted support of Israel in Lebanon, and Israel my have cost us democracy in Iraq. Now, at a time when a small but growing group of influentials is urging direct dialogue with Iran,  the Jewish influence among neoconservatives is pushing for immediate action against Iran. "Take them out now," Bill Kristol said on one of the talk shows, reflecting support for Israel's foreign policy. It is no more misleading to point out the largely Jewish presence among the neocons -- Wolfowitz, Rosen, Weissman, Rubin, Feith, Ledeen, as leading examples -- than to have acknowledged the heavy concentration of Jews among the early communists, including the Zionists who helped found Israel.

There is no realistic hope that Israel and the Persians and the Arabs and the Muslims will come to love each other -- ever. That mutual hatred will forever color their and our geopolitical strategies and tactics. In our American political system, American Jews who support Israel properly promote their views. However, those American Jews who seem to place Israel's well-being above that of America's must accept that their views will be opposed by others than anti-Semites. 

Kristol himself has suggested that the anti-Semitism card has been played to excess and is losing its clout. Unfortunately, the insistence by many Jews and some on the Christian-right that opposition to specific Israeli actions is anti-Semitism makes it hard to distinguish motivation when some anti-Lieberman politicos worry publicly that a Jewish president might confuse or conflate America's and Israel's goals, domestic and foreign -- an uncomfortable reminder of the anti-Catholicism that John F. Kennedy -- and Al Smith before him -- had to overcome.

Europe's view of Israel differs from America's
"But there is a difference between being anti-Semitic and being anti-Israel," states the London, England-based weekly The Economist. The statement appears in an overview entitled, "To Israel with hate -- and guilt." The article addresses "why Europe, unlike America, finds it so hard to love Israel."  The substance and tone of the report are reflected in the following bulleted items.

  • Far more Europeans sympathize with the Palestinians than with Israel.

  • 59% of Europeans consider Israel a greater menace to world peace than Iran, North Korea, and Pakistan.

  • Europe has no equivalent of America's powerful AIPAC Israeli lobby.

  • Until the 1960s, European socialists championed the cause of the Jews and Israel. . . . Left- wing French governments provided Israel with nuclear power and a modern air force. . . . This changed with the six-day war in 1967, when Israel launched a pre-emptive strike to defeat the Jordanian, Egyptian, and Syrian forces that seemed about to invade.

  • Israel came to be seen as a neo-colonial regional superpower, not the plucky survivor of the Holocaust keeping powerful neighbors at bay.

  • European left-wingers were shocked at what they saw as the militarization and racism of Menachem Begin's Israel and they began a romance with the Palestinians instead.

  • The BBC has been criticized for its bias against Israel, not least during the Lebanon war.

  • Public opinion in Turkey, the one Muslim country that was once pro-Israel, has turned against it in parallel with its turn against America, especially over the war in Iraq. 

  • Britain's Guardian, once a strong advocate of Zionism and for Israel, "is now one of Israel's harshest critics."

If Israel attacks Iran first
No American should die in Israel's defense
The war drums are beating. Israeli propaganda is flooding the dialogue with effective slogans like "existential threat" and "Zone of Immunity." The American administration is reported as promising to go recover downed Israel pilots if need be.

There are other points of view. From Moscow's RIA Novosti, for example, we have: "One thing that is often overlooked in any discussion of Tehran's nuclear program is that the West and Israel have been predicting an "imminent' Iranian nuclear weapon for decades now. In 1992, the [US} House Republican Research Committee suggested that there was a '98 percent certainty' that Iran had virtually all the components to create nuclear weapons. So where is the Iranian bomb? Are they really bad at nuclear science? Or, perhaps, they are really telling the truth and don't want one?"

On its domestic scene, Israel is a brutal occupier and denier of civil rights. On the international scene, the country behaves as a bandit nation, a bully. Unthinking support, active and passive, by the United States condones behavior we condemn by others.

Those of us who understand yet occasionally challenge Israel's geopolitical behavior have no choice but to repeatedly express our concern, despite knowing that the anti-Semite card will often be played.

If Israel attacks Iran first, no American should die in Israel's defense.

Related excerpt
Daylight: New film blasts Obama's Israel record
One day before the AIPAC conference kicks off in Washington, an anti-Obama pro-Israel group is widening its criticism of President Barack Obama's record on Israel -- while the White House defends its treatment of the relationship.

The trailer for a new 30-minute video, entitled "Daylight: The Story of Obama and Israel," cuts together clips of Obama quotes and outside commentary to put forth the narrative that Obama has made statements and taken actions as president that have put him out of step with the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his supporters.

"We believe that that the borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines," Obama is shown saying, a reference to his May, 2011 speech, where he for the first time explicitly defined U.S. policy as supporting the 1967 borders with agreed swaps as the basis for Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations.

"He didn't quite have a full grasp of what the full region looks like," conservative journalist Lee Smith is shown saying in the video. "This is not how you treat an ally." -- Foreign Policy online [emphasis theirs] -- March 2012