Say Something Nice About AIPAC. OK.

by on July 1, 2008 14
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I have a piece on AIPAC in the forthcoming American Conservative. You have to buy it. If it goes online, I'll link and offer further impressions. My piece contains flashes of real sympathy; it was great for me to hang out with a lot of old rich Jews, all of them more fearful than I am about our place in American life. One point I didn't get in the piece (it was off the record at the time, I didn't have permission yet) is when a woman rose in the audience at a breakout session to say that speakers were supporting the "ethnic cleansing" of Jews from Judea and Samaria--i.e., they are supporting the removal of settlers from the West Bank. Jews have a biblical right to the land of Eretz Israel. Tom Sawicki, an AIPAC staffer in Jerusalem, cut her off sharply, and said she was "using terminology which is not acceptable in this conference." Bottom line: AIPAC is actively supporting the 2-state solution to save Zionism, and to stave off the growing left flank...

About Philip Weiss

Philip Weiss is Founder and Co-Editor of Mondoweiss.net.
Posted in Israel/Palestine, US Policy in the Middle East, US Politics

{ 14 comments... read them below or add one }

  1. 5 dancing shlomos says:
    July 1, 2008 at 2:11 pm

    "all of them more fearful than I am about our place in American life"

    ?????

    what world do jews inhabit?

    amurderka's celebration of independence will not be held this year. should have been canceled way ago.

    from tea tax, tea party and fighting to kosher tax, aipac party and servility.

    from firing muskets to licking loafers. from tom paine to john mccains.

    let us celebrate our devolution by a formal declaration of servility.

    so, creationists are right. there is no human evolution. humans, esp the judeoamurderkan and judeojew varieties devolve.

  2. 5 dancing shlomos says:
    July 1, 2008 at 2:15 pm

    war for oil? of course. OPEC, not exxon and bp, pushed for these current ME assaults. and is secretly pushing for the assaults on syria, lebanon, and iran. the jewish collective comes in handy as a scapegoat.

  3. Anonymous, obviously says:
    July 1, 2008 at 2:27 pm

    Speaking of AIPAC… I'm [a non-interventionist Jew, thank you] interning in a Congressional office and we've received two dozen calls and e-mails against the Iran naval blockade bill. While this is far fewer than better-organized groups like Net Neutrality (I spent all morning answering e-mails from them), it was enough to concern the staff, who compiled a response explaining that my congressman hadn't seen the blockade provisions. They made a packet for internal use with the original Dear Colleague letter and supplemental info he saw– and guess who authored it? It's a public document, so enjoy:

    http://aipac.org/Publications/AIPACAnalysesBillSummaries/BillSummaryIranHouse.pdf

  4. 5 dancing shlomos says:
    July 1, 2008 at 2:37 pm

    say something nice about the nyt.

    from "lawrence of cyberia":

    There Goes Another "Period Of Calm"
    Do you remember how U.S. newspapers used to refer to any protracted spell between Palestinian suicide bombings as "periods of calm"? No matter how many dozens of Palestinians in the Occupied Territories were killed by Israeli soldiers in the period between suicide bombings, our newspapers regarded the situation as "calm" so long as no Israeli civilians were getting killed.

    Apparently, they still do.

    According to the United Nations, the IDF violated the current truce in Gaza six times – by firing upon Palestinian civilians in the Strip – between 20 and 24 June. Palestinian Islamic Jihad broke the truce for the first time by firing Qassams at Sderot on 24 June.

    And this is how the NY Times reports this state of affairs:

    Rockets Hit Israel, Breaking Hamas Truce. (emphasis mine)

    Remember these rules of American journalism: as long as Palestinian civilians are killed, but Israelis are not, it's still a period of calm. And as long as Israelis are shooting at Palestinian civilians, but Palestinians are not shooting back, it's still a truce."

  5. Anon says:
    July 1, 2008 at 3:57 pm

    There's an easy solution to that whole ethnic cleansing thing–just allow the settlers to stay (except for the ones on stolen private property) and let Palestinians return to the pre-67 boundaries. In other words, a one state solution.

    Not that I support or oppose this in practice–it's the ideal solution but right now I'm guessing it'd lead to factional war due to fanatics on one side or the other, or most likely both. But you have to wonder what goes through the heads of people like that woman complaining about ethnic cleansing of the settlers. Doesn't it ever enter her head that there's a group of people in the West Bank who might have a better right to complain about that?

  6. patrick says:
    July 1, 2008 at 4:31 pm

    DC intern, thanks for the interesting post. It's good to hear that there is another non-interventionist in our nation's capitol other than Ron Paul.

  7. samuel burke says:
    July 1, 2008 at 5:15 pm

    for supposedly having such high iq's (lol) and being so superior in so many ways…jews are among the most controlled social groups in the united states of america and probably in any other nation where the group through zionism enforces its power over the individuals abilities to think for his or herself….their religious choices are controlled by the fear that the group places on the individual with the fear of being ostracized….now lo these many years the individual is intimidated into maintaining the same political position as the group with the fear of being ostracized if they do not support the criminal policies of israel….

    bury your heads in the sand and pretend…

  8. americangoy says:
    July 1, 2008 at 6:49 pm

    Say something nice… say something nice…

    Hmm, OK!

    "Well, during Hitler's reign they made a Volskwagen Beetle!".

  9. Richard Witty says:
    July 2, 2008 at 9:41 am

    "Bottom line: AIPAC is actively supporting the 2-state solution to save Zionism, and to stave off the growing left flank…"

    This is relatively new and GOOD.

    AIPAC is not a demon, it is apparently flexible, and NOT in fundamental conflict with US interests and alliances.

    The even incremental change in policy was reform, not revolution.

    And, it was likely NOT stimulated by the Walt/Mearsheimer book, but was very likely stimulated by the prospective change in administration, and the very strong appeal of Barack Obama, appealing to the most native Jewish idealism.

    Anyone cornered will act harshly. Israel should note that. But, the Arab and Islamic world should note that as well.

    Israel cornered is meaner than Israel with the US and Europe as ally, and would be more than peaceful in relation to an Arab and Islamic world that accepted it and established diplomatic and cultural relations.

    The effect of that would open Israel, to cultural exchange, to commerce (and then residence permission for foreign companies, and employment and residence permission for Arab speaking Palestinians).

    And, then later, as the societies actually integrate, perhaps in bi-national confederation or single state, or middle eastern type EU.

    THAT is goal of the neo-cons and the Arab elite, and is the greater good for the region. I hope that the neo-conservative vision is an integrated commercial middle east doesn't convince you (collective) to oppose it in reaction. (You know "reactionary")

  10. 5 dancing shlomos says:
    July 2, 2008 at 10:50 am

    my name is richard witty. one of the many wittys volunteered to or employed by jewry.

    we are all in service to the lie. we are all willing and skilled and repetitive liars. we get excellent training to lie. those of us who are weak at this art and take a beating by truth simply repeat, repeat, reTreat, wait, repeat. and always blame the victim. and always declare ourselves to be the victim.

    lie lie lie. deny deny deny. blame the victim blame the victim. continue the lies.

    we take a truth and make it serve a lie and make the lie a truth.(the west has forgotten that a truth serving a lie is a lie.)

    our gift to humankind is the lie.

  11. Charles Keating says:
    July 2, 2008 at 11:16 am

    "And, it was likely NOT stimulated by the Walt/Mearsheimer book, but was very likely stimulated by the prospective change in administration, and the very strong appeal of Barack Obama, appealing to the most native Jewish idealism."

    What a joke–why did OBama have the W/M book ad on its website in the first place, before AIPAC et al took it off?

    Witty, you are deluded. Just can't give any moral credit to the goys, eh?

  12. Richard Witty says:
    July 2, 2008 at 11:53 am

    I give credit where credit is due, to the idealistic black man who commits to Israel's security and appeals to the best in American roll-up=your-sleeve, take responsibility message.

    I reject the "blame the scapegoat" approach of the Walt/Mearsheimer posse. And, I reject the approach of Walt/Mearsheimer themselves, that "supporting Israel is not in the US interest". (By what definition of "US interest"?)

  13. Oarwell says:
    July 2, 2008 at 12:36 pm

    Watch Greenwald skewer Jennifer Rubin and the rest of the war pig claque:

    http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/

  14. americangoy says:
    July 2, 2008 at 1:38 pm

    hee hee hee

    "AIPAC is not a demon, it is apparently flexible, and NOT in fundamental conflict with US interests and alliances."

    Demon?
    Would be hard to prove.

    Flexible?
    AIPAC does what Israel – specifically the extreme Zionist wing in its government – tells it to do.

    "NOT in fundamental conflict with US interests and alliances"

    You are joking, right?
    It is not in conflict with US interests because…. because AIPAC is so powerful that every American politician has to support the Zionist goals and Israeli policies, otherwise they would be "voted out" or involved in a scandal…

    So, looking at it in this way, no, AIPAC has no conflict with American interests…

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