Beautiful piece of reporting by James Besser for the NY Jewish Week on the growing schism between J Street Jews and the neocons in organizational life, now crystallized by the George Mitchell rumors. Two voices of the lobby:
“Sen. Mitchell is fair. He’s been meticulously even-handed,” said
Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League. “But
the fact is, American policy in the Middle East hasn’t been ‘even
handed’ — it has been supportive of Israel when it felt Israel needed critical U.S. support.
“So I’m concerned,” Foxman continued. “I’m not sure the situation requires that kind of approach in the Middle East.”…
Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League. “But
the fact is, American policy in the Middle East hasn’t been ‘even
handed’ — it has been supportive of Israel when it felt Israel needed critical U.S. support.
“So I’m concerned,” Foxman continued. “I’m not sure the situation requires that kind of approach in the Middle East.”…
“In the meetings I’ve participated in with George Mitchell, he made it
clear he sympathized with the Palestinian position over the Israeli
position, and blamed Israel more than the Palestinians for the lack of
progress toward peace,” said Morton Klein, president of the Zionist
Organization of America. “We will be expressing our strong concerns
that this appointment would be a mistake. It would send an additional
message that Obama is going to pressure Israel more than the
Palestinians.”
It is really, truly astonishing to read these statements. The sheer arrogance, the feeling that they know that they can blabber such horseshit because few dare to call their bluffs.
Please nations of the world, retire such organizations and make Jews and gentiles live as neighbors again, as equals within their nation, and not separated from each other and "represented" through people like Foxman.
Foxman is vile.
FREE MARWAN BARGHOUTI!!! Witty will say he has blood on his hands. Show me an Israeli leader who doesn't.
The US should not pressure Israel with dialogue. The US should recall its ambassador to Israel and State should open an office in Gaza City. The Navy should anchor an armed air craft carrier off of Gaza for defensive protection. The US should stop smuggling arms to Israel and issue warrants for the arrest of American citizens serving in the IDF and living in settlements outside of Israel's legal borders. Pressure Israel with actions that informs its military aggression with US arms and approval is over.
As one of his first actions, Obama plans to name former senator George J. Mitchell (D-Maine) as his Middle East envoy, sending a message he intends to engage the Israelis and Palestinians in efforts to bring about a lasting peace. Mitchell is of a Lebanese Christian background and holds traditional establishment foreign policy positions. He headed a committee on Palestinian-Israeli issues commissioned by Bill Clinton in 2000, which was intended to save the faltering "peace process." The committee released a report in 2001, which among other things called upon the Palestinians to crackdown on terrorism and the Israelis to freeze their settlements in the occupied territories (freeze, not remove) and to stop shooting unarmed demonstrators. This was portrayed in the major media as a very balanced report because it offered criticism of Israel as well as of the Palestinians. However, the Mitchell Report ignored the fact that that Israel is an illegal occupying power according to international law. As Stephen Zunes writes "However, the report refuses to call for Israel's withdrawal from the occupied territories in return for security guarantees, which Israel is required to do under UN Security Council resolution 242 and 338, long considered by the United States and the international community as the basis for peace."
Zunes continues: "Another problem is that the report calls simply for a freeze on Israel's illegal settlements in the occupied territories. In reality, Israel is required to withdraw from those settlements altogether. According to Article 40 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, it is illegal for an occupying power to TRANSFER ITS CIVILIAN POPULATION ONTO TERRITORY SIEZED BY MILITARY FORCE. UN Security Council resolutions 446 and 465, adopted unanimously with U.S. support, call on Israel to withdraw from these settlements. As long as the settlements remain as part of Israeli territory, any hope of establishing a contiguous Palestinian state in the West Bank or including Arab East Jerusalem as part of that state becomes impossible."
In essence, the Mitchell Report was only "balanced" if one considers the Israel occupation and settlements to be, at least to some degree, legitimate, and that in giving up any of its occupied territory, Israel would be making a concession RATHER THAN ABIDING BY INTERNATIONAL LAW(which is how the Palestinians and most of the world see it).
Also revealing that Mitchell might not be fair to the Palestinians is the fact that he is currently receiving some degree of praise from Steve Rosen, who was one of the AIPAC officials involved in the Larry Franklin espionage case. Rosen was charged with handing over classified information to Israel. Rosen served for 23 years as one of the top officials of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). As Justin Raimondo writes: "Rosen was the sparkplug of AIPAC, known for implementing – with notable success – the powerful lobbying group's efforts to influence the executive branch."
Rosen now works for Middle East Forum (MEF), a think tank headed by neocon scholar Daniel Pipes. Rosen is writing a blog hosted on the MEF website focusing on Obama Administration personnel and policy:
“But the fact is, American policy in the Middle East hasn’t been ‘even handed’ — it has been supportive of Israel when it felt Israel needed critical U.S. support.
… and it worked so well to solve the mideast violence and bring peace in the region that ther is no need to change this policy.
Criminal dumbass.
The US should pressure Israel to end its system of proportional representation. With that system, Israeli governments are fragmented and unable to commit to peace. Extremist parties like Shas can bring down the government and negate any deal. Israel needs to have someone in charge.
@George:
What kind of crap is that? Israel needs someone in charge?
They have always someone in charge. The problem is that Israeli politicians are just like Abe Foxman: They tell their fellow Jews that everyone else hates them and wants to kill Jews, with Israeli politicians/Foxman being the only one who can protect said Jews from said Gentiles.
To bolster their hold on Jewish individuals, they then pick as much fights as they can to be able to present said individuals with as much enemies as possible.
Therefore every Israeli "in charge" wants war with Arab neighbours, not peace.
Plus, many of them are religious and think they have a right to Palestinian/Arab land and won't stop until they have conquered all of "Eretz Israel".