Last April, we followed the story of a grassroots coalition in Albuquerque, NM who paid to have 10 billboards criticizing US aid to Israel displayed around the city only to have them taken down under pressure. Today, the Coalition to Stop $30 Billion to Israel, which represents 14 groups from the Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim communities of New Mexico, contacted us to let us know that at least one billboard is back up (pictured above).
Noted anti-war protester Cindy Sheehan has endorsed the effort:
"The Albuquerque based Coalition to Stop $30 Billion to Israel had ten billboards taken down back in the Spring due to pressure from people who refuse to hold Israel accountable for its human rights record. This little group of volunteers was knocked down but they’ve obviously gotten back up again–the proof is that they managed to get their message back up on a billboard again. Their message is crucial–that a better use of our taxpayer dollars is to provide for our people back home, here in the USA rather than provide military aid to a country that has consistently violated international law and oppresses the Palestinian people. Kudos to the Coalition for continuing to advocate for a justice-based peace in the Middle East. I congratulate them on their achievement and hope New Mexicans flood their members of Congress with phone calls asking for an end to military aid to Israel."
The Coalition says that efforts are underway to have similar billboards erected in San Francisco and Seattle.
Go Cindy and let’s help to raise more of those billboards!
Let’s raise the dialogue, become citizens, not consumers:
Smart Lies or Evil Lies?
by Father Labib Kobti
May 10, 2001
Aren’t you exercising excessive use of force?
No at all, we are responding to their violence …
But they are using rocks and small weapons …
They are killing us with rocks and their weapons …
But there is more death on their side than on yours …
It does not make any difference …
But Israel kill with gunships and tanks …
So what? We are defending ourselves …
You are killing their people and their activists?
We are killing the terrorists?
But they are the Palestinian resistance.
Resistance is terrorism.
But by international Law, UN Charter …
They have the right to resist occupation.
Resistance is terrorism for us.
But you have to listen to the International Law.
The Israeli law is the only law that we listen to.
But you cannot …
I feel that you are Anti-Semitic!
Sorry, I am not.
You demolish Palestinian houses and burn their farms …
So what? We are defending ourselves …
You took their lands and built settlements …
So what? We need to build settlements for our people …
But all the settlements by International Law …
By the UN resolutions are illegal …
We believe only in the Israeli Law.
You cannot oblige the whole world to …
We feel that you are Anti-Semitic!
Sorry, I am not.
They should spray paint this on buildings. That will leave an impression. Wonder when we’ll see these popping up on the west side highway?
One hopes you are not endorsing for the use of graffiti.
Graffiti is not illegal if the building owner allows it.
I expect the billboards will be vandalized, which will prove who the vandals are.
Well then it’s not technically graffiti. ;)
And I did say, “one hopes,” not “I hope.” Heh.
Graffiti is the art of resistance, and people are more important than property
Uh oh. I imagine it won’t be long before Cindy Sheehan is called an antisemite.
She’s been anti-war for quite a while now. Rest assured she’s been in Zionist crosshairs for quite some time even before this.
No she hasn’t.
She’s ‘anti war going badly’ like the vast majority of ‘liberal’ Americans, she just doesn’t want bodies coming back the other way, whenever I’ve read or seen her she’s largely indifferent to the Iraqis beyond lip service.
Then why does she have anything to say at all about Israel?
Same reason Bin Laden has something to say about Palestine, they both have an audience, you see this ‘stop the aid’ horseshit on every psuedo liberal US website, crooksandliars, huffingtonpost, etc. I don’t know if it’s because of some cold war mentality or they just want to pretend they hold some sort of influence over the Israeli’s or what.
The Israeli’s take American money simply because they can, they don’t need it, last time I checked Israel has a fairly high standard of living (possibly higher than the US, can’t be bothered to check atm) stopping the money wouldn’t make any difference to the Palestinians (notice how it’s rarely ‘stop arms sales to Israel’ or ‘stop the Pavlovian veto’).
Incidentally the title is misleading, there is no ‘aid’ to Israel, aid is paid quarterly and the Israeli’s want ‘their’ money all upfront so the Americans loan it to them, having initially either loaned it from the bond market or the fed. Once the ‘loan’ is made it is instantly written off, then the Israeli’s lend the Americans back the money at interest, thus the Americans have to pay interest on the same money twice.
Good scam really, you’ve got to hand it to them.
I think you are being unfairly critical of Cindy Sheehan and I’m not convinced of your characterization of her. You also overestimate Israel’s independence from charity from outside its borders. However, you do have the feature of the ‘aid’ described pretty well. This is why I describe Israel as the place American politicians go to do their laundry — American taxpayer money goes out, and a fraction of it gets kicked back to American politicians as lobbyist dollars.
Uh…you’re wrong.
$2.775 billion in military aid (which is the same as “arms sales” incidentally, only…free for Israel!) for FY 2010
$3 billion likely to be requested for 2011.
$30 billion over 10 years as agreed on in the last Memorandum of Understanding signed under Bush.
You’re talking about loan guarantees, which is a separate chunk of change.
It’s “Foreign Military Financing,” comes out of the same chunk of the State Department budget as the rest of our foreign aid.
Other exciting recipients of U.S. military aid include Egypt, the Philippines, Colombia, and Sri Lanka. We really know how to pick ‘em.
“The Israeli’s take American money simply because they can, they don’t need it”
I think the concept of an ‘Israeli economy’ is the second biggest Zionist myth.
Israel’s cost to the US is far greater than our declared aid/investments there. What’s the total bill for Iraq/Af-Pak /war on terror? And how do you put a price tag on a special relationship that allows Israel to spurn international law, exploit the US, and shit all over the world?
I agree, the diplomatic ‘charity’ is far more valuable, stopping the veto, treating kahane chai/settler terrorists/secret nuclear arsenals in the same manner arabic equivalents are or would be treated with would see their vaunted ‘economy’ disappear.
Can’t be, I read it in a book.
Yes David and the full circle of “foreign aid” goes like this – it is given out of our pockets, with the proviso of 85% being spent on US military overpriced products, and the money is pocketed the the military industrial complex elite. A proverbial circle jerk, and the American people pay for it all the way.
Sheehan already has been. Her entire anti-war campaign was slammed shut when she inserted Israel into one of the causes of the Iraq War just before she staged her demonstration at the Crawford Ranch. Press cut off. Demonization in the press. Called a nut-case. Google it. The word from on high went after her with a vengeance just as they are doing today with Lord Monkton, the British peer who has countered climate change assertions that are not scientific since 1990. Check out the Green homepage on HuffPo for their headline, then google for the London Times article that originated it, and you will see that Monkton called protesters to his talk ‘Hitler Youth’….THEN some kid came forward to say he was Jewish and his grandparents escaped the Holocaust and he objected to Monkton’s term yada-yada-yada….you know the drill….so Monkton’s now guilty of singling out a Jewish protester before the fact and without knowledge aforethought and calling him Hitler Youth. Because he’s a CC denier, in the words of the scientifically unwashed. Google the incident, and you will see Hasbara in full force. That’s what happened to Cindy Sheehan. From a Boston.com editorial in 2005:
Sheehan’s complaint seems almost quaint seen from the perspective of four years. How far we’ve come.
Wow. That… explains a lot. Wow. I honestly didn’t know that.
Don’t take my word for it, take hers.
link to huffingtonpost.com
In this warped little world, shared by most ‘anti war’ Democrats (see also – link to crooksandliars.com
and link to crooksandliars.com
the aggressors are actually the victims who have borne the ‘true costs’ and the actual victims are to be relegated to a sentence at the bottom of the page.
Maybe that’s not her ‘real’ opinion and knows she has to frame it in that manner to gain ‘liberal’ acceptance, but I’d be surprised if that were the case.
SEE: “Iraq buys Israeli equipment to observe border with Syria”
Basma Qaddour, Syrian News Station al-Watan, Dec 8 2009
(excerpt) Iraq’s Interior Ministry has bought from the US modern Israeli-made equipment worth $49m for observing part of borders with Syria and Iran…. “The US-Iraqi transaction is part of the US-Israeli military cooperation which is of benefit to Israel as its weapons are exported abroad,” the paper added. Under the US-Israeli military cooperation, the US has to help Israel promote its products in the countries with which Israel has no relations, especially the Arab countries. Yediot Ahronot alleged that Kuwaiti, Bahraini and Omani armies are using Israeli “Gore” guns on which US flag is printed….
SOURCE – link to niqnaq.wordpress.com
Great find, Dickerson.
Thanks, but Rowan Berkeley deserves most of the credit for that. He finds some very worthwhile articles to post on his blog, ‘Niqnaq’ – link to niqnaq.wordpress.com
Great, the US is a pimp for Israeli arms dealers. Every day they fall further.
Well, they scratched our back during Iran-Contra. I suppose it’s only symmetrical.
The billboards should read $15 million/day. Americans can understand that FAR better.
Oh, and that $15 million/day does NOT include the $30 billion over the next 10 years.
I was wrong. It does include it.
Still comes up to $15 million/day and that’s nothing to sneeze at.
Please cite a web site or something for this figure.
Ha! When have you ever cited anything to support your crazy claims.
I’m afraid I focus less on the economic price of our support for Israel in my own research. MRW or someone else will have to field this one. But one presumes the cost cited is calculated from arms “donations” as well as American tax revenue lost to corporate shell games and “charity” deductions.
Then again, maybe it’s something else entirely.
Although, here’s accounting for at least $7 million a day.
link to ifamericansknew.org
WJ, dont you know how to fucking google?
link to ifamericansknew.com
Look under booklets.
Blankfort, 2003
Do the fucking math:
The $30 billion over 10 years for military aid (approved by Bush in either 2007 or 2008) equals $3,000,000,000 per year, or $8,219,178.08 per day.
The $2,750,000,000 budgeted every year is $7,534,246.58 per day.
Add them up.
$8,219,178.08 + $7,534,246.5 = $15,753,424.08 PER DAY
US and Israel in $30bn arms deal, August 2007
link to news.bbc.co.uk
American manufacturers should be doing this, not a foreign govt.
“Please cite a website or something for this figure”
I love when people post a statement like this on Mondoweiss comments. Its like starting a cigarette under a sprinkler system. More astute Zionism supporters never make such elementary mistake when advocating for Israel on this website.
Pingback: Billboards criticizing US aid to Israel return to Albuquerque | Holy lands tours - holyland