The Washington Institute for Near East Policy is a thinktank that was spun off from the Israel lobby group AIPAC and that works hard to preserve the special relationship between Israel and the United States. This attitude was on display a week ago, when WINEP presented former policy-makers Elliott Abrams and Dennis Ross with awards as scholars and statesmen.
The ensuing discussion with Robert Satloff of the Washington Institute is fascinating for several reasons. There is no pretense of balance in the conversation: all three men are always on Israel’s side and fearful for its security. The Palestinians are blamed over and over as rejectionists; the word settlements is never mentioned. Asked why there is no peace, Ross states that Arafat’s very “identity” was against accepting Israel.
Yes and what about Jewish identity, and Zionist identity? Abrams says his greatest accomplishments in office were acts involving Jews, including asserting the Jewish right to colonize the West Bank. And you will see that Ross and Abrams are both strongly Jewish-identified; they speak of the cultural change inside the Establishment during the 70s and 80s, when Jews began to take policy positions. Ross describes a moment at the Pentagon when he supported Israel during a realist conversation about supplying arms to Israel and everyone looked at him like the scene in Annie Hall where Woody Allen is suddenly seen by the gentile family to be wearing “payos” — sidelocks.
Abrams describes a similar moment with George Shultz at State in the 80s, then asserts, amazingly, that Jews are discriminated against in hiring by the FBI and CIA and other government agencies.
I do not believe, unfortunately, that it [nondiscrimination] has permeated the CIA and FBI. I still find young people who I think are at a disadvantage in getting into those services or in getting promoted or in getting assignments because of their religion and because of, really, quite limited connections with Israel.
My annotations:
Abrams is asked what his best achievement was in gov’t service. Note that his two bests have to do with Jews, the second asserting the legality of the settlements, which he can’t call settlements.
ABRAMS: I’m going to have to give you two—divide them in half. Working for [Henry] “Scoop” Jackson and Ronald Reagan on what ultimately became a million Russian Jews moving to Israel, which really has changed Israel. [Applause] And then the famous letter: the April 14, 2004, letter of President Bush to Ariel Sharon, Prime Minister Sharon, which for the first time said clearly: Israel is going to keep the major [settlement] blocs, and there is no “right of return.” [Applause]
I like this Iraq bit. No one in the Israel lobby can admit this.
SATLOFF: Was the Iraq war a mistake?
ROSS: Maybe.
ABRAMS: Too soon to tell.
Here is Abrams saying we didn’t go far enough in supporting Israel against Jewhaters in the Arab world.
ABRAMS:I think we have let the Palestinians, for too long, get away with raising, now, two generations of Jewhaters. You know, the word we use is incitement, which is not as nasty a word as it ought to be, because we’re talking about terrible forms of anti-Semitism here. And it goes on year after year after year… public opinion polls throughout the Arab world, but particularly in the West Bank and Gaza, show that five- and ten-year-old kids have horrendous attitudes not just toward Israel but toward Jews. I cannot believe that if, over the last thirty years, the United States made this a central issue, we wouldn’t be in a different position. But we never did.
Here is Dennis Ross talking about Jews gaining positions in the Establishment.
In 1977, the Israelis requested a ten-year arms-supply relationship… I was in the Office of Program Analysis and Evaluation, and I was asked to be one of about twenty people to assess this… And they’re going around the room, and every agency is represented, from the White House, the NSC all the different offices in the State Department, in the Pentagon, and everyone’s going around the room saying, they don’t need it. They can beat any combination of Arabs. So, it gets to me, and I say, well, that’s really not the right measure, is it? And I say, you know, we should be evaluating this in terms of, does it enhance Israeli deterrence—because if it enhances Israeli deterrence, then it reduces the prospect of war, number one. Number two, does it reduce the need for us to have to resupply the Israelis quickly—because the resupply in 1973 contributed to what was a potential confrontation with the Soviet Union. And so, if we don’t have to resupply right away, then that may reduce the prospect of us and the Soviets getting into something. And the third thing I said was, we should be focused on the whole issue of rapid war termination—does this make rapid war termination more likely, because, again, it reduces the prospects of escalation. And, you know, from an American standpoint, this is really in our vital interests. Now, everybody around that table looked at me—how many people here saw the movie Annie Hall? [Laughter] And you know when he’s with her family, and they look at him as wearing payos? [Laughter] Everybody around that table was looking at me as if I had payos. And they’re going, we didn’t know he was Jewish. You know, in the beginning, I felt this a lot. Over time, after the impact of George Shultz, I felt it much less.
Abrams speaks of the same cultural shift:
a Sandinista mob, at one point, set fire to the doors of a synagogue during a Sabbath service. Set fire to the doors, people were inside the synagogue. And there was a cable from the U.S. embassy in Managua saying, you know, this is an unfortunate incident, it’s a matter of concern, we shouldn’t go overboard on it—doesn’t really depict . . . It was an unbelievable cable, and I took it to Secretary Shultz and I said to him: for the first time, I understand what the State Department was like in the 1930s, when Jews were trying to get visas. And I wasn’t sure what his reaction was going to be, and his reaction was—he said, tomorrow morning at our senior staff meeting, I’m calling on you. So we all go to the senior staff meeting the next morning [and] he says, “Elliott has an interesting cable he needs to tell us about.” And he asked me to repeat the story, so that the message was crystal clear throughout the building, you know, and at all levels, what his view was. Now, I have to say, I think that view has permeated the State Department; I agree with Dennis. I do not believe, unfortunately, that it has permeated the CIA and FBI. I still find young people who I think are at a disadvantage in getting into those services or in getting promoted or in getting assignments because of their religion and because of, really, quite limited connections with Israel. So, I think, thanks to George Shultz and some others, we’ve done it at State; we have not done it throughout the U.S. government entirely.
Can I ask why when anyone interviews some talking head from WINEP they never mention the connection to AIPAC or that this pundit may not be the most impartial source? It drives me nuts.
Get these guys talking for a few dozens hours without knowing they’re being recorded and you end up with material that makes the Protocols Elders of Zion look like a kid’s story.
And now, the political realists in the entire world look at the entire American State Department as wearing payos. Many cannot even distinguish Old Glory from the Israeli Flag and those flags are often depicted in hybrid fashion. So, there’s still a little Israel First work to do at lower and middle levels at CIA and FBI, and maybe even at HMS?
Yup, everyone who isn’t A) Jewish(and it has to be the ‘right
wingkind’ of Jewish) or B) Adelson’s goyish clown, is going to get creamed – at least if these two guys would get what they wanted.Thankfully, we’re about to enter 2013, not 2003.
The times have changed – for the better – for America which inevitably means that it has also changed for the worse for people like them, trusted insiders of the lobby.
Also, notice this Freudian slip, from Abrams:
Who are ‘we’? And the way he talks about it makes it come off as a deliberate plan, or at least part of one.
Revealing stuff. And they say the Israel Lobby is a dark, conspiratorial fantasy. Actually, it’s staring you in the face, even gloating loudly.
The brain wiring in these people really is messed up….first Abrams says this:
“I do not believe, unfortunately, that it [nondiscrimination] has permeated the CIA and FBI. I still find young people who I think are at a disadvantage in getting into those services or in getting promoted or in getting assignments because of their religion and because of, really, quite limited connections with Israel.”
Then he says this:
“We’ve done it at State; we have not done it throughout the U.S. government entirely.”
As If——- there is no connection. He’s complaining that other US agencies have resisted being infiltrated by Israeli agents…lol, gawd.
Thanks Phil for this. It’s quite despicable that these two supposedlyAmericans tout their achievements for a foreign state, and a criminal rogue state at that. Anyways, I’m very tired of their/winep/aipac/evangelists blabbing in support of the criminal zionist regime.
I’d like to share three sad thoughts as 2012 draws to an end…
1) The 2SS is no longer possible.
Why? Quite simply because the jews of israel do not want it. They believe their missile shields and the wall are protecting them from making any concession for peace.
2) israel will never withdraw to the 67 line.
Why? Never in history did an occupying power relinquish occupied territory without force. Since the time that Egypt signed a “peace” treaty with the colonial israel regime, the threat of Arab military force was removed from the table. Even with the MB, Egypt will never be able to put a credible military threat to israel on the table for a very simple reason: the Egyptian military depends totally on the US and the US only provides 3-5 days worth of ammunition to the Egyptians (enough to control the Egyptian people though). A colonialist occupier can only change its ways when the pain of the occupation becomes greater than the pain of withdrawal. Without a military option, this pain equation will not change.
3) Obama is a colossal disappointment.
Why? The UNGA vote on Nov 29 presented a great opportunity for the US to abstain at a minimum. This would have been a true game changer. O buckled again even though he has no more a re-election constraints.
So, where does this leave us? Well, looking back at the history of the (un)Holy Land, we can easily see that war was the norm, interspersed with periods of “calm”, not peace.
So we are doomed to continued war (and an upcoming third intifida that may have just gotten ignited in Al Khalil) until the demographics balance between the river and the sea changes by 2050 or so. Palestinians, if anything, are a very patient people!!!!!!!!
@Ramzi
I agree with all your points, but I wonder if a third intifada is possible at this point, and if so what form it would take. In terms of rock throwing, etc., the Palestinians are physically isolated from the Israelis by the wall and outsourced PA “security” at this point and Israel seems to have gradually replaced Palestinian labor with guest workers from Thailand and other places, so a general strike doesn’t seem viable. I’m assuming non-violent resistance would be the answer, but would the Israelis even care at this point? That leaves the rockets. While I understand why they are using the rockets, I don’t think it’s a particularly good idea or strategy for a number of reasons.
They also never mention ethnic cleansing.
fyi
Haaretz headline
“why almost 40 percent of Israelis are thinking of emigrating”
link to haaretz.com
Les
I was just about to post the same link.
Here’s another one that is related to yours:
link to haaretz.com
Ha’aretz | Dec.11, 2012
“Growing economic disparity puts Israel at top end of inequality scale”
“Contrary to conventional wisdom, the problem doesn’t stem from erosion of the middle class.”
By Zvi Zrahiya
“The growing economic disparity among Israel’s income groups places the country, along with the United States, at the top end of the inequality scale. But contrary to conventional wisdom, the problem doesn’t stem from erosion of the middle class.
“Rather, says economist Momi Dahan, the widening gaps are the result of ballooning wealth among the rich and the declining earning power of the poor.
” ‘Israel’s problem isn’t about the middle class, rather the condtions of the weakest population,’ he says. ‘The most dramatic change of the last decade was the break out higher of the top decile and collapse downward of the bottom fifth.’
“The Gini coefficient, a measure used to gauage inequality, stands at 0.38 for Israel on a scale of zero to one. That is the same level of inequality as in the U.S. By comparison income-equakty leaders Sweden and Finland have a Gini Coefficient is 0.23.
“In Israel, the growing inequality reflects the increasing large slice of the national pie since 1979 going to the wealthiest 10% and a drastic drop in that of the lowest 20%, says Dahan, head of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Federmann School of Public Policy and Government and a senior fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute.
“According to Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development figures, more than 20% of Israeli families are poor, while the average for OECD countries is less than 12%, Dahan says. ‘From 1997 to 2012 the price for the basket of consumer goods bought by the middle quintile increased 44% while the basket of the lowest quintile increased 48%. In other words, the hardest hit has been the lowest quintile,’ he says.
“Dahan argues that policy makers should focus on the two ends of the scale that have been moving further to the extremes, as this is what is generating the inequality, choking economic growth and hurting the middle class in the long run.
” ‘Some people blame inequality on the fact that the ultra-Orthodox and Arabs are largely outside the workforce,’ Dahan says. ‘But even if we take them out of the equation, Israel remains one of the world’s least egalitarian countries. The problem crosses all sectors of the population and encompasses all parts of Israeli society.’
“When asked if Israel’s inequality might be less than official figures indicate due to the prevalence of its black market economy, Dahan said ‘there is no doubt that people conceal their real income, but this is true for the bottom rungs of the income ladder as well as the top rungs, so its impact isn’t straightforward.’
” ‘Also, Israel leads the world, for example, in the divergence of educational achievements between advantaged and disadvantaged pupils, and in education you can’t say inequality stems from the black market.’
Did anyone look at Henry Kissinger like he was wearing payos when, during the Yom Kippur war, he, as he himself described it years later, “put the entire military airlift capacity of the United States at the service of the IDF”?
i agree, the US should start clamping down hard on israel about iof policy of targeting and imprisoning children.
“when WINEP presented former policy-makers Elliott Abrams and Dennis Ross with awards as scholars and statesmen.”
You see, that way these guys can go on TV and say “award-winning” and ‘scholar” and “statesman”. Because their pals said so. Self-referential twaddle.
Bet these guys will say how sorry they are for the carnage at Newtown school (Dec 14, 2012) but never a mention, and hardly a tear, for the carnage of American bombs etc. in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, and Israel’s kindly attentions to Gaza and Lebanon.
“You see, that way these guys can go on TV and say “award-winning” and ‘scholar” and “statesman”. ” But for anyone with a memory, Abrams’ first descriptive is “convicted felon.” Anyone with such a history and a drop of conscience or shame would not be bringing up his experiences with Nicaragua.
There should be some way to set them up or frame them if necessary, for some criminal acts that would put them away or perhaps have them deported in a plea bargin deal….anything to get them out of the US and out of any circle of influence in the US. In cases like these kind of people I would go for ‘the ends justifying the means,’ cricket or not, democratic or not.
And actually if some them like Perle, Abrams, Feith and others had been prosecuted for things they were caught doing in the past like passing US classified info they wouldn’t be the problem they are today.
Wouldn’t it be useful to debate the “dual loyalty” problem in a general way, not singling Jews out, and quite matter-of-factly. Germans, Irish and a lot of other immigrants have had their “dual loyalty” problem (even WASPs, in the 18th century); in fact, the problem is inevitable for immigrants. Wouldn’t such an approach help Jews to be more open with it?
RE: “Wouldn’t it be useful to debate the ‘dual loyalty’ problem in a general way, not singling Jews out, and quite matter-of-factly. Germans, Irish and a lot of other immigrants have had their “dual loyalty” problem . . .” ~ Stogumber
SEE: “It took 4 Irish-Catholic leaders to stop the Irish lobby’s support for violence in N. Ireland”, by Philip Weiss, Mondoweiss, 8/26/11
LINK – link to mondoweiss.net
ALSO RE: “Wouldn’t it be useful to debate the ‘dual loyalty’ problem in a general way, not singling Jews out, and quite matter-of-factly. Germans, Irish and a lot of other immigrants have had their ‘dual loyalty’ problem . . .” ~ Stogumber
MY COMMENT: Here ya go!
SEE WIKIPEDIA [Peter T. King]:
SOURCE – link to en.wikipedia.org
● RE: “Wouldn’t it be useful to debate the ‘dual loyalty’ problem in a general way, not singling Jews out, and quite matter-of-factly. Germans, Irish and a lot of other immigrants have had their “dual loyalty” problem . . .” ~ Stogumber
● AS TO GERMAN “DUAL LOYALTY”, NOTE THIS FROM SEVERAL MONTHS AGO IN THE COMMENTS HERE ONMONDOWEISS:
SOURCE – link to mondoweiss.net
● RE: “WATCH: Rudolf Hess opening speech (English Subtitles), [VIDEO, 04:00] – link to youtube.com
[SORRY, THIS VIDEO NO LONGER SEEMS TO BE AVAILABLE! - J.L.D.]” - me (above)
● AFTER MUCH WORK, I HAVE FOUND THE ENTIRE TRIUMPH DES WILLENS (TRIUMPH OF THE WILL) FILM WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES: The pertinent portion of Rudolf Hess’ speech about the German Heimatland (Homeland) begins at about the 25 minute mark.
● Triumph des Willens (1935) – Triumph of the Will [VIDEO, 1:44:27] – link to youtube.com
RE: “. . . Hitler was creating a homeland for all the ethnic Germans of the world wherever they might have happened to live (not just those residing within the borders of Germany). They modeled this after the Zionist idea of Israel being the ‘homeland’ of all the Jews of the world wherever they might happen to live (not just those residing within the borders of Israel).” – me (above)
SEE: “Feiglin New Rightist Power Behind Likud Throne”, by Richard Silverstein, Tikun Olam, 12/27/08
ENTIRE ARTICLE – link to richardsilverstein.com
P.S. ALSO SEE THESE TWO:
● “Bogie Yaalon’s Excellent Adventure with Feiglin, Kahane Kids”, by Richard Silverstein, Tikun Olam, 8/17/09
LINK – link to richardsilverstein.com
● “Yaalon Looks to Fascist Right for Support in Likud Leadership Struggle”, by Richard Silverstein, Tikun Olam, 8/20/09
LINK – link to richardsilverstein.com
dickerson, despite Feiglin’s strong showing in the primaries netanyahu&co pulled a switcheroo to get him knocked down the list of likud MP’s fearful his party would seem to wacko.
link to haaretz.com
but for a truly frightful and realistic look at what’s happening on the election front check out Uri Avnery’s Cold Revenge
link to counterpunch.org
RE: “despite Feiglin’s strong showing in the primaries netanyahu&co pulled a switcheroo [back in 2009 ~ J.L.D.] to get him knocked down the list of likud MP’s” ~ Annie Robbins
MY COMMENT: The old “switcherroo” worked last time (back in 2009), but I doubt that Netanyahu will be able to use it this time. I don’t believe he can get away with two switcheroos in a row!
ALSO NOTE: “New Poll Shows Surge in Israel’s Religious Far-Right”, by Jason Ditz, Antiwar.com, 12/14/12
Jewish Home Surges, Vying for Second Place With Labor
SOURCE – link to news.antiwar.com
RE: “The old ‘switcheroo’ worked last time (back in 2009), but I doubt that Netanyahu will be able to use it this time. I don’t believe he can get away with two switcheroos in a row!” – me (above)
SEE: “The Likud presents: The craziest, most radical list ever expected to win elections”, By Noam Sheizaf, 972 Magazine, 11/26/12
Knesset members behind attacks on the left, Arabs and asylum seekers won the day at the Likud primaries. All moderates but one were pushed down the list, and probably won’t serve in the next Knesset.
LINK – link to 972mag.com
The FT quoted an opinion poll that gave Likud/Beiteinu 80% of the seats they currently have in the next election.
Stogumber says:
December 15, 2012 at 2:29 pm
Wouldn’t it be useful to debate the “dual loyalty” problem in a general way, not singling Jews out, and quite matter-of-factly. Germans, Irish and a lot of other immigrants have had their “dual loyalty” problem (even WASPs, in the 18th century); in fact, the problem is inevitable for immigrants. Wouldn’t such an approach help Jews to be more open with it?>>>>>
Well like it or not the “Uber” Jews, the Zios we all know only too well, are the main force in the dual or even in some cases in a ‘single’ loyalty problem. Everyone else is just sort of a supporting cast of corrupt politicians, the brainwashed, the christian zio fanatics and so forth.
I don’t agree though that dual loyalty problem is inevitable for immigrants. It’s one thing to retain feelings for or have sentiments for your former country but it’s something different to actively seek to control and use the power of the country you are a citizen of, often in devious ways and to the detriment of it’s own interest and citizens, for the benefit of your former country or your emotional homeland…..that’s what we ‘re talking about.
When you’re talking about specifically Jews supporting Israel other than the main “Enforcers” or fanatics so to speak, then you get into a lot of substratum’s imo of yes, sorta, half way, not so much and not at all.
But if you want to talk “in general” about dual loyalty and the justificaitons for it, I’ll use this quote about Jews from ifamericansknew since I think it explains how some US Jews justify support for Israel and it could be representative of some other group, although I can’t think of another one this fits exactly ……
” (We have a Jewish friend who is not bothered by the term (dual loyalty) in the least, who believes that U.S. and Israeli interests should be identical and sees it as perfectly natural for American Jews to feel as much loyalty to Israel as they do to the United States.”
This is very naive thing to believe about two separate and very different nations, particulary when one is basically a client nation of and very dependent on the other, but some have convinced themselves of this. Are they bona fide ‘traitors’ to believe or say that? No, they are just naive, led by various emotions to believe this because they want to believe it. But it’s not the real world, there just aren’t any two countries that always have the same identical interest.
There are several problems with that.
1. Most Jews are not in any shape or form conflicted about their loyalty. Those who are conflicted, are also the ones who are most likely present themselves as specifically Jewish, rather than a multitude of things, with Jewish being one of them. It’s an age-old problem; in all ethnic communities, the more reactionary elements tend to rise in the ethnic leadership positions; they care the most. The reasonable ones mind their own business and go on without being seen.
2. Even if you tried to go after a select few, it would still inevitably spill over and cause great unease – with good reason – among the wider Jewish population, which would enable the hardliners.
3. Dual loyalty, real or unreal, is still a different thing for, say, an Irish-man than for a Jew. For a Jew it’s a much more visceral thing, because it’s been targeted at us for centuries, millenia, in a way it hasn’t been for, say, the Irish.
4. Finally, as Israel turns more proto-fascist(or just straight fascist), the price of loyalty will climb exponentially. The result will simply be to weed out everyone but the most extreme racists, at which point to isolate them will be easy. But we’ll have to wait a few years for that, regrettably.
It’s a real mess.
the hardliners drive the agenda. It looks as though the vast majority of US Jews wouldn’t be seen dead making aliyah to Israel and sending their kids to the IDF but that this emptiness in their Jewishness can be offset for many by vicarious aliyah in the form of voting for Israel or donating to Israel or even just supporting the rabbi down at the synagogue in whatever he does for Israel. It must give a nice warm fuzzy feeling tempered for some with ever increasing levels of unease. It’s a community thing and it’s their community but what happens when one part of the community drifts away from a common understanding of right and wrong?
Like a sister with a brother who moved back to the old family farm . She sends money from the city. He always askes her to come live with her. She used to feel torn but has arrived at a state of equilbrium. She likes her city life. The money she sends makes her feel good. He has a very violent streak. His kids are unmanageable. But the money she sends makes her feel good.
● RE: “Wouldn’t it be useful to debate the ‘dual loyalty’ problem in a general way, not singling Jews out, and quite matter-of-factly. Germans, Irish and a lot of other immigrants have had their ‘dual loyalty’ problem . . .” ~ Stogumber
● QUESTION: Why do you think we have all these dual nationals: people with passports from both both Ireland and the U.S.; Germany and the U.S.; Brazil and the U.S.; Iran and the U.S.?
● ANSWER: BECAUSE OF ISRAEL! ! ! (NOT BECAUSE OF IRELAND, GERMANY, BRAZIL, OR IRAN!
● FROM WIKIPEDIA [Afroyim v. Rusk]:
SOURCE – link to en.wikipedia.org
RE: “Abrams says his greatest accomplishments in office were acts involving Jews, including asserting the Jewish right to colonize the West Bank.” ~ Weiss
FROM ELLIOTT ABRAMS, The Washington (Neocon) Post, 04/08/09:
SOURCE – link to washingtonpost.com
P.S. Elliott Abrams has totally convinced me [by the sheer power of his (il)logic and his very impressive math skills] to wholeheartedly support the Israeli settlement project in the West Bank.
As I understand it, the ‘Abrams Principle’ stands for the proposition that more Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank will result in a larger area for the Palestinian state. That’s why I say: “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead” with the settlement actvity; so as to result in the largest Palestinian state possible (from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River). Fiat justitia! ( “Let Justice Be Done!” )
Elliot Abrams was happy to talk about ‘settlements’ on this interview on Australian ABC radio. Refer link to abc.net.au
He pointed out that while there is all this huffing and puffing about possible new settlements that Gaza is openly rearming:
If more Iranian missiles pour into Gaza there will be another row. That’s just definite.
If more US weapons pour into Israel there will be another row. That’s just definite.
Of course the settlements aren’t a problems if you’re Jewish. But have you ever considered the possibility that they might be if you are Palestinian? Stay inside the circle jerk, Mayhem.
@Inanna, the settlements are an issue because you and your ilk like to harp on about them. Furthermore I never said they didn’t bother me.
right,because if we said nothing everything would go swimmingly.
himmler blamed the jews for deutchland’s failures & never mentioned concentration camps
Fascinating indeed. What a bubble these people live in. Thanks for posting this.
The supreme irony is that if any of these three men had tried to be even-handed in their criticism some other segment of the lobby would probably have come forth to smear and disown them. The bias is policed and self-reinforcing.
Smear,disown and attack to no end,
But don’t forget a little smearing by the far right is good for these men because it gives the (fake) impression that there two sides of thinking. Fox News style of “Fair and Balance” even know both sides of the WINEP?AIPAC Lobby agree on nearly everything. Mainly used to sell the American public that the likes of Ross is somehow objective or the other side
Annie Hall has many wonderful, memorable scenes. One that I find more applicable to this context was the one where they were standing in line at the movie theater and the guys next to them kept making remarks that Allen thought were anti-Semitic, like “D’you eat?”, “No, D’you?” Ross made a remark that totally contradicted the perspective of 20 other people in the room and they stared at him. They could just as easily have been thinking, “how did this idiot get a job here?”
“Abrams … asserts, amazingly, that Jews are discriminated against in hiring by the FBI and CIA and other government agencies. ”
If the Jews who apply turn out to have loyalty to Israel, it would seem perfectly sensible for US government agencies to be cautious about hiring them.
As a dual Australian/British citizen, I can vote here in Australia, but (by Federal law) I would not be able to run for Parliament until I renounced my British citizenship.
The insurance by Ross and Abbrams allows them to say what they want and any criticism can be furthered used to there advantage.
Say someone from the FBI or CIA says “hey that’s not true about discrimination in either the CIA or FBI” This would allow them and WINEP/Israeli lobby to open the topic if “there are enough jews/israeli in those area’s, Most likely worded by them and the Robert S of the media “Is the CIA anti-Israel?”Is the CIA anti-Israel? “Joining us is Dennis Ross to talk about these troubling signs” that start quoting some congressmen and how we sould get involved and just so happens folks from the WINEP or SABAN starting getting big roles in the FBI or CIA.
Were one to criticize such action the A Card could be thrown out as proof that Abbrams was Right.
RE: “Abrams is asked what his best achievement was in gov’t service . . . ABRAMS: ‘I’m going to have to give you two—divide them in half. Working for [Henry] ‘Scoop’ Jackson and Ronald Reagan on what ultimately became a million Russian Jews moving to Israel, which really has changed Israel.’”
MY COMMENT: And those million or so immigrants from the Soviet Union (some of them not even Jewish) might very well turn out to have been the ‘tipping point’ in Israel’s transition to a much more fascistic government. But considering Elliott Abrams’ “track record” in Central America* and elsewhere (ably assisted by the über-nefarious John Negroponte), it should come as no great surprise that he would take great pride in having achieved a more fascistic Israel.
* P.S. FROM ‘RIGHT WEB’/IPS [Elliott Abrams]:
ENTIRE ARTICLE – link to rightweb.irc-online.org
RE: “Abrams is asked what his best achievement was in gov’t service . . . ABRAMS: ‘I’m going to have to give you two—divide them in half. Working for [Henry] ‘Scoop’ Jackson and Ronald Reagan on what ultimately became a million Russian Jews moving to Israel, which really has changed Israel.’”
AS TO ELLIOTT ABRAMS’ “CHANGED ISRAEL”, SEE: “Lieberman ‘Speaks Arabic’”, by Richard Silverstein, Tikun Olam, 2/09/12
ENTIRE COMMENTARY – link to richardsilverstein.com
P.S. ALSO SEE: “Lieberman’s anti-Arab ideology wins over Israel’s teens”, By Yotam Feldman, Haaretz, 2/05/09
Yisrael Beiteinu was victorious overall in the mock elections held in 10 high schools across the country.
ENTIRE ARTICLE – link to haaretz.com
P.P.S. RE: “We have a problem: Upper Nazareth is surrounded by minorities. There are lots of incidents with them. Women are scared to walk in the streets, and people are afraid they’ll be stabbed. No one knows what to do about it at this point.” ~ 18 year old Edan Ivanov (from above)
MY QUESTION: What about forming roving “posses” of vigilantes to kick some Arab ass, torch cars belonging to Arabs, and try to burn down the homes of Arabs?
Would that suit you, Mr. Ivanov? ? ?
SEE: “Police arrest Jewish teens for allegedly assaulting Arab youth in Galilee”, By Eli Ashkenazi, Haaretz, 1/27/12
Mohammed Mansur was rushed to hospital after a gang of Jewish teens allegedly beat him in Tiberias.
ENTIRE ARTICLE – link to haaretz.com
P.P.P.S. RE: “. . . The conference concluded with the singing of the national anthem, which the young attendees sang aggressively in the style of Beitar Jerusalem fans.” ~ from the above Haaretz article by Yotam Feldman
SOME RECENT BEITARIM “ACTION”: “Beitar soccer fans march in Jerusalem chanting racist slogans, allegedly beat woman”, By Nir Hasson and Oz Rosenberg, Haaretz, 4/16/12
Police are launching an investigation into the attack on 50-year-old Reli Margalit, after being criticized for failing to immediately investigate Beitar fans’ attack last month on Arab workers.
ENTIRE ARTICLE – link to haaretz.com
P.P.P.P.S. A LITTLE BE(I)TARIM BACKGROUND
● FROM WIKIPEDIA [Betar]:
SOURCE – link to en.wikipedia.org
● ALSO SEE: “The Hidden History of Zionism”, Chapter 6, by Ralph Schoenman
SOURCE –
link to marxists.de