I’ll be publishing my weekly Souciant pieces on Friday, at least for a while, instead of Wednesdays, so today there’s a new one up there. I discuss the experience of MJ Rosenberg and his use of the term Israel Firsters to describe so-called “pro-Israel” advocates in the US who place Israeli interests over the US’, as most of them from AIPAC and rightward do. In my view, some of the most powerful of that crew actually are pursuing an agenda which cares about neither Israel or the US. Check it out.
Archive for June, 2012
No Zionists Here: Demystifying Israel Firsters
Posted in US-Israel Lobby, tagged AIPAC, Alan Dershowitz, Christian ZIonism, Imperialism, Iran, Israel, Israel Defense Forces, Israel Firsters, Israel Lobby, Media Matters, Mitt Romney, MJ Rosenberg, Neocons, Neoconservatism, Palestine, United States on June 29, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Israel for Everyone
Posted in 1967, Zionism, tagged asylum seekers, Avigdor Lieberman, B'Tselem, Benjamin Netanyahu, David Ben-Gurion, Eli Yishai, HaMoked, Israel, Jewish National Fund, Josef Weitz, Mandate for Palestine, Migrants, Miri Regev, Palestinians, Peace Index, Peel Commission, Refugees, United Nations, Yishuv, Ze'ev Jabotinsky, Zionism on June 13, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
This week’s Souciant article is up. In it, I look at the bigotry of the Zionism of Eli Yishai, its prominent role in Israel and Zionism not only today but historically, and how Jewish self-determination could exist without both that hate and the obsession with an artificially created and enforced “Jewish majority.”
Actually, We CAN Change Things, If We Decide to Try
Posted in US-Israel Lobby, tagged AIPAC, CUFI, Hasbara, J Street on June 6, 2012 | 2 Comments »
In response to my article today, a long-time reader commented as follows:
“What’s needed is an Eliot-Ness-type figure to bring down this AIPAC mafia. But where is one to be found in this post-heroic era?”
US elected officials treat Israel as a sensitive domestic issue, not a foreign policy matter. Must it be so?
I thought it was worth bringing my response over here, because I think this sort of thinking, while certainly based on being well-informed and thoughtful, is ultimately self-defeating and unnecessary.
My response:
I don’t think that’s what’s needed. in fact, I think that approach is part of the problem. Sure, AIPAC has done some shady things in its history. That’s also true of other lobbying groups, incidentally. But the bulk of their success is due to things that are perfectly legal–propagandizing, badgering their opponents, and directing campaign funds. Most of all, straightforward lobbying of elected officials.
Even if AIPAC was less connected to the Israeli government per se, they’d still have a lot of the effect they do. In part, that is due to the fact that they capitalize on the sorts of things I describe in the article above–American idealization, almost deification, of Israel as a military power, American anti-Muslim/anti-Arab bigotry, and the stability of Israel as a country and an ally. While Israel often spits in the face of US desires, the Israeli government knows exactly when it needs to stand by the US–usually when no one else will. (more…)
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