So Who’s Afraid of the Israel Lobby?
By Ray McGovern on October 6, 2007 at 12:15 AM in Current Affairs
October 5, 2007
So Who’s Afraid of the Israel Lobby?
By Ray McGovern
Virtually everyone: Republican, Democrat—Conservative, Liberal. The fear factor is non-partisan, you might say, and palpable.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) brags that it is the most influential foreign policy lobbying organization on Capitol Hill, and has demonstrated that time and again—and not only on Capitol Hill.
Seldom has the Lobby’s power been as clearly demonstrated as in its ability to suppress the awful truth that on June 8, 1967, during the Six Day War:
o Israel deliberately attacked the intelligence collection ship USS Liberty, in full awareness it was a U.S. Navy ship, and did its best to sink it and leave no survivors;
o The Israelis would have succeeded had they not broken off the attack upon learning, from an intercepted message, that the commander of the U.S. 6th Fleet had launched carrier fighters to the scene; and
o By that time 34 of the Liberty’s crew had been killed and over 170 wounded.
Scores of intelligence analysts and senior officials have known this for years. That virtually all of them have kept a forty-year frightened silence is testament to the widespread fear of touching this live wire.
Even more telling is the fact that the National Security Agency apparently has destroyed voice tapes and transcripts heard and seen by many intelligence analysts, material that shows beyond doubt that the Israelis knew exactly what they were doing.
The Ugly Truth
But the truth will out—eventually. All it took in this case was for a courageous journalist (of the endangered species kind) to listen to the surviving crew and do a little basic research, not shrinking from naming war crimes and not letting senior U.S. officials, from the president on down, off the hook for suppressing—even destroying—damning evidence from intercepted Israeli communications.
The mainstream media have now published an exposé based largely on interviews with those most intimately involved.
A lengthy article by Pulitzer Prize winning investigative reporter John Crewdson appeared in the Chicago Tribune and Baltimore Sun on Oct. 2 titled “New revelations in attack on American spy ship.”
To the subtitle goes the prize for understatement of the year: “Veterans, documents suggest U.S., Israel didn’t tell full story of deadly 1967 incident.”
Better 40 years late than never, I suppose. Many of us have known of the incident and cover-up for a very long time and have tried to expose and discuss it for the lessons it holds for today.
It has proved far easier, though, to get a very pedestrian Dog-Bites-Man article published than an article with the importance and explosiveness of this sensitive story.
A Marine Stands Up
On the evening of Sept. 26, 2006, I gave a talk on Iraq to an overflow crowd of 400 at National Avenue Church in Springfield, Missouri.
A questioner asked what I thought of the study by John Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago and Stephen Walt of Harvard titled “The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy.”
The study had originally been commissioned by The Atlantic Monthly. When the draft arrived, however, shouts of “Leper!” were heard at the Atlantic. The monthly wasted no time in saying thanks-but-no-thanks, and the leper-study then wandered in search of a home, finding none among American publishers.
Eventually the London Review of Books published it in March 2006.
I had read that piece carefully and found it an unusual act of courage as well as scholarship. That’s what I told the questioner, adding that I did have two problems with the study:
o First, it seemed to me the authors erred in attributing virtually all the motivation for the U.S. attack on Iraq to the Israel Lobby and the so-called “neo-conservatives” running our policy and armed forces. Was Israel an important factor? Indeed. But of equal importance, in my view, was the oil factor and what the Pentagon now calls the “enduring” military bases in Iraq, which the White House and Pentagon decided were needed for the U.S. to dominate that part of the Middle East.
o Second, I was intrigued by the fact that Mearsheimer and Walt made no mention of what I believe to be, if not the most telling, then perhaps the most sensational proof of the power the Lobby knows it can exert over our government and Congress. In sum, in June 1967, after deliberately using fighter-bombers and torpedo boats to attack the USS Liberty for over two hours in an attempt to sink it and kill its entire crew, and then getting the U.S. government, the Navy, and the Congress to cover up what happened, the Israeli government learned that it could—literally—get away with murder.
I found myself looking out at 400 blank stares. The USS Liberty? And so I asked how many in the audience had heard of the attack on the Liberty on June 8, 1967. Three hands went up; I called on the gentleman nearest me.
Ramrod straight he stood:
“Sir, Sergeant Bryce Lockwood, United States Marine Corps, retired. I am a member of the USS Liberty crew, Sir.”
Catching my breath, I asked him if he would be willing to tell us what happened.
“Sir, I have not been able to do that. It is hard. But it has been almost 40 years, and I would like to try this evening, Sir.”
You could hear a pin drop for the next 15 minutes, as Lockwood gave us his personal account of what happened to him, his colleagues, and his ship on the afternoon of June 8, 1967.
He was a linguist assigned to collect communications intelligence from the USS Liberty, which was among the ugliest—and most easily identifiable—ships in the fleet with antennae springing out in all directions.
Lockwood told of the events of that fateful day, beginning with the six-hour naval and air surveillance of the Liberty by the Israeli navy and air force on the morning of June 8.
After the air attacks including thousand-pound bombs and napalm, three sixty-ton torpedo boats lined up like a firing squad, pointing their torpedo tubes at the Liberty’s starboard hull.
Lockwood had been ordered to throw the extremely sensitive cryptological equipment overboard and had just walked beyond the bulwark separating the NSA intelligence unit from the rest of the ship when, he recalled, he sensed a large black object, a tremendous explosion, and sheet of flame.
The torpedo had struck dead center in the NSA space.
The cold, oily water brought Lockwood back to consciousness. Around him were 25 dead colleagues; but he heard moaning.
Three were still alive; one of Lockwood’s shipmates dragged one survivor up the hatch. Lockwood was able to lift the two others, one-by-one, onto his shoulder and carry them up through the hatch.
This meant alternatively banging on the hatch for someone to open it and swimming back to fish his shipmate out of the water lest he float out to sea through the 39-foot hole made by the torpedo.
At that Lockwood stopped speaking. It was enough. Hard, very hard—even after almost 40 years.
What Else We Know
John Crewdson’s meticulously documented article, together with the 57 pages that James Bamford devotes to the incident in his book “Body of Secrets” and recent confessions by those who played a role in the cover-up, paint a picture that the surviving crew of the USS Liberty can only find infuriating.
The evidence, from intercepted communications as well as testimony, of Israeli deliberate intent is unimpeachable, even though the Israelis continue to portray the incident as merely a terrible mistake.
Crewdson refers to U.S. Navy Captain Ward Boston, who was the Navy lawyer appointed as senior counsel to Admiral Isaac C. Kidd, named by Admiral John S. McCain (Sen. John McCain’s father) to “inquire into all the facts and circumstances.”
The fact that they were given only one week to gather evidence and were forbidden to contact the Israelis screams out “cover-up.”
Captain Boston, now 84, signed a formal declaration on Jan. 8, 2004 in which he described himself as “outraged at the efforts of the apologists for Israel in this country to claim that this attack was a case of ‘mistaken identity.’” Boston continued:
“The evidence was clear. Both Admiral Kidd and I believed with certainty that this attack…was a deliberate effort to sink an American ship and murder its entire crew…Not only did the Israelis attack the ship with napalm, gunfire, and missiles, Israeli torpedo boats machine-gunned three lifeboats that had been launched in an attempt by the crew to save the most seriously wounded—a war crime…I know from personal conversations I had with Admiral Kidd that President Lyndon Johnson and Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara ordered him to conclude that the attack was a case of ‘mistaken identity’ despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.”
Why the Israelis decided to take the draconian measure of sinking a ship of the U.S. Navy is open to speculation.
One view is that the Israelis did not want the U.S. to find out they were massing troops to seize the Golan Heights from Syria, and wanted to deprive the U.S. of the opportunity to argue against such a move.
Another theory: James Bamford, in “Body of Secrets,” adduces evidence, including reporting from an Israeli journalist eyewitness and an Israeli military historian, of wholesale killing of Egyptian prisoners of war at the coastal town of El Arish in the Sinai.
The Liberty was patrolling directly opposite El Arish in international waters but within easy range to pick up intelligence on what was going on there. And the Israelis were well aware.
As for the why, well, someone could at least approach the Israelis involved and ask, no?
The important thing here is not to confuse what is known (the deliberate nature of the Israeli attack) with the purpose behind it, which remains a matter of speculation.
Other Indignities
Bowing to intense pressure from the Navy, the White House agreed to award the Liberty’s skipper, Captain William McGonagle, the Medal of Honor…. but not at the White House, and not by the president (as is the custom).
Rather, the Secretary of the Navy gave the award at the Washington Navy Yard on the banks of the acrid Anacostia River.
A naval officer involved in the awards ceremony told one of the Liberty crew, “The government is pretty jumpy about Israel…the State Department even asked the Israeli ambassador if his government had any objections to McGonagle getting the medal.”
Adding insult to injury, those of the Liberty crew who survived well enough to call for an independent investigation have been hit with charges of, you guessed it, anti-Semitism.
Now that some of the truth is emerging more and more, others are showing more courage in speaking out. In a recent email, an associate of mine who has followed Middle East affairs for almost 60 years, shared the following:
“The chief of the intelligence analysts studying the Arab/Israeli region at the time told me about the intercepted messages and said very flatly and firmly that the pilots reported seeing the American flag and repeated their requests for confirmation of the attack order. Whole platoons of Americans saw those intercepts. If NSA now says they do not exist, then someone ordered them destroyed.”
Leaving the destruction of evidence without investigation is an open invitation to repetition in the future.
As for the larger picture, visiting Israel this past summer I was constantly told that Egypt forced Israel into war in June 1967. This does not square with the unguarded words of Menachem Begin in 1982, when he was Israel’s prime minister. Rather he admitted publicly:
“In June 1967, we had a choice. The Egyptian army concentrations in the Sinai approaches do not prove that [Egyptian President] Nasser was really about to attack us. We must be honest with ourselves. We decided to attack him.”
Israel had, in fact, prepared well militarily and mounted provocations against its neighbors, in order to provoke a response that could be used to justify an expansion of its borders.
Israel’s illegal 40-year control over and confiscation of land in the occupied territories and U.S. enabling support (particularly the one-sided support by the current U.S. administration) go a long way toward explaining why it is that 1.3 billion Muslims “hate us.”
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Ray McGovern works for Tell the Word, the publishing arm of the ecumenical Church of the Saviour in Washington, DC. He was a CIA analyst for 27 years and is now on the Steering Committee of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS). He spent some time in Israel and the West Bank this summer.
This article was first posted on Consortiumnews.com.
You are, like Mearsheimer and Walt, a brave man, Ray McGovern. Thank you for speaking out with the truth. For others there have been consequences.
Some examples:
http://www.counterpunch.com/avnery10042007.html
http://articles.citypages.com/2007-10-03/news/banning-desmond-tutu/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nathan-gardels/jimmy-carter-takes-on-isr_b_36134.html
Sandy, I have read over on TPM about this book review and the accusations of many that these men are antisemitic and it is truly unbelievable the language they have used against them.
There are a couple good books out on the Liberty attack..which happened in INTERNATIONAL Water..One is “Attack on USS Liberty”..and edited version of SRH 256..which was a report written by a NSA Operations officer..
The other Book is “Assault on the Liberty”..in paperback..both good read and I know friends who were career Navy who carry the Books and talk about the incident to anyone who will Listen..and there is still much anger over the incident..
Wikipedia has a good Article on the Incident with references and pictures of the Damaged ship..
People need to know or be reminded that this incident happened..and how it was handled politically..
The Captain was given the Medal of Honor later on..but not by the President and not in the Whitehouse….and there is some information that
they asked the Israelis first if they would mind if the Captain got a Medal of honor..
Thabnks Ray..There is allot to read into what your Article and its title are Stating..
I have long wondered what the Israelis really knew about the 9/11 incident also..and if they withheld known Intelligence from Us..
TO PROTECT Thier SOURCES..or exposed how deeply there operate inside the United States..
Hs anyone else in the Intel Community Rasied THAT Issue too..??
It is part of public record that Israel was one of the dozen or so countries that warned the US of a possible attack.
“Since the dawn of the Zionist movement, suffering has not ceased to exist in the world. All the warnings of the Torah have been fulfilled in their details among our People all over the world. For a believer it is no surprise that the Zionists are the same as the heretics at the time of the Destruction of the Temple. Thus, divine judgment has been unleashed on the entire world.” — Rabbi Shaul Brach
….and the U.S. STILL gives “foreign aid” to Israel. 40 years later. Now, Israel demands that it be paid in Euros.
http://www.wakeupfromyourslumber.com/node/3689
Two other interesting articles for you to scroll through.
http://www.wrmea.com/us_aid_to_israel/index.htm
No date of publication on this one:
http://www.hotpolitics.com/tax4israel.htm
Very good Ray! I am so glad you finally or that someone finally has had the intestinal fortitude to come forth and make public the reality of what has and still is going in with Israel! This should not be happening in our country. This alone should rise a red flag to what Israel has been up to for so many years now. I do not hold grudges towards the people of Israel, but I do hold the Nation of or the political factor of Israel responsible for many illegal acts towards the Palestinian ppl and other nations for their own greed. They continue, to this day, doing such illegal acts that will make their ppl pay a price that should not even be thought of paying. I have read articles about the USS Liberty. I too have wondered why the hush hush about all of this. I detest the AIPAC! Period. They are a corrupt bunch of ppl that now has succumb the neocons that they are truly the very most bad ppl on this earth with their willingness to kill and disrupt peace and the lives of others. They instigate fear and murder. They should all be taken to the Hague for their behaviour, period! As an American, I do not want these ppl in my country, period! I never have!
What I truly can not understand is why/how they have gained so much power. I have read some of their history and they have evolved with the knowledge of our government and this is the most truly sad thing for us, as a nation.
Thank you for your article and publication of this. It is truly needed in the worlds worst way!
PS, I got out of the Navy in Aug of ‘66 and heard of this afterward and could not believe our friend did this to us, but they did!!!!!!!! Friends, like this, do not do things like this to their friends. So this tells me they are not friends. Simple logic. Stop all monies from going to them and then see what happens to them..I seriously doubt that they will have a leg to stand on…This money is my and your tax dollars and I do not wish my $$$$ to go to them.
Look at how they can and will destroy nations other than their own, which is questionable, top get what they want. They are truly evil. They betray our trust every chance they get. To think they root themselves into our government to get what they want , is way beyond belief. To make our senators and congresscritters afraid of them and do their bidding is unbelievable on its own merit!
What an amazing [and unknown] story! It throws us into the middle of an impossible dilemma. The plight of the Jews in Europe in World War II is the unspeakable atrocity of modern times - the Holocaust. It weighs heavily on all of mankind, not just its perpetrators, because the world ignored the rising antisemetism that came before and should have warned us. Now, we’re is a situation where Israel, carrying the scars of that atrocity, has become a major force in our Middle Eastern policies - in the opinion of many, an active negative force. But to criticize Israel is to be immediately labeled an antisemite.
Enough of this. Israel stands to be judged by the same standards as any other country on the Planet. We have a subpopulation of former soldiers with P.T.S.D. Traumatized men whose world view has been forever altered by their wartime experience. While we owe them whatever treatment we can muster to help them, and we owe them our respect, in a court of law, their crimes are just that - crimes.
Having spent a career as a Psychoanalyst dealing with traumatized people, the hardest thing they have to learn in their psychotherapy is that they must find a way to consciously shoulder the burden of the difficult past and learn to live with its scars on an everyday basis. If they don’t, they become the perpetrators of the very thing that happened to them. They have to learn that there is no “pay-back” for the horrific past other than the sympathy and respect of others and the possibilities of the present and future. When they allow themselves to become “special,” they’re headed for a fall. Traumatized people without constant vigilance, can waste the remainder of their lives trying to “prevent the past” - an obviously impossible enterprise - or worse, becoming the very thing they hate.
This story highlights the paradigm of “victim” turned “perpetrator.”
so are you saying the military who are with ptsd are the ones responsible for themselves and they do nto deserve tx??!!
Listen man, you are way off base, if this is what you are saying!!!!! Could you clarify your meaning here for me, at least?!
BTW, how dare you say enough of this. I take this as a threat. Am I wrong here.
I am an old military nurse and I have personally and up close seen ptsd in its truest form.
Sir, with all due respect, I want to say this to you. I respect your profession. As a woman who was in the military and who had a spouse in the military who had ptsd, I too suffer from some of it myself. I have gone throughout my life doing what gratifies me most and that is healing the sick in the very best manner that I could. I do not sit on a daily basis saying woe is me and neither does the ex-spouse, and so many more of my friends that suffer the aftereffects of war. They go on and do what has to be done to have a good life and try hard not to make others feel sorry for them/us. However, there are times when this becomes more of a burden that one can hardly bare. This is when we take ourselves to the sideline and mourn or re-hash our woes in private and no one will ever know the difference.
….and another thing, this is way off topic here. That of which you are interjecting. We need to stay on the topic at hand, if you ask me. All I can say for the Israelis is, if the shoe fits then…..
The people doing the complaining about anti-semitism are not Semites because they don’t come from the Desert. Zionists from Eastern Europe have no connection whatsoever to land in the Mediterranean. As an Italian-American descended from the Romans (who happened to settle the city of Jerusalem), I have more right to live in Palestine with other Mediterranean people than do those from Eastern Europe who call themselves “Jews” and “Semites”.
“enduring” military bases in Iraq, which the White House and Pentagon decided were needed for the U.S. to dominate that part of the Middle East.”
well, why do they need these? for the military industrial complex AND for Israel. neo cons and libs from podhertz to Scoop Jackson have always been in favor of amassive massive military spending , mainly because they want a US presence in the middle east.
Also, I have to admit, mr mgoverns certitude on the Liberty issue is somewhat undermined by his appearence at a 9/11 truth forum I saw on C Span. I have an open mind but it ain’t THAT that open.
One of the 34 dead in USS Liberty was a good friend, Steve Toth. It is a shame to see his memory desecrated here by the anti-Semitic rantings of a certified nutball.
I grow very tired of this overused and misused term.
Just who is the “certified nutball” that you speak of? Proof of certification please or is it your personal opinion?
Also, I really want to know why it is that every time that anyone speaks of Israel, they are instantly labelled ‘anti-semitic’. It’s a crutch. It’s overplayed and it’s done. Furthermore, Jews are not a race of people. It’s a religion. As in Judaism. The article by Ray Mc Govern is speaking of Israel, the country and it’s policies and not any religion or language is mentioned therein.
Furthermore, I wish that those who use the terminology (you), actually understood that it is not a term that describes negativity towards Jews. It’s been adopted as a matter of convenience.
The word ’semitic’ has a long history. The late 19th century term ‘anti-Semitism’ refers specifically to hostility toward Jews, further complicating the understood meaning and boundaries of the term. When you label someone an ‘anti-semite’, you are calling in a whole host of languages and countries that someone might be speaking negatively against. Being ‘anti-semitic’ is not about religion.
You calling Ray Mc Govern, without responsibly citing any proof, is saying that Mr. Mc Govern is anti-Hebrew, which is a language spoken by both Jews and non-Jews. Also, Israel is made up of 4 religions; Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Druze. Jewish is predominant.
So, tell me what ‘anti-semitism’ is? Again, it’s a word adopted by one religious group’s need and use to label others that are not of that religion who speak or write about it’s host country. And it’s hogwash.
Without getting into this any further, read what ‘Semitism’ is;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semitic
Sorry, but Steve Toth doesn’t sound at all like a Mediterranean name to me so how can Mr. Toth be Semitic?
Centrocita, Semitic does not mean of Mediterranean origin. Broadly, Semitic refers to speakers of Semitic languages. In another context it can refer to purported descendants of Noah’s son, Shem. However, in its narrowest sense it refers specifically to Jews.
Gee, where’s Shirin when you need her. She has all the answers.
Ray,
I have undying respect for your opinions and experience, but I think you’re falling into a common trap here. While I would be the first to say that there are too many American Jews who believe themselves to be Knights of Israel, defending Israel from every perceived affront, these people are bluster, much as Rush Limbaugh is bluster. The only power they have is to distract, and only so far as we give them our attention. They are not nearly as powerful as the Evangelical lobby, for example, which has both money and numbers and has been a staunch supporter of the Iraq war under the banner of “war on terror (and let’s rebuild the temple so we can all ‘go home’).”
On the Liberty, I honestly don’t know what happened. Whether high-level Americans were complicit in the cover-up or whether they gave their permission before the attack is not clear. But it is clear that Israel would not risk antagonizing their only ally without the understanding that the risk was “acceptably low.” And so it’s completely unfair to characterize it as Israel somehow having control of American will on this issue. We have to take responsibility for our own role in the tragedy. We are responsible for what we do, as they are for their actions.
On the issue of anti-semitism, criticism of Israel is NOT anti-semitic — despite what you might hear from some Americans, Israelis take and give criticism freely, and are more genuinely critical of their own government than perhaps anyone (I’m ignoring those who are cynically critical). The Israeli government is in fact secular. And where this discussion does cross into anti-Semitism is where Israel is equated with “The Jews” and where it’s evident that the speaker (the “Israel Lobby” book, in this case) is eager to bash Israel for something that he is not even willing to acknowledge about other countries in the region or elsewhere.
It’s convenient for Americans to be angry with Israel for the problems of the region. And Israel bears a great deal of responsibility. But we can’t ignore our own American role in what’s happened around the world (we and the former USSR are the probably #1 and #2 causes of chaos in the last 50 years). And we can’t ignore the role of Europe in setting the stage and then turning its back on these crises.
What it amounts to is scapegoating, by and large, a concept which was actually invented by Jew, literally throwing our sins off the cliff on the back of a goat. But while Jews don’t practice that ceremony anymore, the rest of the world is more than happy to oblige. Don’t fall into the trap, Ray. The sins do disappear, and all you get is a bloody goat.
But, I-A, how much power does Rush Limbaugh have here? He is a Republican power broker because of the votes and donations he can direct into the political system. I suspect too that some of the Knights of Israel here are Limbaugh-esque blowhards - but if they can direct for example LOTS and LOTS of political money into elections of interests, then they have disproportionate power.
The backbone of the Lobby here is campaign and other forms of donations and payoffs, the backbone is financial.
Also, IA, though I wish to state it respectfully, I need to blunt: to describe the Israeli government as “secular” is in fact an absolute joke. To state that Israel is not Jewish is to ignore its reality. Carter called it an apartheid regime, or at least made a comparison. Israel is radically Jewish in character. You can support that or not support it but it is quite undeniable.
anon,
Please allow me to butt in and refine a bit what you have stated.
Israel is, by definition, a secular state because it is not a state based on religion. In fact, the majority of Jewish Israelis are secular, not religious people. Jewishness is not defined only by religion. That is, an atheist Jew is still a Jew by some combination of ancestry, culture, ethnicity, whatever, and is still entitled to all the rights and privileges officially and unofficially granted by the Jewish State to its Jewish citizens.
Despite the fact that Orthodox rabbis DO hold an inordinate amount of power over many aspects of the country, it is still a secular state and by no means a theocracy. Due to the clear and often official preferential treatment the Jewish State provides its Jewish citizens over its non-Jewish (and most blatantly its Palestinian) ones, it is not a full-fledged democracy as most people like to think of democracy. It is more accurate to to describe Israel as an ethnocracy.
Shrin, I am sorry, but Israel IS a theorcacy.
1) The definition of a Jew is a religous one (yes, an Atheist Jew is still a Jew, but ONLY because one is born by Jewish mother).
2) ALL Jewish pupil have to study Bible and there is impossible to get a high school certificat without passing the exam (I know it too well, my dougher had to do it)
3)non-religious marriage is impossible for Isrel Jew (they could marry abroad, but not in Israel)
An
Lidia, I understand your point, and I agree that the Orthodox rabbis have a strong hold on certain aspects, but Israel still does not fit the definition of a theocracy.
And I don’t think the official definition of who is a Jew is really a religious one. I say this because Jews are not required to be religious in order to qualify for citizenship or to be entitled to all the benefits of being a Jew in the Jewish state. Most Israeli Jews are, I believe, not religious, in fact, and many are atheists, but their ID’s still identify them as Jews, and they are still entitled to their privileged status as Jews.
Hm, Shirin, it might be because I was born in USSR, my definition of secular state is “separation of the state from religion and the school from chirch (synagoga)” - and in Israel it is not a case
But you are right, the case of Israel is a tricky one. It is because Zionism needs a definition of Jew, and it is impossible to do it by language, or by origin or even by religion. So “secular” Zionists because of their racist need for “pure Arian” (i.e. Jew) had to use definition of Jew by Halaha (Jewish religious law)- i.e. a Jew is one born from Jewish mother. Because of it the laws of Israel are more or less based on Halaha (marriage, divorce and so on). And because of it rabbies are powerful, not the other way around.
Lidia, are you sure the Israeli state uses the Halachic definition of a Jew? I thought I recalled that the definition was much broader than that. I was sure I had known people who became Israeli citizens who did not have a Jewish mother.
Well, OK, Israel is secular in comparison to, for example, Iran. However, there is a major comparison easily made between the power and disposition of Iranian Ayatollahs and Israeli Rabbis. Different sides of the same coin.
IA: you make reasonable claims that Israel should not be seen as the SOLE driving force behind the legendarily stupid and self-destructive US policies in the Middle East. Without oil being rich in that region, the US and Britain would never have created Israel. The US would have left the widespread colonial occupation of the Middle East to the unhappy British post- WWII and the British would have been left with a much less useful baggage wagon hanging around from their imperial past.
But the Lobby in the US is demonstrably capable of shifting elections in its favor. And this is a threat to every officeholder and prospective officeholder who has not already been bought off in some way.
two typos: “the sins DON’T disappear” and I lost an ’s’ on Jew. Oh well.
I think people need to know about the Lavon Affair
too.
In 1954, Israeli agents working in Egypt planted bombs in several buildings, including a United States diplomatic facility, and left evidence behind implicating Arabs as the culprits. The ruse would have worked, had not one of the bombs detonated prematurely, allowing the Egyptians to capture and identify one of the bombers, which in turn led to the round up of an Israeli spy ring.
Some of the spies were from Israel, while others were recruited from the local Jewish population. Israel responded to the scandal with claims in the media that there was no spy ring, that it was all a hoax perpetrated by “anti-Semites”. But as the public trial progressed, it was evident that Israel had indeed been behind the bombing. Eventually, Israeli’s Defense Minister Pinhas Lavon was brought down by the scandal, although it appears that he was himself the victim of a frame-up by the real authors of the bombing project, code named “Operation Susannah.”
I’m not speaking for Ray McGovern when I say I want to know every detail about the the Mossad being in the US and tracking the 9-11 hijackers. I haven’t forgotten them being seen celebrating when the WTC towers were on fire. Yet they were allowed to return to Israel and went on televsion to say they were sent here to DOCUMENT THE EVENT!!
I also haven’t forgotten that an Israeli company named Odigo was warned prior to the attack.
Zim moved out of the WTC and more
http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/timeline.jsp?timeline=complete_911_timeline&geopolitics_and_9/11=israel
Cee, add to the Lavon affair the scandalous actions of the Zionist underground in Iraq in 1950-51, which resulted in the majority of Iraq’s very important Jewish community immigrating to Israel. That Jewish community had been in Iraq continuously since the Babylonian exile, and predated Christians and Arabs. In the late ’40’s and early ’50’s the Zionist underground in Iraq undertook a program of terrorism against the Jewish community with the goal of inducing Iraqi Jews to immigrate to Israel. The leaders of this effort have admitted to it, and it was well-publicized in Israel in the ’70’s. In particular there was a series of articles exposing the Zionist actions in Iraq in the Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahranot. Ben Gurion believed that this kind of thing - he called it “cruel Zionism” - was sometimes necessary to achieve Zionism’s goals.
Among the actions of the Zionist underground (which consisted almost entirely of foreigners and very few Iraqis - Iraqi Jews were by and large not Zionists) was a bombing at the Mas’uda Shem Tov Synagogue, which killed a couple of Muslim Iraqis, blinded one Jewish man and killed a twelve year old Jewish boy. The blinded man, who eventually immigrated to Israel, has remained very bitter against Israel for what they did to him (he was still alive five or so years ago - I do not know whether he is alive now or not).
The Jews of Iraq included many very prominent families consisting of professionals, scientists, academics, musicians and other artists, and business persons. Those people, accustomed to living in great comfort and as respected members of society, found their status reduced in Israel to that of second-class citizens, or worse. They were subjected to enormously humiliating treatment, including being sprayed with DDT when they arrived because it was assumed that since they were “Arabs” they would have lice. They were isolated from the European mainstream, looked down upon, and formerly prosperous doctors, lawyers, professors, engineers, scientists, teachers, and businessmen were forced, when they could get work at all, to work as street sweepers and such. Many Iraqis who immigrated to Israel became outspoken anti-Zionists.
I have had contact over the years with a number of Iraqi Jews in Iraq, outside Iraq, and also in Israel, and all of them, even those born in Israel, feel strong ties to Iraq. I have one friend in Israel, who is a first generation Israeli born Iraqi Jew, and we talk often about Iraq.
I should add for the record that as a result of the situation in Palestine in the ’40’s and ’50’s, the Iraqi government made certain restriction on Iraqi Jews which were completely wrong. Some of them, such as restriction on external travel and prohibiting of emigration, were understandable, but nonetheless wrong.
I should also say that those Jews who emigrated in the ’50’s were forced, as a condition of their emigration, to relinquish their Iraqi citizenship, and turn over their property and fortunes to the state. This, too, was completely wrong, and I fully support compensation for these Iraqi citizens who were so robbed of their property and money.
In fairness, I must point out, though, that not only Iraqi Jews have been robbed in this way when they emigrated, or even when they left the country and stayed out beyond the permitted time period. Every Iraqi citizen who has left the country for any length of time during certain periods has faced this issue.
Trying again
Shirin,
Giladi was one of those who were outspoken.
I became aware of what happened in Iraq after reading Ben Gurion Scandals.http://www.amazon.com/Ben-Gurions-Scandals-N-Giladi/dp/0964237903
When I began to meet Muslims who told me these things I didn’t believe it. I know better now.
I should have added that Jews in Egypt were harmed and driven out because of the Lavon Affair. Many still didn’t go to Israel.
The same thing may happen to the remaining Jews in Iran.
I found some parts of Giladi’s book very convincing, and others less so. Much of what he presents there, and most of the key information, is confirmed by other sources.
Political Zionism is a European construct that has never been popular among Middle Eastern Jews. While it is never a good situation to be a minority religion in a theocracy - particularly one run by fundamentalists or fanatics - religious minorities in Iran, including Jews, have religious freedom, receive government funding for their religious institutions, and are represented in the government. The exception to this is the Baha’is, who do not have any religious freedom at all and are quite persecuted. Sunni Muslims in Iran also do not have as good a situation there as do Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians.
I believe that if you compared the relative rights, freedoms, and privileges of Iranian Jews to those of Palestinian citizens of Israel - that is if you used the freedoms, rights, and privileges of the majority as a baseline and compared those of the specific minority to that baseline - you would not find that Iranian Jews were worse off in comparison to Iranian Muslims than Palestinian Israeli citizens are in comparison to Israeli Jews.
PS I should have also stated that in some respects Iranian Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians are better off relatively speaking than are Palestinian citizens of Israel given that, last I heard, there were no restrictions on religious minorities in Iran regarding land ownership, religious minorities in Israel receive, to the best of my knowledge, equal education opportunities with Muslims, and government funding if they desire for their own schools, their land is not being confiscated by the state for the use of Muslims, there are no “unrecognized” Jewish, Christian, or Zoroastrian villages whose residents pay taxes yet receive zero government services, and regions of Iran are not being cleansed by the government of Christians, Jews, or Zoroastrians so that they can be “muslimized” (Google, for example, Judaization of the Galilee, or check out some of the actions regarding Negev Bedouins, or judaization projects in and around Jerusalem, or “gentrification” projects in cities such as Jaffa, which are in reality designed to evict Palestinian residents and replace them with Jewish residents).
Pardon me, but I keep remembering ways that Iranian Jews are relatively better off than their Palestinian counterparts in Israel. Another one is freedom of movement within their own country, and treatment when leaving and re entering their own country. Ordinary Palestinian citizens of Israel have been and continue to be restricted and harassed when flying between cities within Israel, and what they are generally subjected to when leaving or re entering Israel would anger even the most mild-mannered person.
I think it is very valuable to hear from Israeli Americans…and Israelis…too. I appreciate Israeli-American’s comments….even though I disagree with some of his or her opinions.
What is especially important in such inevitably emotional discussions of such topics is — first and foremost — considering the established FACTS of events or issues that are in dispute. That is why — when it comes to a discussion of the Mearsheimer/Walt book about The Israel Lobby — the FACTS presented….though opinions vary widely….the FACTS are hard to deny. Or spin….to make one’s point for this or that.
WRT American foreign policy in the Bush/Cheney administration the FACTS are indisputable wrt what happened during these years. During these years — despite Karl Rove’s and the White House Iraq Group’s S-P-I-N, helped along by the mainstream media…and the likes of the Victoria Toensings and the like — some established FACTS have emerged not only from the collected intelligence reports — unaltered by biased Rethugs covering up — but also by the Downing Street Memo(s), public testimony by those involved, etc. etc.
To me, though, the most irrefutable EVIDENCE is the NEO-CONs Proejct for a New American Century (PNAC), 1996 — again 1 9 9 6 — in which they laid out EXACTLY what “the plan” was. Cheney and Rumsfeld were co-signers — not much question where they stood — and, our foreign policy was co-opted from then on by the Neo-cons. Then the paper A CLEAN BREAK written by cronies for Bibi Netanyau — STATED WHAT THE INTENT WAS. America would help ISRAEL take over the MIDDLE EAST….and all that goes with it, the power, the oil, the bases, the threats, etc. THESE ARE THE FACTS surrounding America’s foreign policy under Bush/Cheney. Spelled out — you can read those documents on the Internet….and never again can you say the AIPAC was no more important to this administration than the evangelical movement with their Bible passages about THE RAPTURE, the Left-Behind books selling in the millions of Kool-Aid drinkers. Oh, yeah, they tagged along…but that was LATER. Riding on the Neo-Con coattails. WHEN Karl Rove deigned it’d be good for elections….and winning over their “base” (in every sense of the word).
Elsewhere here Larry Johnson speaks of a glimmer of hope that the POWER-MAD Bush/Cheney won’t bomb Iran…after all. I’m not convinced. It’s their last chance and it isn’t likely they’ll squander it. They are getting more and more desperate as more and more FACTS come to light…and the Ray McGoverns and others are beginning to speak so openly….and fearlessly….about the role of the Israel Lobby, etc.
Here’s an Israeli American I respect — I cited one of his articles in my first comment. This is another — this is what he says about our widening the war by attacking Iran:
“If the American attack turns into a long war of attrition, and if the American public comes to see it as a disaster (as is happening right now with the Iraqi adventure), some will surely put the blame on Israel. It is no secret that the Pro-Israel lobby and its allies - the (mostly Jewish) neo-cons and the Christian Zionists - are pushing America into this war, just as they pushed it into Iraq. For Israeli policy, the hoped-for gains of this war may turn into giant losses - not only for Israel, but also for the American Jewish community.”
good going Ray,
It’s about time America has an honest debate of what it means to TRULY support Israel. I watched Bill Moyers last night on PBS and watched a frightening show about an Evangelical televangelist (JOHN HAGEE) and his followers lobbying congress to Attack Iran. I know it sounds nuts….
my background, I was raised in this faith ( Pentecostal) that gives un-shakable support for Israel ( onward Christian soldiers) and have been recovering ever since thanks to education.
According to the Hagee’s of “end days” prophesy, Attacking Iran is the right thing to do. wasn’t that what they said about Iraq? I ask you all…where does this hillbilly preacher get his intel from, God? These same preachers have been repeating the same “end of days” rhetoric since I was a small child the 70’s . back then it was the Soviet Union who was the great satan WE needed to stand up and fight, now since that prophesy of the future Armageddon didn’t pan out they moved on to the new fight du jour , “islamofascism” . These nuts wouldn’t bother me so much if they didn’t have such a huge voting block and money to back it up. They SAY they are a friend of Israel but their prophesy also includes the destruction of that state. So are they supporting Israel out of true LOVE or to further their own agenda of bringing Christ back ? i would guess the later. Evangelicals are actively sending money to EXPAND the settlements ( the main bone of contention in the area) so either way It is not good for Israel. If they get in bed with these “end of dayers” it will bite them in the end. These useful idiots will be very useless friends when the shit hits the fan.
i agree with Israeli american, it is not anti Semitic to question Israel’s policy just as we question Our own. My point of is Israel is NOT America and visa versa, we need to stop combining the two in the same sentence. Their enemies are not automatically ours and the reverse.
“It’s about time America has an honest debate of what it means to TRULY support Israel”
And why to “support” Israel at all? Were in USA honest debate about meaning of “truly support” aparteid SA? Or it was simply about the end of such state?
Another very real reason for worry about the attack on Iran, IMHO, is the upcoming (in January…unless it is delayed once again…as it already has been several times) trial of the indicted Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman, of the AIPAC. Diverting attention of still more examples of TREASON (as is the case with Valerie Plame and Joe Wilson) by these criminals:
http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=11695
October 1, 2007
THE LOBBY ON TRIAL
Upcoming legal battle dramatizes rising concern about the Israel lobby
It seems to have fallen down the memory hole or been consigned to the purgatory of forgotten news stories: the indictment of Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman, two top officials of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). More than three years ago, the news that Rosen, the number-one lobbyist for Israel in Washington, and his sidekick Weissman had been indicted for violating the Espionage Act, for handing over top-secret intelligence to Israeli embassy officials, broke like a thunderclap over official Washington. Today, its echoes have petered out almost entirely, as news of the case has sunk so far beneath the media’s radar that developments in what is an important and fascinating story are no longer reported. I’ll do my best to rectify that.
But first, one has to wonder, why is the veil of silence being drawn over this extraordinary affair? After all, the story involves what Time magazine called “among the most politically charged espionage cases in years” – surely a newsworthy topic. Why no follow-up?
It’s very odd. Don’t forget that AIPAC, the premier pro-Israel lobby in the country and one of the most powerful and feared of Washington’s movers and shakers, was subjected to no less than two humiliating FBI raids on its Washington offices: desks were searched and emptied and computers carted away, while a cordon of agents prevented anyone or anything from leaving or entering the area until the operation was over. All AIPAC employees were, presumably, questioned. You don’t see that kind of action unless there is something very substantial behind it.
Reports that the case originated in an investigation that dates back to the 1990s were backed up by the indictments [.pdf], which trace the defendants’ treason to meetings with Israeli officials “between in or about April 1999 and continuing until on or about August 27, 2004.”
The Rosen-Weissman case grew out of a comprehensive, long-standing investigation into Israeli covert activities in the U.S., that much is clear. The probe was in place when the astonished FBI counterintelligence squad – engaged in routine surveillance of Rosen, Weissman, and Israeli embassy officials, including Naor Gilon, former head of the political affairs department at the Israeli embassy in Washington – spotted Larry Franklin walking into a luncheon in an Arlington, Va., restaurant. The eavesdropping guardians of our national security were shocked when Franklin, who worked for Douglas Feith at the Pentagon’s policy shop, where he presided over the Iran desk, openly offered to hand over vital intelligence to Gilon, Rosen, and Weissman.
The Feds put a tail on Franklin and recorded his every treasonous act until they were ready to strike, and when they moved, they caught him with a veritable library of classified documents hidden away in his home, some dating back many years – a veritable treasure trove of U.S. secrets. Caught red-handed, and faced with the prospect of a long jail sentence, Franklin agreed to cooperate with the authorities: he wore a wire to his next meeting with his AIPAC overseers, subsequently compiling mountains of incriminating evidence against his co-conspirators.
Franklin pled guilty and was sentenced to 12 years and seven months in prison. His conviction set the stage for the upcoming trial of the AIPAC duo – scheduled to commence Jan. 14 – where he will be a key prosecution witness. It looks like the day the Israel lobby in Washington has dreaded – no less than the two defendants – is finally about to dawn. The three-year delay has been the cardinal achievement of the defense, which has done everything in its power to drag the process nearly to a grinding halt….” (excerpt)
In my mind, this all leads to the present day question; who will attack Iran as a proxy for the other, Israel or the United States?
Even though Ray McGovern clearly listed three causes for the Iraq War, the hyper-sensitive “Israeli-American” comments as if he had not. Which in itself might hint at the somber implications involving dual loyalism as it politically manifests itself in contemporary America.
I remember the news accounts of the attack on the USS Liberty, and how it was totally not credible that the Israeli pilots did not know what ship they were attacking.
Look at a photo of the USS Liberty:
[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:USS_Liberty.jpg[/url]
The navy designation is clearly visible, GTR-5. The many antennas and lack of guns are clearly visible. To anyone trained in ship identification, the type of ship, a converted WWII Victory-Class cargo ship is clearly visible.
[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:RedOakVictory2.JPG[/url]
There is no doubt in my mind that the Israeli attack on the USS Liberty was intentional.
From what I have seen of coverage of the new details on the USS Liberty attack, it is clear that the giyus.org Megaphone software is in action. That, and the Hasbara propaganda model instructions. I am glad that Ray and Larry value truth-tellers and that most see in regards to Zionist lies, “That dog won’t hunt.”
Thanks for this article, Ray. The offensive actions of the Israeli government, any government, should indeed be questioned and condemned, but without condemning the Israeli people. There’s nothing anti-Semitic about it. After all, how many in the world have said they despise the actions of bu$hCo, yet still do not condemn us as a people? (OK, that’s slipping the longer nothing is done about cheney/bu$h, but you get the idea.) They, and we, are labeled anti-American blame-America-firsters whenever we question THE POLICY. It’s SOP with bu$hCo, of course, but has been used over and over in the past to effectively kill the message.
And indeed it IS probable that you become the thing you hate after being victimized. Look at the US after 9-11! We’ve been Sovietized, Stalinized, by the present-danger freaks paranoiacally clamoring for an uncertain “safety” by implementing all the despicable things we hated about the USSR; torture, secret prisons, renditions, wholesale spying on the populace.
My dear friend, the late Richard (Dick) Stanford Thompson, a true patriot and a generous heart who bailed out our pet adoption newspaper after the Florida hurricanes tore apart our offices 3 years ago, was the man who introduced me to the USS Liberty tragedy. He was convinced it was a false-flag operation to draw the US into the Arab-Israeli war and even wider conflict in the ME. We spent many hours discussing other US false-flag ops and what they drew attention AWAY from.
Dick had produced by the BBC a documentary DVD on Liberty titled “Dead in the Water,” which lays out the attack on USS Liberty from the testimony given by the surviving crew, testimony that was NOT permitted to be heard by any investigative committee. I urge you to watch this documentary here:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3319663041501647311&q=dead+in+the+water&hl=en
and I join BFT, above, citing http://www.wakeupfromyourslumber.com/node/1948
on “Operation Cyanide”, “Frontlet 615″ and the real purpose of the “303 Committee.”
In June of this year, Dick Thompson died in a single-car accident on the drive home to FL from DC after attending the 40th Annual USS Liberty Survivors’ Reunion. USS Liberty survivor Ernie Gallo gave the eulogy at Dick’s funeral. http://www.wrmea.com/archives/August_2007/0708023.html
There’s also a trackback to Ray’s article at wrmea.com, recent blog posts.
Bear hugs, Dick. R.I.P.
Man, this thread is a firestorm. There’s so much here, both in the McGovern article and in the comments.
I don’t know where to start, but I guess I’ll start with the “on topic” subject and move to the “off-topic” stuff, which is also important.
Some people have to come together and defuse AIPAC. They are completely out of control. It’s great to disseminate info across the web, making sure that no one agency can destroy all the evidence or silence all the witnesses. That is vital to everything that America is SUPPOSED to stand for (truth, justice, commitment to the rule of law and its equal application to all people, regardless of their wealth and political clout).
That leads us off-topic to net neutrality - but you get the point - if we allow the censorship of the internet by the likes of telecom companies and big portals like MSN, Yahoo, and so on, these vital stories will never emerge.
Next is the possibility that 9/11 was an inside job. And like most of you, I rolled my eyes when I heard this for five full years. Slowly, slowly info that I couldn’t easily discount kept poking through my defense of disbelief that any American - no matter how odious - would orchestrate a major attack on other Americans. Even to say it now sounds loopy.
But more and more people, people who were there, people who played specific roles in the aftermath, people whose responsibilities on that fateful day led them to seeing things that do not fit the official story we have been given, are saying it.
That’s off-topic too, but very important - so here’s one link to get you started -
Top Politicians, Economists, Other Leaders
State 9/11 Possibly an Inside Job
http://www.wanttoknow.info/050908insidejob911
Some of the people who have come out publicly saying they have doubts about the 9/11 story believed by most Americans (that the attacks came out of the blue, that the fires caused by the plane impacts were the sole heat source capable of melting the all the steel and near completely vaporizing the towers, that the collapse of the towers was completely uncontrolled) has serious flaws in it, are:
Former Chief Economist under President Bush, Morgan Reynolds
Assistant Secretary of Treasury under Pres. Reagan, Paul Roberts
Head of Advanced Space Programs, Dept. of Defense, Dr. Robert Bowman
UK Minister of Environment (1997 - 2003), Michael Meacher
U.S. Senator Mark Dayton
U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney
Renowned Theologian Prof. David Ray Griffin
Assistant Secretary of Housing For Pres. Bush, Catherine Austin Fitts
9/11 statement signed by 100 prominent Americans, 40 9/11 family members
just so you know who the dirty hippies and whacko conspiracy nuts are…
These are really important matters.
AIPAC and the Neocons could sure use another 9/11 before those 2008 elections - in fact there’s probably not much else that can save their plan for world-domination.
It would be better if we didn’t find out the truth 50 years later (as with the USS Liberty), but dug it out now, don’t you think?
Seems to me that’s why Consortium News, No Quarter, and the books you see plugged on these sites have come out in the past few years.
We owe it to ourselves to do whatever research we can as laypeople to get the most informed opinion we can. We can then better judge what full-time researchers, “experts”, and yes, even “talking heads” are presenting us with on a daily basis. That would be our civic duty as citizens of a democratic republic, it seems to me.
Happy researching! You have the tools, now make the time…
Just wanted to add, to tie my earlier comment together:
The USS liberty incident shows us that people who are charged with protecting our interests, can and will launch attacks on American targets when their charged responsibilities conflict with their power interests.
And the Oklahoma City bombing shows that an American who considers himself a patriot will attack other innocent Americans due to extremist beliefs.
I believe that in today’s White House, we have exactly that unfortunate combination: vested power interests and extremist belief systems.
The victims are, of course, innocent people.
Thank you Ray for speaking the truth so many need to hear. I have followed your work with VIPS, and on Consortium News for some time. Your wisdom is truly a gift from God, and you have so much to share with all of the world. I thank you for sharing your insights with us; I learn so much.
This is an interesting discussion by everyone here. I do not think I have given as much thought to the term ‘anti semitism’ as I had thought. although I understand the concept of hate in any form is wrong, I had thought anti semetism referred specifically to the Jewish nation, and Israel as an extention. I see it is more than this, and that I had some generalizations in my mind that were not complete.
I have to wonder about the connection between the AIPAC group and the power they seem to hold over our Govt… In light of the rise to poweerr of the neocons on the back of fundamentalist christian groups, I think it is something to be looked at. I still have nightmares about some of the comments that were made by some folks that are actively seeking confrontation, to bring about the second coming… are there dots to be connected???
Last, thank you Brenda Stewart, for both your service to this Nation, but for speaking out for those who suffer from ptsd, and those who love them… I hope the person who wrote those words truly misspoke. If so, he should apologize to those whose lives have been changed forever by the lies of this cabal in power.
Brenda and Prchrlady,
I can’t say for sure, since he hasn’t come back to speak for himself, but I don’t think the person who spoke about people who have suffered trauma or evil was specifically talking about veterans who suffer from PTSD. I’m not a psychologist, but I know, for example, that it’s a sad fact that people who suffered abuse as children are at increased risk to become abusive adults themselves. Not that all do, but that that they sometimes have a tendency to perceive threats to themselves where none were intended and strike out when they shouldn’t. The way I took the poster’s piece, he was talking about how the inheritance of the Holocaust has shaped Israeli perceptions of threats to their existence in the present day.
Like I said, I can’t be certain, since I’m not him, but I understood him differently than you. It seems to me it’s quite a different issue than PTSD. I certainly don’t want to demean or dishonor any vet who is is struggling with this condition.
I also want to thank Ray for posting this article here. I had heard something vague about the Liberty, but not the full extent of the scandal. I also appreciate finding out more about the hidden details of the Six Day War. I was very young when all that happened, and we were just given the standard narrative of little Israel attacked by all the Arab states. To hear that Israel may have struck preemptively is also upsetting.
But the fact is, all nation-states are inherently amoral, and if not constrained will act in reprehensible ways (power corrupts, etc.) This free pass that the US gives Israel is very unhealthy for all the parties concerned. If we would treat Israel as a normal nation-state, instead as one that’s morally privileged, the long-term result would be that Israel would have to act in a more constrained way and would be viewed more positively in the world community.
Thanks for having the courage to post this information. I have been aware for a few years now of the dreadful injustice that has been done to the officers and crew of the USS Liberty. It’s high time and then some that those responsible for the crime and those responsible for the subsequent cover-up of that crime be identified and sanctioned by means of a genuine court of inquiry. Enough with the lies, enough with the frantic ass-kissing; let the chips fall where they may. If the reputations of prominent actors in the U.S. are damaged by the truth coming out, so be it. If the revelation of perfidious and murderous actions of the Israeli government or some group of rogue officials acting under the color of authority damages relations between our countries in a fundamental way, so be it. I’m tired of the arrogance of those Israeli bastards who feel that they can just keep on siccing agents like Jonathan Pollard and Larry Franklin on the U.S. And I don’t want to hear that we shouldn’t be upset when highly classified information or methods or sources are stolen by our dear, dear bosom buddies the Israelis. We have no way of knowing to what uses such information may be put once it is no longer in our exclusive custody; what would restrict the Israelis from using this information as bargaining chips with powers such as the Russians or the Chinese in furthering THEIR own agenda? And there is no guarantee that Israeli intelligence may not itself be compromised by moles working for hostile nations. Nuh, uh. No more horseshit from that quarter. No more carrying water for these bastards. No more lives of Americans being cynically tossed away for the purposes of Israeli or Israeli-worshipping neocon fascists.
More grist for the mill here:
http://www.counterpunch.org/stclair06082007.html
And how big a deal was made over the Chinese scientist, accused and tormented but innocent of spying; and how domestic terror is swept under the rug unless a foreign face can be put on it, eg, VA Tech, or never even investigated at all, eg, the DC anthrax attacks.
Quarter IS given all the time, just not to democractic ideals. I believe we have never been pro democracy. It’s 200+-year-old PR.
“…I was constantly told that Egypt forced Israel into war in June 1967. This does not square with the unguarded words of Menachem Begin in 1982, when he was Israel’s prime minister. ”
Even without Begin’s (and other Israeli officials’) very revealing statements it does not square with the sequence of events as they occurred, or the facts and on-the-ground realities as they developed and existed at the time. One very valuable - and difficult to find - source of information is a small book by Maj General Indar Jit Rikhye, who was the UNEF commander in Gaza at the time.
“Israel had, in fact, prepared well militarily and mounted provocations against its neighbors, in order to provoke a response that could be used to justify an expansion of its borders.”
Israel has a well-documented history of using provocation to create a pretext for its aggressions against its neighbors and depredations on the Palestinian population going back to the beginning of its existence as a state and extending until today.
“Israel’s illegal 40-year control over and confiscation of land in the occupied territories and U.S. enabling support (particularly the one-sided support by the current U.S. administration) go a long way toward explaining why it is that 1.3 billion Muslims “hate us.” ”
It is not only Muslims who “hate us” in part due to U.S. support of Israel in its progressive obliteration of Palestine and Palestinians. Among Israel’s victims are many, many Christians who also “hate us” for the same reasons, as do most other Middle Eastern Christians
Well, Shirin, I have a story to tell on this topic. In the early 1990s I belonged to a small Episcopal parish in Long Beach, CA. The rector of our church took a three-month sabbatical to fulfill a long-cherished goal to study in Jerusalem and tour the Biblical lands. He was a very fair-minded man, had never said anything about politics, but when he came back he was absolutely furious at the Israelis. The Anglican church in the region may include a few ex-pat Brits and Yanks, but the hierarchy and most members are Palestinian. So when he was in Jerusalem, he lodged with Palestinians and experienced the way they were treated by the Israelis and heard their stories. When he came back he gave slide shows at several church functions, but he also enlightened the congregation a