There is a very interesting article in the current issue of Washington Report on Middle East Affairs (April) on the effort of a group of Minnesotans to have their state divest itself of the Israel bonds that it holds (you need to be a subscriber to read the current issue).
As with so much regarding Israel - this bond purchasing by Minnesota is exceptional. It's exceptional because Minnesota law forbids investments with foreign governments. Though an exception is specified for Canada, Israel is not mentioned.
The United States supports international law. Israel violates international law in the occupied territories. The United States opposes Israeli settlement. Israel uses government funding for settlement and Israel bonds are a source of government funds.
So Minnesota is funding Israeli settlement activity but passing it under the radar of state law. In that state, there are four people who make decisions on bond purchases in their capacity as the State Board of Investment (SBI), they are the governor, the attorney general, the secretary of state and the state auditor.
The group attempting to hold Minnesota responsible for what it does is the Minnesota Break the Bonds Campaign.
I checked and found that Illinois is a purchaser of Israel bonds as well. I don't know Illinois state law on investments in foreign governments, but I intend to find out.
Finding out may be a challenge. My state representative is a big supporter of Israel so I doubt that the information will be getting to me soon if at all through her, but this is a perfect example of how benefits to Israel are woven into the woodwork in the United States.
Oh, did I mention my state senator is a big supporter of Israel? Did I mention my Congresswoman is too? Surely I've mentioned that one of my senators, Mark Kirk, is AIPAC's poster boy? Did I mention that my other senator, Dick Durban, entered Congress years ago with the help of AIPAC?
Wherever you live in the United States, make it a point to find out how your own politicians stand on Israel. Even if they have no particular view on that foreign country, you can bet that the Israel lobby has a tally on how they vote. There is no lobby in opposition to AIPAC, so you may find that regardless of your own view, your political representatives are cheerfully voting the Israel line. It's a bad habit of U.S. national politicians (and it appears state pols too) that the American electorate needs to break.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Monday, April 4, 2011
America pulled it off, Israel can't
I'm constantly reminded of the parallel between the ethnic cleansing of North America by those of European descent and the ethnic cleansing of Palestine by, again, those of European descent.
HAMAS is the counterpart of the bands of Native-Americans (I'll call them Indians for brevity) who refused to submit and chose to fight. The unguided missiles that HAMAS fires off are the equivalent of the burning arrows that Native-Americans would use to set settler homes alight...with the difference that the rockets have little to no effect while the arrows were quite effective.
Likewise, the pin-prick attacks of HAMAS and of the Indian bands were met with great violence and killing all out of proportion to the violence received. The Sand Creek Massacre and Operation Cast Lead being good examples.
For Israel to say it has the "right to defend itself" against attacks by Palestinians is the equivalent of American settlers saying they had the right to defend themselves against the Indians. In both cases land was taken from the natives by the new-comers, new-comers who were eager to turn the title of terrorist on the defenders of the land.
"The Peace Process" was used in the Old West just as it is used by Israel to keep the natives occupied while their lands are taken. The United States held all the cards in 1850, just as Israel holds them today (with a big exception I will get to below)
American settlers, with the unlimited power of the U.S. military behind them, claimed they were innocent victims just as do Israelis today.
Whereas the United States worked hand-in-glove with the railroads and land developers to take land that was not theirs to give - in particular for the government to deed lands it unilaterally declared its own without the consent of the Indians, so also does Israel have the Jewish National Fund that works closely with the government to erase all evidence of Arab towns with tree plantings.
The 19th century United States worked tirelessly in finding individual Indians who had no authority to sign away land, having them sign documents transferring it anyway for promises of money or favors. Today, Israel has the Palestinian Authority that will, for money and position, give away Palestinian rights and lands as required by Israel (revealed by the Wikileaks "Palestinian Papers"
Just as the United States saw itself as a superior civilization taking "unused land" for noble purposes (economic development), so also does Israel see itself as morally and racially superior to the Arab Palestinians. This parallel is particularly interesting because neither the Americans of 1850 or the Jews of Israel today are of a race.
But there are significant differences between the American land theft and the Israeli land theft.
> the American west of the 1800's could not have been more isolated and out of the spotlight. Anything could be done with nobody the wiser for months, if ever. Now we have instant video and news 24 hours a day.
> the Indians were small in number compared to the mass of white people in the east and were relatively isolated from each other. By the use of inter-tribal hatreds, the U.S. was able to turn the Indians against each other very effectively. Though the Palestinians are not of one mind, they are not so divided
> the Indians as a large group stood alone with no allies. They were unable to duplicate the temporary alliance with the French against the British that allowed them to hold off the frontier for a time. The French, once defeated by the British left the Indians to fend for themselves.
> 19th century America was a booming, expanding nation looking to a west that was, by comparison, empty. Palestine contains more Palestinians than Israelis and this difference is increasing. Israel is a sore thumb forcibly grafted on to a large body of Arab people.
> 19th century America was self-sufficient, able to produce more than everything that it needed without financial help. Israel is completely dependent on the United States for weaponry and funding. Settlements would stop immediately if U.S. support were withdrawn.
> 19th century America was a wonder of the world and a source of excitement for people around the world, many of whom determined to move there and become citizens. Israel is a pariah and has lost the friends it once had with the sole exception of the United States.
> 19th century America, hypocritical though it was, did put forth the claim of liberty and justice for all and made some effort to apply its laws to all of its citizens (African-Americans notably excepted). Israel does not present itself as anything but a state for Jews. No others need apply.
> 19th century America moved, at a glacier's pace, toward liberalism and the expansion of rights for all. Israel has moved away from liberalism and toward extremist, militarist, orthodox-religious intolerance that is counter to the general move away from such a political view worldwide.
To sum up. I don't think Israel has a future as a Jewish state. It has willfully destroyed any chance for a Palestinian state, an object it has never wanted to see come into being. It maintains itself only as a fortress of belligerence resting on a mythology, that goes out of its way to lecture its neighbors on what they are allowed to do and doesn't hesitate to lash out at will under the full protection of the United States to date. It is the perfect example of irresponsible power, a bully that is allowed whatever it wants by a superpower standing in the background. Israel is by nature self-isolating and with the direction it is going, making itself repulsive to the worldwide Jewry for which it claims to be a shining beacon.
Unlike the United States that finished it's period of ethnic cleansing with a triumphant victory over a people that it either destroyed, penned up, or silenced, Israel has no chance of the same.
At some point Israel will become a bi-national state, but there is every reason to believe that many bad events will occur before this happens as fanaticism is not easily defused. Like South Africa, another country that couldn't continue to exist as a sore thumb - in that case, a white thumb on a black body, Israel has no future as it is. The only question is how much more suffering will it force on others before the project can no longer be carried on? It all depends on the persistence of U.S. support.
Israel is the political equivalent of that high-school science class example of instability - a cone standing on its tip. It does so because of scaffolding labeled "made in USA"
HAMAS is the counterpart of the bands of Native-Americans (I'll call them Indians for brevity) who refused to submit and chose to fight. The unguided missiles that HAMAS fires off are the equivalent of the burning arrows that Native-Americans would use to set settler homes alight...with the difference that the rockets have little to no effect while the arrows were quite effective.
Likewise, the pin-prick attacks of HAMAS and of the Indian bands were met with great violence and killing all out of proportion to the violence received. The Sand Creek Massacre and Operation Cast Lead being good examples.
For Israel to say it has the "right to defend itself" against attacks by Palestinians is the equivalent of American settlers saying they had the right to defend themselves against the Indians. In both cases land was taken from the natives by the new-comers, new-comers who were eager to turn the title of terrorist on the defenders of the land.
"The Peace Process" was used in the Old West just as it is used by Israel to keep the natives occupied while their lands are taken. The United States held all the cards in 1850, just as Israel holds them today (with a big exception I will get to below)
American settlers, with the unlimited power of the U.S. military behind them, claimed they were innocent victims just as do Israelis today.
Whereas the United States worked hand-in-glove with the railroads and land developers to take land that was not theirs to give - in particular for the government to deed lands it unilaterally declared its own without the consent of the Indians, so also does Israel have the Jewish National Fund that works closely with the government to erase all evidence of Arab towns with tree plantings.
The 19th century United States worked tirelessly in finding individual Indians who had no authority to sign away land, having them sign documents transferring it anyway for promises of money or favors. Today, Israel has the Palestinian Authority that will, for money and position, give away Palestinian rights and lands as required by Israel (revealed by the Wikileaks "Palestinian Papers"
Just as the United States saw itself as a superior civilization taking "unused land" for noble purposes (economic development), so also does Israel see itself as morally and racially superior to the Arab Palestinians. This parallel is particularly interesting because neither the Americans of 1850 or the Jews of Israel today are of a race.
But there are significant differences between the American land theft and the Israeli land theft.
> the American west of the 1800's could not have been more isolated and out of the spotlight. Anything could be done with nobody the wiser for months, if ever. Now we have instant video and news 24 hours a day.
> the Indians were small in number compared to the mass of white people in the east and were relatively isolated from each other. By the use of inter-tribal hatreds, the U.S. was able to turn the Indians against each other very effectively. Though the Palestinians are not of one mind, they are not so divided
> the Indians as a large group stood alone with no allies. They were unable to duplicate the temporary alliance with the French against the British that allowed them to hold off the frontier for a time. The French, once defeated by the British left the Indians to fend for themselves.
> 19th century America was a booming, expanding nation looking to a west that was, by comparison, empty. Palestine contains more Palestinians than Israelis and this difference is increasing. Israel is a sore thumb forcibly grafted on to a large body of Arab people.
> 19th century America was self-sufficient, able to produce more than everything that it needed without financial help. Israel is completely dependent on the United States for weaponry and funding. Settlements would stop immediately if U.S. support were withdrawn.
> 19th century America was a wonder of the world and a source of excitement for people around the world, many of whom determined to move there and become citizens. Israel is a pariah and has lost the friends it once had with the sole exception of the United States.
> 19th century America, hypocritical though it was, did put forth the claim of liberty and justice for all and made some effort to apply its laws to all of its citizens (African-Americans notably excepted). Israel does not present itself as anything but a state for Jews. No others need apply.
> 19th century America moved, at a glacier's pace, toward liberalism and the expansion of rights for all. Israel has moved away from liberalism and toward extremist, militarist, orthodox-religious intolerance that is counter to the general move away from such a political view worldwide.
To sum up. I don't think Israel has a future as a Jewish state. It has willfully destroyed any chance for a Palestinian state, an object it has never wanted to see come into being. It maintains itself only as a fortress of belligerence resting on a mythology, that goes out of its way to lecture its neighbors on what they are allowed to do and doesn't hesitate to lash out at will under the full protection of the United States to date. It is the perfect example of irresponsible power, a bully that is allowed whatever it wants by a superpower standing in the background. Israel is by nature self-isolating and with the direction it is going, making itself repulsive to the worldwide Jewry for which it claims to be a shining beacon.
Unlike the United States that finished it's period of ethnic cleansing with a triumphant victory over a people that it either destroyed, penned up, or silenced, Israel has no chance of the same.
At some point Israel will become a bi-national state, but there is every reason to believe that many bad events will occur before this happens as fanaticism is not easily defused. Like South Africa, another country that couldn't continue to exist as a sore thumb - in that case, a white thumb on a black body, Israel has no future as it is. The only question is how much more suffering will it force on others before the project can no longer be carried on? It all depends on the persistence of U.S. support.
Israel is the political equivalent of that high-school science class example of instability - a cone standing on its tip. It does so because of scaffolding labeled "made in USA"
Friday, April 1, 2011
State Dept acting for Israel
Omar Barghouti is a Palestinian who has written a book, Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions
that is, as you might expect, not one that Israel would like to see a best seller.
To promote the book, Barghouti planned a tour of the United States - to New York City, Harvard, Yale, Brown, Brandeis University, Washington DC, and Philadelphia, but the plans stalled when the U.S. State Department balked at giving him a visa.
This is a perfect example of Zionism at work in America. It's no exaggeration to say that Zionists are everywhere in this country in positions of power, wealth and influence, be they Christian or Jewish. The recent bowing of Obama to their will was shown by the US veto in the UN of a resolution calling for the Israeli settlements to be withdrawn from the occupied territories. Obama was silent about this contradiction of stated U.S. foreign policy of long standing. Instead, his UN representative, Susan Rice, spouted nonsense about the need to go through the peace process - which is now universally seen as the cover it has always been for the Israeli land grab. It's now clear to everyone that Israel has a veto in the UN Security Council though it is not a member of it and this strength is so powerful it can force the US to place Israel above American interests.
My recent post with Jeff Blankfort's interview is further evidence of Americans supporting Israel making the decisions large and small that keep their fellow citizens under a covert censorship that is both broad and deep.
The Barghouti book tour visa issue was so blatant it became a project for Jewish Voice for Peace. JVP called for people to sign a petition to the State Department objecting to the denial of a visa. The result was a rare victory over the Israel lobby (don't click the "read more" link on the victory page because it goes to the wrong page).
Things happen when people get motivated to make them happen. Kudos to JVP for working for justice and open debate. The group is instrumental in opposing the Israel lobby because it is proof against the absurd charge that to oppose Israeli policy is to be anti-Semitic.
that is, as you might expect, not one that Israel would like to see a best seller.
To promote the book, Barghouti planned a tour of the United States - to New York City, Harvard, Yale, Brown, Brandeis University, Washington DC, and Philadelphia, but the plans stalled when the U.S. State Department balked at giving him a visa.
This is a perfect example of Zionism at work in America. It's no exaggeration to say that Zionists are everywhere in this country in positions of power, wealth and influence, be they Christian or Jewish. The recent bowing of Obama to their will was shown by the US veto in the UN of a resolution calling for the Israeli settlements to be withdrawn from the occupied territories. Obama was silent about this contradiction of stated U.S. foreign policy of long standing. Instead, his UN representative, Susan Rice, spouted nonsense about the need to go through the peace process - which is now universally seen as the cover it has always been for the Israeli land grab. It's now clear to everyone that Israel has a veto in the UN Security Council though it is not a member of it and this strength is so powerful it can force the US to place Israel above American interests.
My recent post with Jeff Blankfort's interview is further evidence of Americans supporting Israel making the decisions large and small that keep their fellow citizens under a covert censorship that is both broad and deep.
The Barghouti book tour visa issue was so blatant it became a project for Jewish Voice for Peace. JVP called for people to sign a petition to the State Department objecting to the denial of a visa. The result was a rare victory over the Israel lobby (don't click the "read more" link on the victory page because it goes to the wrong page).
Things happen when people get motivated to make them happen. Kudos to JVP for working for justice and open debate. The group is instrumental in opposing the Israel lobby because it is proof against the absurd charge that to oppose Israeli policy is to be anti-Semitic.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
March 30 is Land Day
Here is a succinct explanation of Land Day from an email I received from Chicagoans Against Apartheid in Palestine...
Within Israel, Land Day is marked by protests in Lod
March 30th, is Palestinian Land Day. It has been commemorated since 1976, when the Israeli military shot and killed six young Palestinian citizens of Israel and wounded a hundred others as they were protesting the confiscation of their land for "security and settlement purposes." It is now an international day of action marking continuing Palestinian resistance to Israel's ongoing illegal and unjust land expropriation, colonization, occupation, military attacks and apartheid.Chicagoans Against Apartheid in Palestine (CAAP) will take an action to mark this day tomorrow (Wednesday) with leafleting at Dearborn/Adams (Federal Plaza) from 4:30 to 5:30. If you would like to join with us for this, please do, or let us know if you are interested in working with CAAP on other actions.We must oppose the Israeli apartheid by (1) supporting efforts to break the siege of Gaza, and the continuing Israeli attacks on the Palestinian people of Gaza (2) opposing U.S. government aid to Israel (the most to any country in the world, at $3 billion a year), and (3) boycotting, divesting from, and sanctioning Israel (BDS). There is an international BDS campaign to boycott Israeli goods and services, divest from Israel, and put sanctions on it. This includes boycotting Israeli bonds and the role the Jewish National Fund plays in the segregation of the land by the Israeli government.
Within Israel, Land Day is marked by protests in Lod
Monday, March 28, 2011
Gideon Levy - "I was brainwashed"
Gideon Levy is a Haaretz columnist, a journalist who, like most Israelis, spent his youth with the firm conviction that Israel is exactly as it portrays itself to the world, exactly the way it presents itself in the classrooms in Israeli schools.
In later life he saw the truth of the occupied territories and he began his long standing policy of telling Israelis the truth, whether or not they want to hear it.
He says he would love to live in a country where everyone has equal rights, the one-state solution, but he sees no chance of this happening. He also sees no chance for the two-state solution since Israel has, with its settlers, made this impossible.
Listen to this 30 minute interview of Levy by Alison Weir of the Council for the National Interest and If Americans Knew, another in the series Jerusalem Calling that if have edited for CNI.
In later life he saw the truth of the occupied territories and he began his long standing policy of telling Israelis the truth, whether or not they want to hear it.
He says he would love to live in a country where everyone has equal rights, the one-state solution, but he sees no chance of this happening. He also sees no chance for the two-state solution since Israel has, with its settlers, made this impossible.
Listen to this 30 minute interview of Levy by Alison Weir of the Council for the National Interest and If Americans Knew, another in the series Jerusalem Calling that if have edited for CNI.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
so many dead children, unnoticed
An indication of the slanted nature of reporting in the United States about Israel is the huge disparity in news about Israeli deaths vs Palestinian deaths.
A recent example is the murder of the settler family in the Itamar settlement. This awful crime took five people and was very widely reported on in the U.S., but over the years there have been several times more Palestinian deaths than Israeli deaths (more than 10 to 1) and most go unnoticed in the U.S. for four reasons.
1) There is nowhere near the number of people in the U.S. that identify with Palestinians as there are people who identify with Israelis
2) There are essentially no Palestinians in the U.S. media whereas there are very many Zionists who are concerned with protecting the image of Israel more than with letting readers/viewers know about killings by Israel's army, police and settlers.
3) Palestinian deaths are routine, even the deaths of their children. News that is routine is not considered worthy of much attention.
4) It is a theme of Israeli propaganda that the country is in constant danger and the victim of unrelenting and eternal hatred. Israeli deaths can be used to dramatically reinforce this propaganda in order to support continuing American funding of Israel as a garrison state. Israel wants no sympathy for the real underdogs, preferring to place itself in that position for U.S. consumption.
With these points in mind, I recommend a visit to Remember These Children because it offers a stark way to see the large number of Palestinian children killed by year and month between 2000 and 2011. Simply pick a year at the very top of the page, then scroll down to see Palestinian children killed (a common occurrance) compared with Israeli children killed (a rarity) listed by month within that year.
A recent example is the murder of the settler family in the Itamar settlement. This awful crime took five people and was very widely reported on in the U.S., but over the years there have been several times more Palestinian deaths than Israeli deaths (more than 10 to 1) and most go unnoticed in the U.S. for four reasons.
1) There is nowhere near the number of people in the U.S. that identify with Palestinians as there are people who identify with Israelis
2) There are essentially no Palestinians in the U.S. media whereas there are very many Zionists who are concerned with protecting the image of Israel more than with letting readers/viewers know about killings by Israel's army, police and settlers.
3) Palestinian deaths are routine, even the deaths of their children. News that is routine is not considered worthy of much attention.
4) It is a theme of Israeli propaganda that the country is in constant danger and the victim of unrelenting and eternal hatred. Israeli deaths can be used to dramatically reinforce this propaganda in order to support continuing American funding of Israel as a garrison state. Israel wants no sympathy for the real underdogs, preferring to place itself in that position for U.S. consumption.
With these points in mind, I recommend a visit to Remember These Children because it offers a stark way to see the large number of Palestinian children killed by year and month between 2000 and 2011. Simply pick a year at the very top of the page, then scroll down to see Palestinian children killed (a common occurrance) compared with Israeli children killed (a rarity) listed by month within that year.
Totals for 2000 to date
124 Israeli children killed
1457 Palestinian children killed
124 Israeli children killed
1457 Palestinian children killed
Monday, March 21, 2011
Jeff Blankfort and media censorship
Though most Americans may consider their press free and the Internet is truly providing a way to go to sources for news, it has long been a fact, and continues to be, that mainstream media news about Israel is highly selective and much doesn't make it to the pages of the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and the Washington Post - let alone regional newspapers and the major TV networks.
If you don't believe it, you can check out the excellent media analysis site at If Americans Knew, the work of Alison Weir, who has devoted the last ten years of her life to documentation of the gaping hole between what happens in the Middle East and what Americans are allowed to read or view about it.
I have an audio interview for you that Weir gave to Jeffrey Blankfort, an American non-Zionist Jew who, in his own right, has had much experience with Zionist censorship over the years. Please listen as he and Alison relate their experiences with censorship (about 30 minutes).
This interview is another in the Jersalem Calling series that I have been editing for brevity, produced by the Council for the National Interest.
By the way, did you know Fox News personality Wolf Blitzer was formerly a writer for AIPAC, the number one Zionist lobbying organization in the United States? You do know, I hope, that his boss, Rupert Murdoch, is also a dedicated Zionist and major supporter of Israel. This should make you think twice about what you see on Fox News.
If you don't believe it, you can check out the excellent media analysis site at If Americans Knew, the work of Alison Weir, who has devoted the last ten years of her life to documentation of the gaping hole between what happens in the Middle East and what Americans are allowed to read or view about it.
I have an audio interview for you that Weir gave to Jeffrey Blankfort, an American non-Zionist Jew who, in his own right, has had much experience with Zionist censorship over the years. Please listen as he and Alison relate their experiences with censorship (about 30 minutes).
This interview is another in the Jersalem Calling series that I have been editing for brevity, produced by the Council for the National Interest.
By the way, did you know Fox News personality Wolf Blitzer was formerly a writer for AIPAC, the number one Zionist lobbying organization in the United States? You do know, I hope, that his boss, Rupert Murdoch, is also a dedicated Zionist and major supporter of Israel. This should make you think twice about what you see on Fox News.
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