Israeli influence in America


02-28-07 - Brownback: Engage Iran on Iraq In remarks Wednesday in New York to the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, the Kansas Republican conceded that such engagement was unlikely to work with a country that says it is committed to the destruction of Israel.

02-28-07 - Wisconsin lawmakers scale back privately funded trips

02-28-07 - US Israel Lobby Targets Lebanon's Jihad al-Bina It is not enough for AIPAC that the recent Congressional elections, which increased the number of Zionist Jews in Congress from 26 to 31, is the largest pro-Israel contingent elected to Congress in American history

02-28-07 - Iran's Very Bad N-Word ** Asked by Siegel to explain why the Israelis have suggested a much shorter timeline for Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon, Negroponte stated the obvious with bluntness uncommon for a diplomat. "I think that sometimes what the Israelis will do (is) give you the worst-case assessment."....Seldom have I heard an American senator so openly press the U.S. to mount an attack on a major country simply because it could be perceived as a threat to Israel

02-27-07 - Hikind's New/Old Cause Hikind is drawing national attention (CNN is interviewing him Thursday, he says) for his support of a plan by a group called Amana to expand Jewish communities in the West Bank by encouraging Americans to buy yet-unbuilt homes there. This is a New York State legislator offering support for violations of the Fourth Geneva Convention (article 49)

02-27-07 - As Jewish groups huddle, quagmire in Iraq undermines resolve on Iran The Boston JCRC proposal called for Jewish and non-Jewish groups to form a "Stop Iran" coalition that would launch political, economic and educational initiatives against the Iranian nuclear threat, including a mass demonstration in Washington and a divestment campaign.....Hagel said Bush's policy of not engaging Iran until it comes clean on its nuclear program was not adequate. "By refusing to engage with Iran, we are perpetuating dangerous geopolitical unpredictabilities," he said. "Our refusal to recognize Iran's influence does not decrease its influence but increases it." He added, "We must be clear that the United States does not seek regime change in Iran." Such talk is in clear contradiction to policies promoted by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the lobbying powerhouse, which backs Bush's tough posture and advocates only the narrowest engagement with Iran.

02-27-07 - Widespread Demands for Pollard's Release American Jewish organizations have organized a massive nationwide campaign to call the White House every afternoon for the next two months and request/demand freedom for Pollard.....The Zionist Organization of America "welcomes" the recent statements by former CIA director James Woolsey and former top US. Middle East negotiator Dennis Ross in favor of clemency for Pollard, and reiterated its own call for his release.

02-27-07 - Senators Eye Curbs on Cluster Bombs, Widening Matter beyond Israel?s Use "For Jewish-American activists who are active because of their concerns about Israel, they are, generally speaking, not going to want to see additional restrictions placed on Israel's use of U.S. weaponry,".... The director of Human Rights Watch?s arms division, Steve Goose, said the first Feinstein-Leahy push failed "primarily because it was depicted as an anti-Israel amendment." Advocates of the new bill have begun outreach to Jewish-American groups to tamp down any misperceptions that the measure targets Israel, he added.

02-26-07 - Jews should embrace evangelicals despite their differences, group told if the evangelical community perceives that the United States is forcing concessions on Israel against its government's will, "they come down on the White House like a ton of bricks," he said.

02-26-07 - Diamond in the rough: Israel launching a pro baseball league infusing a deep-seated part of Americana could be a public relations boon for Israel. Fittingly, the league's first commissioner is Daniel Kurtzer, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel. The opportunity to show Israel not only as a country at war but as a country involved in sports - quintessentially American sports at that - could help Americans bond with Israel....exposing new audiences to Israel is an important part of this initiative. Always an agenda, seems.

02-26-07 - Obama to address AIPAC

02-26-07 - From July 2005: The American hand in Iran On February 11, a promoter of the IFF, Worldnetdaily.com, announced that Corsi had helped Republican Senator Paul Santorum write the Iran Freedom and Support Act of 2005 Corsi is a neocon.

02-26-07 - A Debate on the Israel Lobby

02-26-07 - AIPAC Demands "Action" on Iran **

02-25-07 - Film?s View of Islam Stirs Anger on Campuses When a Middle East discussion group organized a showing at New York University recently, it found that the distributors of ?Obsession? were requiring those in attendance to register at IsraelActivism.com, and that digital pictures of the events be sent to Hasbara Fellowships, a group set up to counter anti-Israel sentiment on college campuses.

02-25-07 - JCPA, Hillel plenum draws 800 Delegates will close the session on Tuesday with lobbying on Capitol Hill. Among the policies they will advocate are sanctions against Iran and Sudan

02-23-07 - What else can Israel ask of President Bush? On Friday, when Rice was en route to the region, Olmert and Bush spoke on the phone. It is not clear who called whom, and what exactly was said, but Olmert announced after the conversation that Bush is in line with him about insisting on "the Quartet's conditions" for the Palestinian government: recognize Israel, renounce terror and honor previous Palestinian-Israeli agreements........Some believe that since Bush is the best thing to ever happen to Israel, it is important to exploit the remainder of his term to upgrade relations. GFY. The first thing that comes to mind after having read this article. America has done quite enough, thanks.

02-23-07 - Carter Addresses Book Critics in Town Hall Carter said the public would be hard-pressed to find officials in the U.S. government willing to criticize Israel. "It would be political suicide for them to do so," he said......He also said one of his top priorities besides his family is to "bring peace to Israel and justice to Palestine." He received three standing ovations from the audience

02-23-07 - Dems call on GOP to drop Indianapolis pol ..."My opinion is, if Israel would go into Iran, Democrats will follow that cause. I really do believe that."

02-23-07 - "All Candidates are pro-Israel"

02-23-07 - Rice Faces Formidable White House Foe Abrams' personal influence over Bush could not possibly match Rice's, but his bureaucratic skills and political connections -- notably to the so-called "Israel Lobby" of pro-Likud Jewish organisations and the Christian Right -- give him considerable clout. According to various sources, Abrams has been working systematically to undermine any prospect for serious negotiations designed to give substance to Rice's hopes -- and increasingly impatient demands by Saudi King Abdullah -- of offering the Palestinians a "political horizon" for a final settlement.....Abrams was an early protégé of Richard Perle, whom he first met, along with other prominent pro-Likud hard-liners, such as Feith, former U.N. Amb. Jeane Kirpatrick, and Weekly Standard editor William Kristol, while working in the offices of Washington State Sen. Henry "Scoop" Jackson....Badly damaged by his felony conviction for lying to Congress about his role in the Iran-Contra affair, Abrams, like many neo-cons, left government service under the decidedly "realist" administration of President George H.W. Bush 'felony conviction for lying to Congress'? Why is this man back in the US government? Because he's a darling of the neocons/AIPACers. Read the entire article.

02-23-07 - Old Europe and the Mullahs by Philip Giraldi ** AIPAC's formulation that the option of force "must remain on the table" when dealing with Iran has been repeated like a mantra by numerous politicians and government officials, not too surprisingly as AIPAC writes the briefings and position papers that many Congressmen unfortunately rely on

02-22-07 - US congressional leaders remember Jewish refugees A group of eight US congressional leaders this week introduced resolutions in both the Senate and House of Representatives calling for recognition that hundreds of thousands of Jews were made refugees by their Arab host nations at the time of Israel's rebirth. This would appear to be another example of Congress solidifing in legislation the supremacy of Jewish victimhood over all others (including that of the Palestinians).

02-22-07 - Public awareness important in terrorism fight, official says Nadav Morag, formerly Israel's senior director for domestic policy, had a nontraditional tip on Wednesday for representatives of public and corporate security agencies concerned about possible terrorism. "Tell the public what you're doing," said Morag, now a faculty member at the Center for Homeland Defense and Security operated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in Monterey, Calif. Read that again.

02-22-07 - Washington notes: Iran embargo, Quartet statement, AIPAC trial Last week, a Foreign Ministry delegation headed by the deputy director for strategic affairs, Miriam Ziv, presented data on the arms transfers to Hezbollah to senior officials in the German Foreign Ministry. The Germans expressed some reservations about the validity of the data.

02-22-07 - US poll: Israel alone named 'vital friend' "The broad support of the American people to Israel is of the utmost strategic importance to Israel and it must be nurtured and maintained," Israeli ambassador to the United States Salai Meridor told Ynet in response to the poll's findings This 'support' is understandable given the pro-Israeli bias in just about every major mainstream news medium in the US.

02-22-07 - In Utah, former Israeli leader warns of spread of nuclear weapons More students in America get Hasbara-ized.

02-22-07 - Capitol rally for captives Families of three captive Israeli soldiers will join Congress members and Jewish community leaders in a Washington rally.

02-22-07 - Defense in ex-AIPAC staffers' case can cite U.S.-Israel ties, judge rules Ellis adds: "U.S. State Department and other U.S. government officials likely are able to testify as to whether the governments of the United States and Israel routinely used AIPAC as a diplomatic 'back channel.' " .....Of the two other U.S. government officials cited in the indictment as sharing information with Rosen and Weissman, David Satterfield has since been promoted to the post of top State Department adviser on Iraq issues, and Ken Pollack, formerly a national security councillor, is now research director at the Saban Center think tank. Apparently there are no plans to charge Satterfield or Pollack.....Ellis also ruled that defense lawyers may present exculpatory evidence of the close Israel-U.S. relationship, and of AIPAC's role in nurturing that relationship. He said he would allow, even encourage, testimony showing that the AIPAC-U.S.-Israel triangle benefits all three parties. ....Ellis' latest ruling means that defense lawyers can "put on evidence that AIPAC serves as a back channel" between the United States and Israel, a source close to the defense said. "Evidence of the policy cooperation between the United States and Israel is relevant." Thank you judge, you have just proved my case for me :) AIPAC, you see, drives American foreign policy in the region (to our detriment).

02-22-07 - Carter says majority in U.S. support views in book The book's main points were that Israel should stop persecuting and abusing Palestinians, withdraw to internationally-recognized borders and conduct intense negotiations with its neighbors to bring peace, Carter said.

02-22-07 - Escalating Threats of U.S. Attacks Against Iran ** Israeli rhetoric against Iran is largely paralleling U.S. claims; unlike the run-up to the Iraq War, Israel and the pro-Israeli lobbies in the U.S. are pressing hard for an attack on Iran, and any Israeli involvement would significantly undercut Congressional opposition.....The U.S. is more isolated now than at any time since the beginning of the 2003 Iraq War; no U.S. allies except Israel are supporting calls for a U.S. attack on Iran. That's because US allies know this time around who is behind this second cry of 'wolf!'. They are not amused.

02-22-07 - Washington planning UN arms embargo against Iran In recent weeks, Israel has carried out a diplomatic campaign against the transfer of weapons to terrorist organizations, in an effort to establish this concept as part of a new international norm. Imagine.

02-21-07 - As Democrats flex their muscles, groups array against Bush agenda Another area promising tension with the Bush administration is its drive to revive the Israel-Palestinian peace process. Pro-Israel and Jewish Democrats, backed by the pro-Israel lobby, often drive congressional Middle East policy, and they already have made clear their skepticism about Rice?s efforts. Note the source.

02-20-07 - Need for a Balanced Lobby Group on Middle East

02-20-07 - Inaugural meeting of Congressional, Knesset allied caucuses The meeting was co-hosted by Congressmen Dave Weldon of Florida and Eliot Engel of New York; the two are also the founders of the CIAC, a bipartisan group of legislators dedicated to defending Israel's right to exist in peace and promoting Judeo-Christian values.

02-19-07 - A CNN host who loves Israel Pro-Israel critics of the media, and particularly of CNN, should check out "The Glenn Beck Program" to give their high blood pressure a respite..... Beck, an admitted former alcoholic and drug addict, is now a devout Christian who believes in an Armageddon in which millions will die Strange, because I was just thinking the other day - we really don't have enough pro-Israeli commentators in the media. Ahhm.

02-19-07 - Burns: US, Israel agree on Iran policy he told the Post the US administration was having "very good discussions" with Israel right now over a confluence of interests regarding Iran. Whose war?

02-19-07 - 'Iran center of US-Israeli talks' In the past, the joint Knesset-Congress-Senate committee helped make hundreds of millions of dollars available for Israel's missile defense shield, Arrow, which is produced in cooperation Boeing in the US. In addition, according to Steinitz, the committee has in the past prevented arms sales to Arab states that would have threatened Israel's unique edge in the region; it also initiated the Iran nuclear sanctions law, which makes it illegal for governments to provide arms or aid Iran's nuclear program, the Knesset member said. Where is Washington when you need him? More from Steinitz here. And here.

02-18-07 - Worrying About Anti-Semitism in America The pressure brought on Congress to support one-sided policies promoted by lobbyists is causing great anger on the Hill (including among those who yield to the pressure) and, I believe, in the country as well. I don't worry about the legislators but I do worry about public opinion in the heartland.

02-18-07 - American senators to visit Israel "We think that it is important that the members of the delegation feel the connection and understand Israel better. They are mostly non-Jewish and we want them to feel some obligation to the country," Obligation to the country? Which country were they elected to serve? is the question that should be asked here.

02-18-07 - Israeli Rightist Warns That Bush's Iraq Policy Could Hurt Effort To Combat Iran ** Despite tepid public support in America for another military venture in the Middle East, Eitam asserted that he sensed strong bipartisan support in Washington for using all available means to stop Iran?s nuclear program. Eitam noted that while American intelligence disagreed a year ago with Israel?s assessment that Iran was three to four years away from reaching a critical point, Washington now endorses Jerusalem?s estimates.....Eitam said that even if Israel were to carry out strikes on its own, it would need American support for refueling, as well as authorization to fly over Iraq and intelligence cooperation. "This is why I tell the Americans that they will be seen as being part of it anyway, which is why they should prepare accordingly,"

02-17-07 - The hate that (used to) dare not speak its name This past week the Democrats started to exercise their newly acquired power with a hearing of the Middle East Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on the ?next steps in the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process.? Do you think they invited Jimmy Carter? Bishop Tutu? Nelson Mandela? An neutral expert on the Middle East? A Palestinian? Nope. The three invitees ? the only three invitees ? were (drum roll, please):

02-17-07 - Does America Want a Real Peace Process The Administration and even many members of Congress seem aware that the problem that Israel poses to the reputation of the United States throughout the world demands some immediate attention. Will it get that attention? The subcommittee hearing indicates otherwise.

02-17-07 - Israel's Bomb, Iran's Pursuit of the Bomb and U.S. War Preparations (Part Three) Israel's role in attempting to prod the U.S. to attack Iran has been considerable and is a major theme of Ritter's book.

02-16-07 - Obama will soon make the case that he'll be as strong on Israel as anyone I asked about the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) convention in March and was told that he will speak there too, but wants to have another speech sooner. Any candidate that grovels to the Israeli lobby will not get my vote. Israel is NOT America. In fact, the effects of the influence of the Israeli lobby on American foreign policy run counter to the American national interest.

02-16-07 - Defendants Are Dealt a Blow In Aipac Case Defense lawyers said Israeli officials, who refused to appear as witnesses at the trial, could confirm that Messrs. Rosen and Weissman were not paid or unpaid Israeli agents, explain Israel's relationship with Aipac, and aver that the pair actually advanced American interests through any disclosures of classified information.

02-16-07 - Sen. Obama: U.S. must support Israel's right to self defense

02-16-07 - The Neo-Con Dog That Isn't Barking ** Carefully orchestrated and coordinated with their comrades in the offices of Vice President Dick Cheney and former Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld, neo-cons were able to create a powerful media "echo chambre" that, by late 2002, centred entirely on Iraq, and the necessity of going to war, to the exclusion of almost everything else. Sorry Jim, I disagree with your analysis. They ARE doing it again and the media is in fact going along with it (again). They are letting Israeli officials do the talking this time (Netanyahu, par.8-9, Steinitz, Olmert, etc). And one more thing, from the article : "Despite the sharply rising tensions between Iran and the U.S. over the past month, for example, the lead editorials of the last four issues of the Standard -- always a reliable indication of neo-con priorities -- were all devoted to rallying lawmakers behind the surge." Could it be because the 'surge' is part of the attack on Iran? Some have already suggested as much.

02-15-07 - Congress mood shifts against Abbas At least one Jewish group, the Israel Policy Forum, expressed dismay about the hold, placed by Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.), chairwoman of the foreign operations subcommittee.

02-15-07 - Diss a 'gay'? Go to jail! As much as I loathe WND, this article gives more information on that hate speech bill for which pro-Israeli organizations (like the ADL) are fiercely lobbying.

02-15-07 - From 2002: The Bushes and the Jews - Explaining the president's philo-Semitism. The source of the alleged Baker comment was Ed Koch - a staunch Israel-supporter.

02-14-07 - Brandeis Donors Exact Revenge For Carter Visit Major donors to Brandeis University have informed the school they will no longer give it money in retaliation for its decision last month to host former President Jimmy Carter, a strong critic of Israel. Institutions, both public and private, ought to think twice about relying too heavily on private donations for this reason. When these donors seek to color the politics of said institutions by withholding much-needed funding, then you are treading in dangerous waters. It happens all of the time all across America, I'm sure.

02-14-07 - Obama Set For Big Jewish Push That includes the recruitment of top Jewish donors and advisers, and an expected major speech on Israel and the Middle East that a Democratic insider said "will set the baseline and establish Sen. Obama as a reliable, strong supporter of Israel." Pucker up, Obama, the pro-Israeli heiney is quivering with anticipation.

02-14-07 - Jewish groups back bias crimes bill U.S. Jewish groups are backing a proposed bill that would expand prosecution of hate crimes. There is some controversy over this bill as it relates to freedom of speech and how it will relate to criticism of Israel.

02-14-07 - Subcommittee hosts anti-Palestinian threesome

02-13-07 - Members of Congress, Knesset to Address Iranian Threat, Incitement By Palestinian Media U.S. Reps. Dave Weldon, M.D. (R-FL) and Eliot Engel (D-NY) will host a joint press conference with members of the Israeli Knesset following a meeting to, among other things, address the growing regional threat posed by Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons and extremists' use of Palestinian media to incite violence against Israelis and Americans. Our legislators evidently have nothing better to do than all of this work on behalf of a foreign nation.

02-13-07 - Steinitz: US must stop Iran from arming ** "At this moment, Iran thinks that Israel is weak politically, so it would be better if the United States were to issue the threats," said Steinitz. Israel = the monkey on America's back. The same man was making the same calls in Sept. 2005. And then there's this from December.

02-13-07 - N.Y. Lawmaker Freezes $86M Meant for Abbas The original push for delaying the funding for security training came from Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, the ranking minority member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, who first asked Rep. Tom Lantos of California, the Democratic chairman of the committee, to place a hold on the $86 million Ros-Lehtinen AGAIN.

02-13-07 - No one can prevent nuclear Iran, top defense official says ** Lubrani said the US "does not understand the threat and has not done enough," adding that the Americans and Europeans "must be shaken awake."

02-13-07 - From Feb. 2006: THE HOUR: Knowing What We Don't Know "Israeli intelligence played a hidden role in convincing Wolfowitz that he couldn't trust the CIA... Israeli intelligence officials frequently traveled to Washington to brief top American officials, but CIA analysts were often skeptical of Israeli intelligence reports, knowing that Mossad had very strong - even transparent - biases about the Arab world." Wolfowitz, who "had begun meeting personally with top Israeli intelligence officials," preferred the Mossad's analysis to the CIA's.

02-13-07 - Pro-Israel PACs Not Invincible in U.S. Mid-Term Elections; Complications Ensue Emanuel is a noted Israel-firster whose father was a member of the terrorist Irgun, and who himself flew to help defend Israel during the first Gulf war.

02-12-07 - YIKES - Warmonger Daniel Pipes Testifying to Congress - Do They Learn NOTHING? the real inspiration apparently came from Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) (Cuba sanctions, Palestinian sanctions, regime-change warrior?etc). What a surprise. Ros-Lehtinen's record on Capitol Hill should be thoroughly scrutinized to determine exactly how much time she spends on all matters Israel. For she would appear to be ISRAEL's representative therein, not ours.

02-12-07 - CAIR: Congress Asked to Hear Both Sides of Mideast Conflict One of the speakers, Daniel Pipes, is best known for his position that the only goal of the Israelis should be "getting the Palestinians to give up." He also says Israel must convince the Palestinians "that their quest for an independent homeland is futile."

02-12-07 - Carter book about Palestinians is long overdue

02-12-07 - Pulling the Iranian danger out of the shadows ** The Bush administration sincerely believes that Iran is now its main enemy in the world ............If US President George W. Bush actually plans to bomb Iran's nuclear installations before the end of his term, as many politicians in Europe believe, and in Israel hope, Somehow Israel's 'main enemies' become OURS. Recall that prior to the invasion of Iraq, Saddam was Israel's 'main enemy'.

02-12-07 - Ousted Republican senator criticizes Bush on Israel Rhode Island: Ousted Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee criticized President George W. Bush's handling of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, saying the president was bowing to a faction of evangelical Christians who oppose a Palestinian state

02-12-07 - Washington sources: Israel in race for more aid Israeli sources and US supporters of Israel agree that the time to act is now. Bush is the most pro-Israeli president ever to occupy the White House. The Bush administration is knowledgeable about aid negotiations with Israel. Everyone running for president, Democrats and Republicans alike, are considered strong supporters of Israel. None of them will challenge Bush for increasing aid to Israel during their election campaigns, where the Jewish vote is important Why us? Why not Germany? The US is the sole superpower in the world (for now), that's why. Israel = the monkey on America's back.

02-11-07 - A Greater Israel After al-Qaeda?s terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, Bush spotted a political opportunity to implement a long-held neoconservative strategy for eliminating anti-Israeli governments in the Middle East, whether or not they represented security threats to the United States.

02-09-07 - Hillary Clinton Blasts 'Hate-Filled' Palestinian Textbooks Clinton, a candidate for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, called the conference to release a report by Palestinian Media Watch, a Jerusalem-based group that monitors Palestinian media for anti-Israel bias Now there's an impartial outfit if I've ever heard one. Hilary Clinton is an AIPAC stooge.

02-09-07 - Rice focuses on endgame, but says conditions for Hamas remain in place At least a few of the 17 Jewish leaders arrived at the State Department armed with hard questions about Rice?s planned Feb. 19 summit with Olmert and Abbas.....They walked away reassured......Rice also forcefully addressed the U.S. determination to continue isolating Iran until it agrees to transparency about its nuclear program. She saw no point in otherwise dealing with the Iranian government.

02-09-07 - In budget request, Jewish groups find reason for praise, and regret The exception is $40 million that the Jewish state continues to receive for refugee resettlement, originally slated to help hundreds of thousands of immigrants from the former Soviet Union. The money now is used mostly for Jews arriving from Ethiopia.....It?s not often publicized that the pro-Israel community lobbies not just for assistance to Israel but also for the entire foreign-assistance package, partly as a way of building alliances with other ethnic communities and the foreign-aid lobby. American taxpayers are being totally soaked.

02-09-07 - Chris Hedges: The Christian Right?s War on America I try not to focus on it. I?ve had to deal with the Israeli lobby for so long that I really try and shut it out and try not to read it, because a lot of it is just completely untrue and unfair, and I don?t want to burn up a lot of energy. I?d rather just put the blinders on and keep going and say what I have to say. I don?t like it, obviously, and I especially don?t like it when it devolves?as it usually does?into character assassination. We saw that with the response to Jimmy Carter?s book

02-08-07 - Michael Desch: Critics of Israel deserve a debate, not demonisation Why are members of the Israel lobby unwilling to simply rest their case on its merits? Why do they feel compelled to attack their opponents ad hominem? The obvious answer is that they lack confidence in the strength of the case for Israel and feel obliged to play dirty pool to compensate. The author goes on to excuse this behavior by way of the Holocaust card. Not cool.

02-08-07 - Israel still top recipient of US foreign aid

02-08-07 - For French politicians, Israel visit offers more nuanced view of region American Jewish organizations commonly use fact-finding missions to promote pro-Israel sentiment among U.S. politicians, but it's not a familiar practice for French legislators....Many of the senators expressed surprise that Ramallah appeared to be a modern, functioning city rather than a teeming refugee camp of the kind shown in TV news reports about the Palestinians. You will often see that Ramallah is the destination of choice for pro-Israel lobbies(including those from America) to bring foreign government officials when it comes time to visit the Palestinian side, thus appearing to be 'balanced'. But as noted above, Ramallah is hardly an accurate representation of the situation in the Palestinian Territories.

02-08-07 - U.S. fire chiefs to Israel AIPAC?s American Israel Education Foundation partnered with the International Association of Fire Chiefs for the trip.

02-08-07 - Lantos proposes nuclear fuel bank Lantos, who is Jewish and a Holocaust survivor, is close to Israel and the pro-Israel community in Washington.

02-08-07 - How Neocon Shi'ite Strategy Led to Sectarian War The U.S. policy decisions that led to the sectarian war can be traced back to the conviction of a group of right-wing zealots with close ties to Israel's Likud Party that overthrowing the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq would not destabilize the region, because Iraqi Shi'ites would be allies of the United States and Israel against Iran.

02-07-07 - A CNN Host Who Loves Israel Pro-Israel critics of the media, and particularly of CNN, should check out ?The Glenn Beck Program? sometime to give their high blood pressure a respite.

02-07-07 - Suddenly, little-noticed essay is focus of debate on Israel criticism An essay that drew scant attention upon its publication is now fueling a growing debate over the contours of Israel advocacy in the United States and a furious backlash against alleged attempts in the Jewish community to stifle criticism of Israel.

02-07-07 - Jewish groups want more Israel scholarship At a daylong summit Tuesday in New York, the 31 members of the Israel on Campus Coalition agreed to make expansion of Israel studies a priority. .....Speakers noted the importance of pro-Israel efforts on campus, their impact on shaping the attitudes of future leaders and the long-term effect of learning about Israel in the classroom as opposed to through advocacy.

02-07-07 - Cardin, Hastings new Helsinki chairs The chairmen, appointed this week by their respective congressional houses, are U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), who is Jewish and has been a leader on pro-Israel causes; and U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.), the leading pro-Israel voice in the Congressional Black Caucus, who most recently sponsored a resolution condemning Iran?s Holocaust denial conference.

02-07-07 - 12 Consequences of Attacking Iran ** The containment and disbanding of the Israeli lobby, one of the consequences put forth by the author, would actually be good for America. The rest of course, would not.

02-07-07 - Israel calls for sanctions on Iran that bypass UN Security Council

02-07-07 - Israel sounds alarm on Iran's nuclear efforts ** "It might be bad for Israel and bad for American Jews for Israel to be seen as pushing for action on Iran," said Yossi Klein Halevi, a senior fellow at the Shalem Center, a research institute in Jerusalem. "But we don't have the luxury of time anymore."....."I see a syndrome of America acting late," Sami Friedrich, an Israeli management consultant, lectured Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who joined the conference by video hookup from Washington.....Israel lacks the capability for a sustained offensive that might be needed to strike the bulk of Iran's facilities. Because of that, Ben-Israel and other officials say, Israel would prefer to join in an American-led attack on Iran Because, America doesn't have enough on its hands right now. K. If Israel seriously believed that it was in such grave danger - as it is leading us Americans to believe - there would be no talk. The Israeli nukes would've dropped on Iran by now. The fact is, Israel is not in imminent grave danger. That's why it's telling its own people ONE thing, and us quite another.

02-07-07 - Carter enters lions' den By Paul Findley At the age of 82, Jimmy Carter entered the lion's den. With the publication of his latest book, "Palestine: Peace not Apartheid," he did what a patriot would do: rally Americans to vigorous debate of a critical issue that affects our future. He deserves a hero's praise. Instead, he has been attacked and defamed. Great article, great man (Carter too).

02-07-07 - Denounced, but Jewish dissent grows For too long, Jews in many Western nations have shunned and intimidated fellow Jews who speak out against the illegal settlements or the cruelty of the 40-year occupation. However, uncritical allegiance to Israel by its "supporters" is arguably a greater cause of anti-Semitism than the dissent they seek to suppress.

02-07-07 - U.S.-Israeli agreement on anti-terror due An Israel official said the memorandum would provide for exchanges of information, joint research and ways of coping with conventional and non-conventional terror. We need that like we need a hole in the head.

02-06-07 - NYC Council Members Experience Rocket Attack The New York delegation arrived Sunday and is scheduled to return home on Thursday. The trip is sponsored by the United Jewish Appeal and other groups.

02-06-07 - Stand With Us releases Israel-education booklet Stand With Us prepared "Israel 101" in response to what it says is a " pressing need" for an easy-to-use resource for students engaged in Israel advocacy on college campuses. Wouldn't need any booklets if you had truth on your side.

02-06-07 - Turks ask for Jewish help on Armenia Gul and the Jewish leaders also discussed U.S.-Turkish relations, Israeli-Turkish relations, Jewish-Muslim relations and the Turkish Jewish community.

02-06-07 - Iran nuclear ambitions can be stopped without violence: Israel "Israel was never pushing anyone to any extreme action." Mmm k. The backpedaling continues.

02-06-07 - From the Wonderful Folks Who Brought You Iraq ** By now, the story of how neoconservatives hijacked American foreign policy is a familiar one. With Vice President Dick Cheney and Rumsfeld leading the way, neocons working out of the office of the vice president and the Department of Defense orchestrated a spectacular disinformation operation, asserting that Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction posed a grave and immediate threat to the U.S. Veteran analysts who disagreed were circumvented......Once again, neocon ideologues have been flogging questionable intelligence about W.M.D. Once again, dubious Middle East exile groups are making the rounds in Washington?this time urging regime change in Syria and Iran......Ten years later, "A Clean Break" looks like nothing less than a playbook for U.S.-Israeli foreign policy during the Bush-Cheney era......Adds former C.I.A. officer Philip Giraldi, "I've heard from sources at the Pentagon that their impression is that the White House has made a decision that war is going to happen." From Vanity Fair, no less. Excellent.

02-05-07 - Church rally supports Israel The keynote speaker, Walid Shoebat, a Palestinian native of Jericho Shoebat is the 'former terrorist' that the AIPAC'ers trot around the country because he does their bidding (Hasbara, or PR). Strange that other 'former terrorists' of the Palestinian kind are unceremoniously deported from this country - poste haste.

02-05-07 - Proposed Left-Wing Jewish Lobby Worries Some Israeli Analysts Reports of plans to set up a new, left-wing Jewish group seeking to lobby the U.S. government on Mideast policy have worried some in Israel, who fear it could undermine the existing pro-Israel lobby in Washington and harm Israeli security. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the key pro-Israel lobby in the U.S., says its role for more than 50 years has been "to help make Israel more secure by ensuring that American support remains strong." The existing pro-Israeli lobby should register as a foreign agent.

02-05-07 - Anti-Semitism monitor gets top radio post A scholar known for his work monitoring anti-Semitism and anti-Israeli activity in Europe was named president of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Jeffrey Gedmin starts in March, according to a statement released last Friday by the congressionally funded pro-American radio network.....Its previous president was Tom Dine, formerly an executive director of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee In other words, 'Radio Free Europe' funded by the US Congress, is pro-Israel propaganda.

02-05-07 - Czechs stress Israel support The representatives also agreed to help raise the profile on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's repeated calls for the destruction of Israel, which may violate the U.N. convention against genocide, Hoenlein said. From a different article: "America's proposed missile defence sites in Poland and the Czech Republic are designed to counter the potential missile threat from Iran and will not affect Russian security, a senior US defence official said." The lobby is in Czech to gather support for action on Iran.

02-05-07 - Eitam: Four years for Iran diplomacy** Eitam was in Washington meeting privately with lawmakers and think-tank officials to outline Israeli military reforms in the wake of last summer?s war with Hezbollah.

02-04-07 - How AIPAC warps US policy - Walt and Mearsheimer in Action This panel discussion is a MUST SEE and a MUST PASS ON.

02-04-07 - Prominent Jews call for open debate on Israel A group of prominent British Jews will today declare independence from the country's Jewish establishment, arguing that it puts support for Israel above the human rights of Palestinians.

02-04-07 - US gets Israeli security for Super Bowl BPR is expanding outside the realm of airports and is being adopted by police and security officers collegiate stadiums around the US..... New Age Solutions's success in the homeland security market comes amid a larger movement of Israeli security companies seeking to export to the US market. Last week's US-Israel Homeland Security Technologies Conference in Fairfax County, Virginia, saw 18 companies meet with US contractors and systems integrators. Completely outrageous.

02-03-07 - Groups Fear Public Backlash Over Iran ** While Jewish communal leaders focus most of their current lobbying efforts on pressing the United States to take a tough line against Iran and its nuclear program, some are privately voicing fears that they will be accused of driving America into a war with the regime in Tehran That's exactly what they're doing. Hello? Note to self: don't engage in an activity that I don't want to be accused of later on. Rocket science. (The authors go on to exonerate pro-Israeli groups of their role in the runup to the Iraq war - total baloney). True patriots and lovers of America, speak up now (against the forthcoming war on Iran), or forever hold your peace : "Jewish organizational officials and pro-Israel lobbyists on Capitol Hill downplayed the possibility that Congress might play a significant role in limiting the administration's response to Iranian nuclear ambitions. "It is very premature," one lobbyist said. "The administration has no war plan and Congress has no plan to block such a war." 'they always get what they want'

02-02-07 - Israeli envoy blasts campus critics ?The willingness of Jewish communities to host these organizations and even sponsor them is unfortunate,? said a report by Los Angeles Consul General Ehud Danoch sent to Israel?s Foreign Ministry and all Israeli envoys in North America.

02-02-07 - Bloomberg tours Sderot New York City?s mayor toured the besieged Israeli town of Sderot on Friday.

02-02-07 - Clinton, Edwards Will Square Off At Aipac Tonight A Democratic political consultant who worked on President Clinton's re-election campaign, Hank Sheinkopf, noted that the Aipac dinner always draws a parade of politicians. "New York is the ATM for American politicians. Large amounts of money come from the Jewish community," he said. "If you're running for president and you want dollars from that group, you need to show that you're interested in the issue that matters most to them." 'Ziagra'. (Say, whatever was that brouhaha regarding Wesley Clark's comments regarding 'NY money people' all about anyway, mewonders?...)

02-02-07 - Hillary fails to 'perform' for pro-israel crowd Clinton's remarks at the Marriott Marquis were met with little applause, and after she left the stage, several people said they were put off by the presidential candidate. "This is the wrong crowd to do that with," said one person at the dinner, noting the pro-Israel crowd wanted to hear tougher rhetoric. As to the title: give her some 'Zio-agra' or 'Ziagra' = more AIPAC $$$.

02-02-07 - Romney says Sen. Clinton 'timid' on Iran ** Responding to Romney's criticism, Clinton spokesman Mo Elleithee said Friday: "Senator Clinton believes that no option should be taken off the table when it comes to preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Given his record of flip flops, the only thing that's timid are Governor Romney's convictions The bipartisan game of 'who can kiss the pro-Israeli ass the best' has shifted into high gear - a game where America always seems to come out the loser. Look no further for the reason why we will be attacking Iran.

02-02-07 - Clinton wants talks with Iran Clinton told the American Israel Public Affairs Committee dinner in New York.



02-01-07 - Clinton wants talks with Iran "We stand with Israel because it's a beacon of democracy in the region." LOL @ Israeli 'democracy'. We 'stand with Israel' because of the intense efforts of the Israeli lobby.

02-01-07 - Letter: Against ADL program During the Q&A, a near free-for-all broke out. A woman who tried to quiet hecklers around her reported having obscenities screamed at her, along with death wishes for herself and her husband. Disrupters appear to have been bussed in, with one man thinking he was in Sharon. Finally, the principal ended by shutting the event down. (In contrast, a few days later, the pro-Israel David Project was allowed to present an opposing view, with no reports of disruption.) That should clue you in as to exactly who is trying to shut down the debate - it isn't the pro-Palestinians.

02-01-07 - Bloomberg: No to forcing agreement on Israel In a press conference held immediately following the ceremony Bloomberg stated that no one, including the United States, should force an agreement on Israel. Israel, he said, must reach an agreement with the Palestinians on its own.

02-01-07 - York guest speakers tackle Middle East politics The York University guest speakers discussed the growth and influence of pro-Israel lobby groups in Canada, especially on university campuses, from both a theoretical perspective and from personal experience....?The campaigns on the campuses began in the United States as far back as the 1970s,? Noble said. ?The American Israeli Political Action Committee undertook to train student activists in how to increase pro-Israel influence on campus by any and all means.?

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