[Marxism] shifting gears on Israel?

[Dbachmozart@xxxxxxx]

First there was the Walt and Mearsheimer book on the power of the Israel  
Lobby, saying out loud what many would only whisper in private. Then Jimmy  
Carter wrote a book - a best seller! - daring to call Israel's occupation and  
illegal settlements "apartheid". Now in the wake of the indefensible starvation 
 
and collective punishment, leading to an outright massacre of a  defenseless 
Gaza and the rage of the entire Arab nation, there are signs that  the more 
far-sighted section of the US ruling class has finally realized that  the 
bipartisan blank check support that Israel has received for the last four  
decades is 
a political dead end, threatening the pro US regimes in Egypt, Jordan  and 
Saudi Arabia. Bill Moyers had a hard hitting piece last night on PBS  -  see 
salon.com's Glenn Greenwald's take --
 

<_http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/01/10/moyers/index.html_ 
(http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/01/10/moyers/index.html) >
 
This author of the article below is a longtime advisor to both Democrats  and 
Republicans and his advice will be tough medicine for the Israel Lobby to  
swallow. Perhaps sensing that Obama was listening to this advice,
the Israeli leaders decided to strike before he took office, thus  presenting 
him with a fait accompli. 
 
If the ruling class faction represented by Obama does indeed attempt to  
switch gears and take a more even-handed approach, the Israel uber  alles crowd 
will not take it lying down. We can expect quite a battle, with  the Lobby 
calling in its paid-for Congresspeople to do everything they can to  hinder 
passage 
of legislation that Obama is pushing for. If the Obama faction  doesn't back 
down, their criticism of Israel will provide cover for  anti-Zionists to make 
our criticisms, with the power of "anti Semitism"  demagogy significantly 
diminished.
 
In my opinion, things have gone too far for too long for the US rulers to  
pull in the reins. They've created a Frankenstein monster in terms of a four  
decade long mindset of anthing less than total support of anything that Israel  
wants equals Naziism. Too much money, too many settlers and too much greed  
and religious zealotry are behind those illegal settlements and Israel may  now 
be so arrogant as to believe that they are a stronger force in US politics  
than the President.
 
 
Dennis
 
 
If Obama is serious, he should get tough with Israel
_http://www.newsweek.com/id/177716_ (http://www.newsweek.com/id/177716) 
 
clip --
 
 
The issue at hand is to find the right balance in America's ties with Israel. 
 Driven by shared values and based on America's 60-year commitment to 
Israel's  security and well-being, the special relationship is rock solid. But 
for 
the  past 16 years, the United States has allowed that special bond to become  
exclusive in ways that undermine America's, and Israel's, national  interests. 
If Obama is serious about peacemaking he'll have to adjust that balance in  
two ways. First, whatever the transgressions of the Palestinians (and there are 
 many, including terror, violence and incitement), he'll also have to deal 
with  Israel's behavior on the ground. The Gaza crisis is a case in point. 
Israel has  every reason to defend itself against Hamas. But does it make sense 
for 
America  to support its policy of punishing Hamas by making life unbearable 
for 1.5  million Gazans by denying aid and economic development? The answer is 
no. 
Then there's the settlements issue. In 25 years of working on this issue for  
six secretaries of state, I can't recall one meeting where we had a serious  
discussion with an Israeli prime minister about the damage that settlement  
activityâincluding land confiscation, bypass roads and housing 
demolitionsâdoes 
 to the peacemaking process. There is a need to impose some accountability. 
And  this can only come from the president. But Obama should make it clear that 
 America will not lend its auspices to a peacemaking process in which the 
actions  of either side willfully undermine the chances of an agreement America 
is trying  to broker. No process at all would be better than a dishonest one 
that hurts  America's credibility.





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