The Fanonite

The annual policy conference of AIPAC, the most visible component of the Israel Lobby (aka “The Lobby”), is taking place in Washington and once again, it packs in the who’s who of American political elite, which this year included “half the members of the Senate and half the House of Representatives“.

This is no small achievement considering two of AIPAC’s senior executives have been indicted on charges of espionage for a foreign government. This failed to deter even the Vice President, or the Speaker of the House — each representing the opposite pole of America’s narrow political spectrum — from attending the event. [Full roster of speakers available here] 

This annual ritual which presents the American political elite an opportunity to prostrate itself to its Zionist handlers always has its highlights. Cheney’s speech was one:

Progress in the cause of security and long-term peace never comes easily…Yet the United States and Israel persevere in that cause…If Iran’s allies [in Iraq] prevailed, Tehran’s own designs for the Middle East would be advanced and the threat to our friends in the region would only be magnified. My friends, it is simply not consistent for anyone to demand aggressive action against the menace posed by the Iranian regime while, at the same time, acquiescing in a retreat from Iraq that would leave our worst enemies dramatically emboldened…when members of Congress pursue an antiwar strategy that’s been called ‘Slow-Bleed,’ they’re not supporting the troops; they are undermining them

If there is irony in the statement, you can be sure the cheering throng of Zionist loonies missed it. Iran’s allies in Iraq — SCIRI and Dawah — have already prevailed thanks to American assistance and their American-Israeli trained death squads have been terrorizing Iraq for 3 years now.

But why let facts get in the way of serviceable rhetoric?

While the AIPAC conference always packs in the usual hardline suspects — John Hagee of the nutty evangelical Christians United for Israel; Benjamin Netanyahu; Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, of the Cuban Lobby and an Israel lobby hardliner; Tzipi Livni, the Israeli Foreign Minister; James Woolsey, former CIA director and neocon extremist – what makes it interesting is the ease with which even the most “progressive” Americans drop their liberal pretences in their attemp to outhawk one another. Both Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the house, and Harry Reid the house majority leader, were present. Pelosi has made a name for herself through her unswerving fealty to a foreign state.

To demonstrate the extent of Pelosi’s support for Israel and for the Jewish community, Jewish activists in the Bay area tell the story of a luncheon given several years ago by pro-Israel lobbying powerhouse the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, at which Pelosi was one of the speakers. Suddenly an alarm went off in the building and the participants began rushing to the doors. All but one — Pelosi, who stood up and recited Israel’s national anthem.

At one of these AIPAC conferences, however, she went far enough for some to consider her statements treasonous. But the most illuminating moment was the conclusion to her 2005 speech:

There are those who contend that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is all about Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. This is absolute nonsense. In truth, the history of the conflict is not over occupation, and never has been: it is over the fundamental right of Israel to exist…

In the words of Isaiah, we will make ourselves to Israel ‘as hiding places from the winds and shelters from the tempests; as rivers of water in dry places; as shadows of a great rock in a weary land…The United States will stand with Israel now and forever. Now and forever.

In July 2006, she threatened to boycott the speech by Iraq’s puppet Prime Minister Nouri al-Malaki to the joint session of congress unless he repudiated his earlier criticism of Israeli aggression against Lebanon.

Pelosi’s association with the Lobby is old, however. Beginning August 8, 1991, she went on a tour of Israel as part of an Anti-Defamation League’s congressional mission along with Leon Panetta, George Miller and Charles Schumer. Pelosi has strong ties to the lobby, in particular to AIPAC; she is a close friend of Amy Friedkin, a past AIPAC president. It appears, however, that this time things may have gone as planned. The lobby may tolerate a lot of things, truth is not one of them.

Members of the main pro-Israel lobbying group offered scattered boos to a statement by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) that the Iraq war has been a failure on several scores. 

The Catfight

In the periphery of this extravaganza, an equally significant event may have escaped the notice of some:

In one of the most important campaign stops yet, supporters from the Clinton and Obama camps…flooded the hallways of the Washington Convention Centre distributing fliers and shouting through loudhailers in their bid to draw people in…

And while Mr Obama, who seemed tired, attracted only about 200 overwhelmingly young supporters to his room, Mrs Clinton, less stilted than in recent speeches and with an ace up her sleeve in the form of Tom Lantos, the only Holocaust survivor to be elected to Congress, filled her room to capacity with about 300 people from across the generations.

Forward adds:

“We need to stand in a united manner, not just across our own country but with our allies around the world, to make it very clear [to Iran] that no option is off the table,” Clinton roared hoarsely at the jam-packed dessert reception.

Of all the political receptions, Clinton’s seemed to be the most carefully orchestrated as a presidential campaign event. Her hall was festooned with “Let the Conversation Begin” banners and Hillary balloons; a cadre of student volunteers passed out fact-sheets on Clinton’s pro-Israel record…

“My position on the U.S.-Israeli relationship is not complicated; I am pro-Israel,” [Obama] began. The line drew hearty applause, along with later references to Iran as a “grave threat…”

Dan Shapiro, an adviser to the Obama campaign, told the Forward that his boss “has always said that the security of Israel should be America’s starting point in the Middle East.” Shapiro continued, “As he restated in his speech [in Chicago] and in Iowa, he also believes that the Palestinian people’s suffering is caused by the Hamas-led government’s refusal to renounce terrorism and join as a real partner in the peace process.”

That is right; and the Jewish underground that led the uprising in the Warsaw ghetto was responsible for the holocaust.

Sadly for Obama, he seems to have “lost ground”, despite the panegyrics.

Resistance

Despite the best efforts of some in the so called “antiwar” movement, the imposed silence on any mention of a lobby was finally broken by two courageous academics, John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt last year. As a result, for the first time, the power of the lobby is being publicly challenged. While the “antiwar” movement has been working double time to put a lid on it, some are finally breaking free from its orthodoxy and confronting the lobby directly. A protest was finally held this year outside the Washington Convention Centre, where the lobby and its minions are gathered.

William Hughes reports:

Demonstrator Alison Weir said: “We give Israel $8 million per day…[The American taxpayers] would be horrified to even see what is done {with that money}…in the West Bank and Gaza.” Mark Braverman told me: “As an American Jew, I’m here to protest AIPAC’s control of Congress. It is a very self-destructive course for America to be supporting Israel unconditionally.” Louis Wolf said: “I believe that AIPAC has really taken over Washington…the political process.” Carol Moore said: “Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine has to end and AIPAC is the group that makes it happen.” Doug Eyde emphasized: “I’m here to protest AIPAC…and their role in creating wars…All the major candidates serve Israel.” Jean Acton, who was at Jenin, in the Occupied West Bank, on April 3, 2002, after it was assaulted by the Israeli Occupation Forces, said: “From where we stood, you could smell the dead bodies…Israel really wants the Palestinians to leave their own country…”

Ms. Laci Barrow is an activist with the Coalition for Justice and Accountability (CJA). She said: “I’m here tonight to show solidarity with the other protesters against AIPAC’s hijacking of our Congress.” The Rev. Philip Wheaton is an Episcopal priest from DC. He said: “Bishop Desmond Tutu went to Israel recently and he said that Apartheid in Israel was ‘worse’ then it ever was in South Africa…This is really a horrible situation…I think the tail (Israel) is wagging the dog (the U.S.)…”

Ms. Athena Viscusi, an activist, was carrying a poster displaying a picture of Rachel Corrie at the rally. She said: “I’m just another taxpaying mom who doesn’t want her taxes going to buy equipment, like the one..the bulldozer…that killed…Corrie.” David Barrows said: “AIPAC is serving the illusion of empire…If you are violent with your neighbors [like Israel has been] you will never be safe.” Brian Hennessey said: “I’m here to take back our Congress…AIPAC is fundamentally for Israel…We just aren’t in charge of our foreign policy anymore.” Ross Pourzal stated: “I’m protesting because AIPAC is draining money from the U.S. treasury and from taxpayers like me to finance occupation and brutality in the Middle East; and particularly, because AIPAC is promoting war with Iran.” Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss is a spokesman for the Neturei Karta International, “Jews United Against Zionism.” He said: “AIPAC stands for a rebellion against God…What they are doing is against the Torah…AIPAC should be stopped…And the state of Israel should be…peacefully dismantled.”

He adds:

For me, AIPAC’s annual convention is about humiliation. Other Special Interests, like “Big Oil and the “Gun Lobby,” wouldn’t think of doing anything in this gaudy kind of way. The Zionists, on the other hand, enjoy publicly dragging the Christian politicians here, Republicans and Democrats alike, and making them crawl, like trained puppies. It’s kind of insidious–the bowing down–the dubious confessions of fealty to the raving Likudnuts. I’m outraged by this silly AIPAC spectacle, where a clique, advocating for a foreign entity gets to show off its power over our elected representatives…

What I’m sure won’t be discussed at this Pro-Israel love feast was the fate of the 34 U.S. servicemen, who were maliciously slaughtered on the USS Liberty by the Israelis on July 8, 1967; the late Rachel Corrie, a peace and justice activist, who was killed by a 9 ton Israeli bulldozer, at Rafah, on March 16, 2003; Jonathan Pollard, a Zionist fink, who betrayed our most valuable military secrets to Israel; the serial lies of Libby, and how he and other Neocons, like Douglas Feith, Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz, helped to push the U.S. into the illegal and immoral Iraqi War, and now want the U.S.–Perle in particular–to attack Iran and the bizarre case of those “Five Dancing Israelis” on 9/11 (3). And, don’t hold your breath waiting for a conscience-stricken Zionist Cartel to pay back to the American taxpayers, with interest, the $140 billion-plus, it has extracted from our national treasury since 1967. Trust me! None of the above issues will be on AIPAC’s Israel-First agenda. (4)

Meanwhile, the year 2006 was another hell on earth for the Palestinians trapped in Occupied Gaza and the West Bank. (5) You wouldn’t know it, however, by asking Israel’s hawkish Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert. He pompously barked: “Nobody dies from being uncomfortable.” This is the same Far Right Extremist who had no scruples about dropping over one million cluster bombs on Lebanon, in the summer of last year. Both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have charged Israel with “War Crimes” as a result of its outrageous conduct in Gaza and Lebanon. (6) In addition, a gutsy Professor, William Fletcher, who praised ex-President Jimmy Carter’s book, “Palestine Peace Not Apartheid,” warned: “Israel is a rabid state,” which is “capable of a maniacal act, like “unleashing a nuclear weapon.” (7) On top of all that, in a recent raid on the town of Nablus, the Israeli Occupation Forces were accused of using a Palestinian youth as a “human shield.” (8)

Keep in mind, that Zionist Israel, via its powerful Lobby, sucks three to four billions of dollars in aid (freebees) out of the treasury each year, thanks to a mostly shameless and cowardly U.S. Congress. (9) According to “Mother Jones” magazine, (Nov/Dec, 2006 issue), we also now know the names of some of the U.S. arms manufactures, who have been making hundreds of millions of dollars in profits by selling WMD to the Israelis. They are: Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, United Technologies, Boeing, Textron and General Dynamics…

I say: Down with AIPAC! Long Live the Republic!