After the horror of 9/11, when the predictable retaliation was being discussed, the pro-Israel lobby emerged as the “maximalist school”, which wanted to expand the theatre of operations beyond Afghanistan to engulf Iraq, Syria and Libya. That lobby has grown accustomed to using one muscle too many and one pressure too far. The collusion between the US and Israeli agendas has put America on a collision course with the Arab World, which now perceives the US as Israel’s belligerent Sparta and the aim of American foreign policy to be docility, not democracy. Read more about Sharon's banana republics
Pro-Israel groups in the US and Europe have campaigned to suggest the European Union is aflame with a “new anti-Semitism,” and to thereby stifle criticism of Israel. But recently they’ve suffered several setbacks. Contrary to the findings in a EUMC report produced in late 2003, the new EUMC report concluded there was no evidence that the increase could be attributed mainly to Muslims and pro-Palestinian groups. Ei’s Ali Abunimah investigates new and disturbing trends in Israeli lobbyists’ efforts to silence criticism of Israel. Read more about Arabs, Muslims are not behind European anti-Semitism
A majority of Israeli Jews - 63.7 percent - believes the Israeli government should encourage Palestinians to leave the country. These are the results of a poll recently released by the Haifa University. The poll comes at a time when Ariel Sharon, Israel’s Prime Minister is working on his unilateral “disengagement plan” and while various governments are trying to influence the process. However, the longer it takes them to realize the facts on the ground and the sense of urgency, the more Palestinians will lose their faith in a two-state solution. The longer it takes to Israel to discover the mess it has worked itself in, the sooner the day on which a Palestinian majority will start calling for “one-man-one-vote”. Read more about Catch 22: The end of the two-state solution
Lately, Senator John Kerry has been reassuring voters that he will be as pro-Israel as President Bush. He has expressed his support for Sharon’s policy of unilateral disengagement, building of the so-called security barrier and the political isolation of Yasser Arafat. The candidate’s present position toward Middle East peace contradicts his past support of the Oslo peace process and provides a surprising contrast to his views when he was a young anti-war leader in the early ’70s. Ira Glunts looks at the record of Kerry’s position. Read more about Kerry Indicates He Would Continue Bush's Pro-Sharon Policy
House Resolution 3077 passed last fall. It included a provision to establish an advisory board to monitor campus international studies centers in order to ensure that they advance the national interest. While the law would apply to all federally funded institutes with an international focus, the target is clearly the nation’s 17 centers for Middle East studies. The driving force behind this provision is the same group of conservative ideologues who have long promoted the war on Iraq and who support the extreme right-wing politics of the Sharon government in Israel. Their aim is to defend the foreign policy of this administration by stifling critical and informed discussion on U.S. campuses. Professor Beshara Doumani reports. Read more about Be careful what you say on campus
Romano Prodi, President of the European Commission, told the European Parliament today that the fight against terrorism must include efforts to find a solution to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. “The success of our strategy to combat international terrorism depends on peace in the Middle East,” Prodi said. He warned that force alone would not defeat terrorism. “Governments must forge a political strategy to understand and resolve the underlying causes of terrorism,” he said. Read more about EU: Solving Israeli-Palestinian conflict "top priority"
The European Union warned Israel today they will not recognize any change in the pre-1967 borders made unilaterally or resulting from the construction of the Separation Barrier. Leaders of the European Union met in Brussels on 25 and 26 March. The Council expressed its deep concern at the situation in the Middle East and the deepening of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, following in particular the extra-judicial killing of Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. The Council stated: “The European Union will not recognise any change to the pre-1967 borders other than those arrived at by agreement between the parties.” Read more about EU won't recognize any change to pre-1967 borders
In the early weeks of the invasion of Iraq, when the US thrust toward Baghdad appeared to be meeting more resistance than expected, an awful row broke out in Washington over the role of pro-Israel groups and individuals in dragging the country to war. Increasing media examination of the roles of key neoconservative figures associated with Likudnik groups gave rise to a backlash that sought to tar anyone who dared raise questions with anti-Semitism. But a an expose by a lieutenant colonel in the US Air Force who recently retired from the Pentagon, reveals that the influence of such groups was direct, organized and effective. EI’s Ali Abunimah explains. Read more about It's worse than you thought: pro-Israel influence on US policy
Much of the rising anti-Semitism in Europe today is undeniably fuelled by conflicts in the Middle East. However, continued insistence on the part of the Israeli government and its supporters that critics of its policies are “anti-Semitic” is a dangerous and damaging position to hold. Human rights advocates Jeff Handmaker and Adri Nieuwhof argue that continued insistence on this equation of anti-Israeli government sentiments and anti-Semitism creates a hostile atmosphere and prevents a critical dialogue on Middle East issues from a human rights perspective. Read more about Israel’s cry of anti-Semitism blocks a critical dialogue
Today, the Mayor of The Hague, Wim Deetman, issued a press statement this morning. Deetman was “unpleasantly surprised” by the intention of the Dutch Zionist organization “Christenen voor Israel” to carry photographs which, whether rightly or wrongly were capable of “engendering emotions of a provocative nature,” during a demonstration march. In doing so, Deetman added only the factual, undisputed information that he had been informed by “Christenen voor Israel”, amongst others, that the Israeli Embassy in The Hague had “inspired” them to carry those photographs. Read more about Deetman responds to Israeli anger over protests in The Hague
