The first warning short has been fired. The Anti-Defamation League's Abraham Foxman released a statement last week:
Gen. Petraeus has simply erred in linking the challenges faced by the U.S. and coalition forces in the region to a solution of the Israeli-Arab conflict, and blaming extremist activities on the absence of peace and the perceived U.S. favoritism for Israel. This linkage is dangerous and counterproductive.
ADL is a tax-exempt organization aimed "to stop the defamation of the Jewish people...to secure justice and fair treatment to all". Has General Petraeus done anything that fell within ADL's mandate? Well, General Petraeus had the audacity to publicly state the obvious during a Senate hearing: "The [Israel-Palestinian] conflict foments anti-American sentiment, due to a perception of U.S. favoritism for Israel." This linkage is, in Foxman's eyes, anti-Semitic because it is a particularly "pernicious" argument that "smacks of blaming the Jews for everything."
AIPAC is having its annual meeting in Washington D.C. this week. It has sent out talking points asking its members to lobby the congress and the Obama administration for (a) "crippling" sanction on Iran; (b) reaffirming special relationship with Israel; (c) resolving differences quietly and privately. Congressional leaders promptly obliged:The first point is addressed in a letter to President Obama from Senators Graham and Schumer. The second and third points in letters to Secretary Clinton from Senators Boxer and Isakson, and from House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Minority Whip Eric Cantor.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netayahu gave a defiant speech in front of a rowdy crowd of 7,000 pro-Israel activists at the AIPAC conference last night, publicly challenging the U.S. policy and international laws:
"The Jewish people were building Jerusalem 3,000 year ago and the Jewish people are building Jerusalem today.Jerusalem is not a settlement.It is our capital."
All told, there were 59 senators and 269 members of the House of Representatives, along with administration staffers among the cheering crowd in the roll calls during the AIPAC banquet last night.
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There has never been an honest and public debate on our "special relationship" to Israel after 9/11. We are among the most hated country in the Arab and Muslim world. The fact is: America is the most generous, diverse, and tolerate country in the world. We give the most foreign aid; we accept the most refugees; our soldiers died defending other peoples---among them Muslims---against aggressions around the globe.
We are constantly reminded by the MSM that "they" hate us because of our freedom and democracy, and our special relationship with Israel is "unbreakable" and "forever" because of our shared values and bonds.
Well, America is an immigrant country. We all have bonds with our ancestry countries. Mexican Americans have bonds with Mexico; Irish Americans with Ireland; Chinese Americans with China. However, we are reasonable: We understand America cannot have "special relationship" with every country in the world.
Yes, America has shared values with Israel. However, There are also fundamental differences. Whereas Israel is an ethnocentric Jewish state, we are a melting-pot and we celebrate diversity. We consider diversity our strength, not weakness. Our immigration policy is different from that of Israel's. No sane politician would support whites only settlements and highways in today's America. Yet we provide more than $100 billions aid to Israel, subsidizing the Israelis settlement in the occupied territories that are illegal under international laws and against the official U.S. policy.
It is long past time to have an honest, open, and public debate on America's "special relationship" with Israel. This relationship has not served America. Neither has it served Israel.