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02 May 2011 By Stephen Lendman Edward Said once called AIPAC
"the most powerful and feared lobby in Washington."
For years, it's "drawn on a well-organized,
well-connected, highly visible, successful, and
wealthy Jewish population," subverting potential
opposition. As a result, fear and respect
"for AIPAC (exists) all over the country, but
especially in Washington, where in a matter of hours,
almost the entire Senate can be marshaled into signing
a letter to the president on Israel's behalf. Who is
going to oppose AIPAC and continue to have a career in
Congress, or" to represent the Palestinian cause "when
nothing concrete can be offered by that cause to
anyone who stands up to AIPAC?" Deferentially, each year, US
politicians, including presidents, flock to its annual
conference, paying homage to Israel and its influence.
Calling itself "America's
Pro-Israel Lobby," it's represented Israeli interests
since founded in 1953, then incorporated in 1963 as a
division of the American Zionist Council (AZC), its
precursor. Exempted from registering as a
foreign agent, it's had virtual fifth column veto
power over war and peace, trade and investment,
multi-billion dollar arms sales, and all Middle East
policies affecting Israel under Democrat and
Republican administrations alike. In March 2001, discussing the
power of American Zionist organizations, Edward Said
said: "I find it absolutely
astonishing, given that Palestinian policy has been
essentially to throw our fate as a people in the lap
of the United States without any strategic awareness
of how US policy is in effect dominated, if not
completely controlled, by a small minority of people
whose views about the Middle East are in some way more
extreme than even those of the Israeli Likud." In fact, Zionist discourse in
America reflects power, "and Arabs....are the objects
of power - despised objects at that....To submit
supinely to a Zionist-controlled (US) Middle East
policy....will neither bring stability (for Israelis
or Palestinians) nor equality and justice in the US." As a result, today's status is
what Said called "untrammelled immorality," a shocking
disregard for the most basic sense of fairness -
unrecognized, undiscussed and spurned in political and
major media discourse. Instead, they focus solely on
the interests of a rogue Israeli state - occupying,
persecuting, and immiserating millions of Palestinians
whose only offense is not being Jewish. No wonder Obama's May 22 AIPAC
speech affirmed rock solid support for a "strong and
secure Israel," leaving Palestinians entirely out of
his equation, despite paying disingenuous lip service
to their interests. No wonder also that an official
AIPAC statement expressed gratitude for his assurance
that Washington doesn't expect Israel to withdraw to
June 1967 borders, besides explicitly calling Hamas a
terrorist organization, ignoring its January 2006
electoral victory as Palestine's legitimate
government. Obama also ignored: -- the Convention on the
Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid
(the Apartheid Convention), defined by the Rome
Statute to include murder, extermination, enslavement,
torture, arbitrary arrest, illegal imprisonment,
denial of the right to life and liberty, cruel,
inhuman and degrading treatment, and other abusive
acts imposed by one group on another; -- Israel's abhorrence of peace
and repeated international law violations; -- its decades of lawless
occupation, aggression, and collective punishment; -- Palestinians denied free
movement, expression and right of assembly; -- explicit recognition of
Palestinian self-determination under provisions of the
December 1960 UN General Assembly Declaration on the
Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and
Peoples, and all other UN resolutions affirming it; -- the universally recognized
right of return; -- Jerusalem as Palestine's
legitimate capital; -- Israel's illegal July 1980
East Jerusalem annexation despite SC Resolution 478 a
month later declaring the Jerusalem Law null and void
and requiring its immediate rescinding; -- Israel's Separation Wall on
stolen Palestinian land, ruled illegal by the
International Court of Justice; -- Palestinians denied access to
their own land, air space, coastal waters, and control
of their borders; -- extreme poverty, unemployment,
exploitation and depravation; -- daily violence against defense
civilians, including children; -- targeted assassinations and
other killings; -- mass arrests, detentions and
torture; -- illegal home demolitions; -- apartheid settlements for Jews
only, numbering 500,000 in the West Bank and East
Jerusalem, illegally transferred to Occupied
Palestine; -- around half of the West Bank
and East Jerusalem off limits to Palestinians,
according to UN estimates, as well as denying them
access to their own resources; and -- since June 2007, Gaza's
suffocating siege, condemning nearly 1.7 million
Palestinians to slow-motion genocide after Israel
illegally declared it a "hostile entity," denying
nonviolent civilians access to enough food,
healthcare, fuel, electricity, and other essential
needs. The Gisha Legal Center for Freedom of Movement "promotes rights guaranteed by international and Israeli law." In May 2011, it published a "Gaza Cheat Sheet" account of what Gazans endure daily out of sight and mind in Washington and other Western capitals. As a result, Israel created a humanitarian crisis, requiring aid for over 70% of Gazans. Moreover, Cast Lead destruction remains rubble. Vital needs go unmet. Around 95% of Gaza's industrial enterprises were impacted, suspended, closed, damaged or destroyed. The remaining 5% operate at from 20 to 50% of capacity. Lost jobs haven't been regained. Aside from Gaza's tunnel economy to Egypt, vulnerable to Israeli bombing, Kerem Shalom is the sole crossing point to Israel for the limited amount of aid let in. Excluded are goods and materials called dual use, basic construction materials like cement, steel and gravel (except for small amounts), spare parts, and other vital supplies to rebuild what Cast Lead destroyed. Overall, a small fraction of what entered freely pre-June 2007 gets in now. Moreover, exports are largely banned, except for occasional small amounts of strawberries, flowers, peppers and tomatoes to European markets. On average, it's about two truckloads a day compared to 400 or more in 2005. In addition, travel between Gaza and the West Bank is extremely limited via Erez crossing to Israel and Rafah to Egypt. In fact, only "exceptional humanitarian cases" are allowed with an emphasis on medical emergencies, and not many of them. Travel to other areas is only possible through Egypt, with very rare exceptions. By controlling Palestine's population registry, Israel has decision-making power over passports, required to exit through Rafah. Since Mubarak's ouster, only about 300 a day now cross. As a result, students can't study abroad. Families are divided, and commerce can't operate freely. Further, Israel prohibits access to and from Gaza by air or sea. Fishing is allowed only up to three nautical miles offshore, excluding most Gazan waters from use. In fact, under Oslo, 20 nautical miles were established. In addition, a 300 - 1,500 meter no-go "buffer zone" exists along Israel's separating border fence, placing 17% of Gaza off limits and 35% of its arable land. Farmers daring to work it risk being shot and killed. For many years, in fact, travel between the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem was highly restricted, preventing most Palestinians from doing it, let alone having access outside the Territories. In large measure, occupation, especially for Gaza, has meant imprisonment, unable to move freely as international law permits. Moreover, the international community bears direct responsibility for letting Israel perpetuate this crisis by not imposing boycotts, divestments, sanctions and isolation until it ends. In fact, the 2009 Lisbon Treaty affirms fundamental freedoms, peace, democracy, human rights and dignity, justice, equality, the rule of law, security, tolerance, solidarity, mutual respect among peoples, the rights of the child, strict adherence to the UN Charter and international law, environmental protection, sustainable development, conflict prevention, and combatting social exclusion and discrimination. Western nations literally let Israel get away with murder by spurning these principles.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening. http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour/. |
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