It is simply insane to argue that Israel has to make further concessions to get the US government to keep its word. Coming from a Palestinian whose people, after the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, destroyed the economic infrastructure that would benefit them simply because it was Jewish; who not only launched indiscriminate war crime rocketing of women and children,
" but also attempted to justify it; who still brainwash little children to hate Jews and idolize murder, whose founder was an Egyptian engineer terrorist, not a "Palestinian"and who have by and large created a fictional people largely out of immigrants from Syria and Egypt drawn by Jewish prosperity in the nineteenth century, who have never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity for peace; who lie outright about the history of Israel and the Jews, who claim as "refugees" the descendants of legitimate refugees unlike any other people in history or international law, who have tried to overthrow every Arab government that hosted them and had to be kicked out by the armies of Kuwait, of Jordan, and of Lebanon, well, if I sound outraged at the unbelievable Chutzpah of the writer it is because I am.

Until these nut cases wake up and smell the coffee, there will be no peace for them.

Further, the more Israelis see that humane and scrupulously careful behavior during military actions gets them only condemnation, orchestrated by Palestinian lies, the more likely the next time Palestinians attack Israeli civilians the Israelis will take a lesson from the US and the allies and treat Gaza as the allies did Dresden during World War II. There is little reason for the Israelis to restrain themselves and behave as a light unto the nations when it gets them only censure. There is a shift in Israel; next time they will behave like other Western powers, or perhaps even the way Arabs behave toward each other.

If Mr Obama is really interested in "change" we can believe in then he needs to "change" the same old rhetoric, and dogmatic, unquestioned, unconditional support of Israel. Level the playing field and be an honest broker of the "change" he is espousing. Obama is no fool but AIPAC, Rahm, Bibi, our useless Congress, etc, has done their best to bias Obama to be an Israel firster.

I will be proud of the day when the President can put the interest of America before the interest of Israel and not be crucified for it. It's a shame that American politicians are selected, not on their commitment to the best interests of America, but by vowing to put the interests of a foreign nation, Israel, first. The oath of allegiance that I said everyday in school was not to Israel, or any country but America.

It is sad indeed when the first African-American president of the United States defends in Israel exactly the kind of institutionalized bigotry the civil rights movement defeated in this country, a victory that made his election possible.

This is a battle that America and Obama can win at a stroke, without a single life being lost and within a matter of weeks or months.

Israel has become the new apartheid Sout Africa. Confront AIPAC. Bring in legislation to ban all bilateral trade with Israel until its government complies with international law, the UNSC and the Geneva Conventions.

The world is growing tired of being blackmailed by a country with it's victim rhetoric, A country that has an illegal nuclear arsenal capable of unimaginable destruction, a country which has no regard for international law, Geneva conventions, apartheid behavior, or their own terrorism with just under 500,000 human beings holding world peace hostage.

Bibi and his Moldavian thug of an FM want so much to show in Israel and abroad: trying to make the stink of Israel’s failed policies smell like roses when we all know they just stink.

Why don't we put it to vote and see how many Americans and world citiznes want to continue supporting the world's biggest welfare client, Israel ?
Divest, sanction, and boycott Israel. Stop all aid to Israel. We voted for change. Where is it?

There were good things about Nazi Germany too: great Opera, fine car industries, roads, etc.

That there is Apartheid in Israel is clear if even the Education Minister says so:

She has been awarded both the Israel Prize and the Emil Grunzweig Human Rights Award by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel.

This Road is for Jews Only
Yes, There is Apartheid in Israel

By SHULAMIT ALONI

Jewish self-righteousness is taken for granted among ourselves to such an extent that we fail to see what's right in front of our eyes. It's simply inconceivable that the ultimate victims, the Jews, can carry out evil deeds.

Nevertheless, the state of Israel practises its own, quite violent, form of Apartheid with the native Palestinian population.

The US Jewish Establishment's onslaught on former President Jimmy Carter is based on him daring to tell the truth which is known to all: through its army, the government of Israel practises a brutal form of Apartheid in the territory it occupies. Its army has turned every Palestinian village and town into a fenced-in, or blocked-in, detention camp. All this is done in order to keep an eye on the population's movements and to make its life difficult. Israel even imposes a total curfew whenever the settlers, who have illegally usurped the Palestinians' land, celebrate their holidays or conduct their parades.

If that were not enough, the generals commanding the region frequently issue further orders, regulations, instructions and rules (let us not forget: they are the lords of the land). By now they have requisitioned further lands for the purpose of constructing "Jewish only" roads. Wonderful roads, wide roads, well-paved roads, brightly lit at night--all that on stolen land. When a Palestinian drives on such a road, his vehicle is confiscated and he is sent on his way.

On one occasion I witnessed such an encounter between a driver and a soldier who was taking down the details before confiscating the vehicle and sending its owner away. "Why?" I asked the soldier. "It's an order--this is a Jews-only road", he replied. I inquired as to where was the sign indicating this fact and instructing [other] drivers not to use it. His answer was nothing short of amazing. "It is his responsibility to know it, and besides, what do you want us to do, put up a sign here and let some antisemitic reporter or journalist take a photo so he that can show the world that Apartheid exists here?"

Indeed Apartheid does exist here. And our army is not "the most moral army in the world" as we are told by its commanders. Sufficient to mention that every town and every village has turned into a detention centre and that every entry and every exit has been closed, cutting it off from arterial traffic. If it were not enough that Palestinians are not allowed to travel on the roads paved 'for Jews only', on their land, the current GOC found it necessary to land an additional blow on the natives in their own land with an "ingenious proposal".

Humanitarian activists cannot transport Palestinians either.

Major-General Naveh, renowned for his superior patriotism, has issued a new order. Coming into affect on 19 January, it prohibits the conveyance of Palestinians without a permit. The order determines that Israelis are not allowed to transport Palestinians in an Israeli vehicle (one registered in Israel regardless of what kind of numberplate it carries) unless they have received explicit permission to do so. The permit relates to both the driver and the Palestinian passenger. Of course none of this applies to those whose labour serves the settlers. They and their employers will naturally receive the required permits so they can continue to serve the lords of the land, the settlers.

Did man of peace President Carter truly err in concluding that Israel is creating Apartheid? Did he exaggerate? Don't the US Jewish community leaders recognise the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination of 7 March 1966, to which Israel is a signatory? Are the US Jews who launched the loud and abusive campaign against Carter for supposedly maligning Israel's character and its democratic and humanist nature unfamiliar with the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid of 30 November 1973? Apartheid is defined therein as an international crime that among other things includes using different legal instruments to rule over different racial groups, thus depriving people of their human rights. Isn't freedom of travel one of these rights?

In the past, the US Jewish community leaders were quite familiar with the meaning of those conventions. For some reason, however, they are convinced that Israel is allowed to contravene them. It's OK to kill civilians, women and children, old people and parents with their children, deliberately or otherwise without accepting any responsibility. It's permissible to rob people of their lands, destroy their crops, and cage them up like animals in the zoo. From now on, Israelis and International humanitarian organisations' volunteers are prohibited from assisting a woman in labour by taking her to the hospital. [Israeli human rights group] Yesh Din volunteers cannot take a robbed and beaten-up Palestinian to the police station to lodge a complaint. (Police stations are located at the heart of the settlements.) Is there anyone who believes that this is not Apartheid?

Jimmy Carter does not need me to defend his reputation that has been sullied by Israelophile community officials. The trouble is that their love of Israel distorts their judgment and blinds them from seeing what's in front of them. Israel is an occupying power that for 40 years has been oppressing an indigenous people, which is entitled to a sovereign and independent existence while living in peace with us. We should remember that we too used very violent terror against foreign rule because we wanted our own state. And the list of victims of terror is quite long and extensive.

We do limit ourselves to denying the [Palestinian] people human rights. We not only rob of them of their freedom, land and water. We apply collective punishment to millions of people and even, in revenge-driven frenzy, destroy the electricity supply for one and half million civilians. Let them "sit in the darkness" and "starve".

Employees cannot be paid their wages because Israel is holding 500 million shekels that belong to the Palestinians. And after all that we remain "pure as the driven snow". There are no moral blemishes on our actions. There is no racial separation. There is no Apartheid. It's an invention of the enemies of Israel. Hooray for our brothers and sisters in the US! Your devotion is very much appreciated. You have truly removed a nasty stain from us. Now there can be an extra spring in our step as we confidently abuse the Palestinian population, using the "most moral army in the world".

[Translated by Sol Salbe]
Shulamit Aloni is the former Education Minister of Israel. She has been awarded both the Israel Prize and the Emil Grunzweig Human Rights Award by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel.

Ref:

http://www.counterpunch.org/aloni01082007.html

A Jewish pro-Zionist UN Jurist (Mr. Goldstone) found that Israel has committed war crimes in Gaza. And what does the US do? Bury the report.

Since IDF is now a confirmed War Criminal entity sending ANY US military aid to the Israelis is in DIRECT contravention of our Arms Export Control Act. Why do we still support these war criminals?

I am not saying that Hamas is blame-free. But we don't give them cluster bombs to use on children either.

Since we support war criminals with helicopters and cluster bombs, is it a surprise that we get terrorism in return?

As soon as we stop messing around overseas (witness our clear involvement with the terrorist murder of 5 Iranian revolutionary guards recently) we will get blowback terrorism. It does not matter whether or not AQ has any safe havens or not -- regular people can become radicalized by the sheer extent of our injustice abroad.

Force -- even when wielded by the seemingly strong against the nominally weak -- continues to be an exceedingly uncertain instrument. The United States' penchant for projecting power has created as many problems as it has solved. Genuinely decisive outcomes remain rare, costs often far exceed expectations, and unintended and unwelcome consequences are legion.

The pursuit of US military dominance is an illusion, the principal effect of which is to distort strategic judgment by persuading policymakers that they have at hand the means to make short work of history's complexities. The real need is to wean the United States from its infatuation with military power and come to a more modest appreciation of what force can and cannot do.

We have to come to the painful conclusion that we have created the terrorism that we are subject to via our terrible foreign policies. (In this case directly: we worked in 1980s to radicalize the pustuns). No lack of safe havens will protect us from our well-earned blowback.