Since 1976, Israel has been the top recipient of free money from the United States government. In 2004, Israel received $2.16 billion from the U.S.; in 2009, 3.2 billion. These are your federal tax dollars at work, America.
Recently, U.S. President Obama announced a plan to increase that 3.2 billion figure and provide an additional $200 million to Israel for a missile system development project. That's right: we are funding this country's military to make its defenses as invincible as possible. But why? The answer has nothing to do with who attacked this country recently or what would be lost if it were to disappear tomorrow. The answer simply has to do with the following:
I. America's pro-Israel lobby
America has the largest pro-Israel lobby in the world. Since 1954, it has been known as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC for short. On a regular basis, AIPAC meets with members of the U.S. Congress and hosts events where its views are explained to America's decision makers. The organization also funds politicians in Washington if they are considered to be "pro-Israel" and will fight for Israel's interests. Incidentally, the biggest names in U.S. politics have received AIPAC's support, including John McCain, John Kerry, the Clintons and the Bushes.
The following corporations either fund AIPAC or support Israel in some other way: Starbucks, Coca-Cola (Fruitopia, Fanta, Sprite, Sunkist...), Revlon, McDonald's, Motorola, Dannon, Nokia, Estée Lauder, Intel, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, L'Oreal, Giorgio Armani, Vichy, Garnier, Siemens, Maybelline, Ralph Lauren, Nestle, Sara Lee (Hanes, Playtex, Champion, Leggs, Douwe Egberts, Bryan, DIM, Ambi Pur, Bali, Superior Coffee, Just My Size, Kiwi, Maison, Outer Banks, Wonderbra...), The Limited Inc. (Express stores, Structure, Victoria's Secret, Bath & Body Works...), Kimberly-Clark (Kleenex, Kotex, Huggies...), Apax Partners & Co Ltd, Delta Galil (Barbie, Victoria's Secret, GAP, Banana Republic, Structure, J-Crew, JC Penny, Pryca, Lindex, DIM, DKNY, Ralph Lauren, Playtex, Calvin Klein, Hugo Boss...), Estee Lauder (Aramis, Clinique, DKNY, Tommy Hilfiger...), Marks & Spencer, Timberland and Home Depot.
AOL Time Warner, Disney and News Corporation, as well as their subsidiaries in broadcast (Fox News, CNN, Sky, Star, Phoenix, Granada, CNBC) and print media (The Sun, The Times, The Telegraph, Herald Sun, Independent, Sunday Mail, New York Post and New York Times), are also part of the pro-Israel lobby. These media giants present events in the Middle East with a pro-Israel slant, to nobody's surprise given their ownership. After all, News Corporation's owner, Rupert Murdoch, is a member of the Bilderberg Group - a major player in pro-Israel, neo-con planning. Murdoch is just as big of an Israel supporter as AOL Time Warner and Disney, both which are Jewish-owned companies.
II. The pro-Israeli lobby encourages war-mongering
In 2001, the AIPAC-led, pro-Israel lobby was one of the loudest sources arguing that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. The lobby wanted the public to believe that Iraq's leader, Saddam Hussein, had connections to Al Qaida (the organization said to be responsible for the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001). Of course, no WMDs were found in Iraq and no connection between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaida was proven. Nevertheless, the invasion of Iraq took place under the premise that Iraq was a threat for these reasons and, as a result, the Iraq of old, a vocal opponent of Israel and a potential threat to Israeli interests, disappeared.
Now the media and our politicians are focused on Iran, and it is not hard to see why; whereas Iraq held anti-Israeli sentiments and was argued to have weaponry capable of challenging Israel, Iran's president has challenged Israel's version of history, and its legitimacy as a product of that narrative. Iran also supports the Palestinian cause - and Hezbollah directly, in Lebanon - which the Israelis are at odds with over land claims. Even more importantly, Iran is capable of becoming a nuclear power, and this has some of Israel's supporters very upset - even to the point where they have advocated bombing Iran:
II. Israel's use of U.S.-given funds and weaponry
Some of the military technology and weaponry that Israel has received from the U.S. has been used in Israel's aggressive campaigns against its neighbors. The destruction that occurred in result has killed thousands of citizens and forced thousands more to flee. Many of the displaced have since fled to Europe. Thus, their flight is contributing to the growing clash of civilizations in Europe, where mass Muslim immigration is threatening to change demographics permanently. In Europe, at least, Muslims are predicted to become the majority population by the second half of the 21st century. Of course, their exodus from Gaza and the West Bank is welcomed by Israel, because Israel wants Gaza and the West Bank to itself. Israel laying claim to this territory would be in violation of its peace treaty agreements, true. But the Israelis have ignored their obligations in so many areas already and, in the West Bank specifically, they have several settlements that were built contrary to peace agreements. Ultimately, it comes down to this: with power, you can make the rules for other nations and play by your own. And that is exactly what Israel has done.
Of course, Israel's actions have not been without consequence. In 1982, for example, Israel attacked Lebanon to neutralize the resistance group there known as the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). The carnage unleashed by Israel upon ordinary citizens was widely condemned by the international community and has begun to change the public's perception of Israel. But the U.S. did nothing in response to Israel's actions except temporarily suspend the sale of jet fighters to Israel. In hindsight, considering the size and strength of the pro-Israel lobby in America, none of this is a surprise. But the violence and destruction in Lebanon had another effect: it led to anger in Lebanon, fueling the rise of the new resistance organization mentioned earlier, called Hezbollah. Hezbollah has dedicated itself to avenging the victims of Israel's invasion and stopping Israel's expansion and resettlement in disputed territories. In response, Israel and the United States have designated Hezbollah as a "terrorist organization". Only two other countries in the world share this opinion at present, however this grand designation gave the Israelis cover to go after the organization in "self defense". Thus, the Israelis began bombing Lebanon and, in the attack, killed the then-leader of Hezbollah - as well as his wife, son, and four others. But the saga was just beginning. In 2006, after a border skirmish between Hezbollah and the Israeli army, Israel invaded Lebanon again and launched major air strikes on several Lebanese cities. Thousands of civilians died in the attacks and others were forced to flee. Once again, Israel's response was not challenged by the U.S. and no sanctions against Israel followed. In fact, the only sanctions put into place that year by the U.S. were those put on the besieged Palestinians shortly after they voted their own resistance organization, Hamas, into power.
III. The "proxy war" unfolding
Today, Israel alleges that Hamas is supported through Saudi Arabia, even if the Saudis receive incentives to stay neutral. Iran, meanwhile, is the key patron of Hamas, supports Hezbollah and is thought to have armed the anti-Western Islamists in Iraq and trained them, too. Besides the motivation to protect their "Islamic brothers", both Iran and Saudi Arabia are surely aware that their proxies can push military-strong and resource-weak Israel to the limit - and, quite beneficially, limit Israel's power for expansion into their own resource-rich territories. At the same time, Muslims from around the world have helped to fund or promote Hamas and Hezbollah, with refugees in the West playing a key role. Some would surely call this "aiding and abetting terror". Others would disagree, but surely condemn the terror attacks carried out against ordinary Americans to avenge U.S. support of Israel. Nonetheless, what is clear that both sides, the Jews and their Muslim enemies, are fighting a proxy war; while the Muslim world secretly arms the Palestinians, Hamas or Hezbollah with weapons or money to purchase weapons, Jews from all over the world who support Zionism support the Israeli cause and wish to subvert our nations to that purpose. Patriotic, democracy-loving Americans are told by their pro-Israeli government and media to support the Israelis for whatever reason. But the Israeli war machine thrives on popular support and funding to aid and abet their own terror-driven, expansionist ambitions. Don't be a pawn in their game: understand the dynamics of the Middle Eastern crisis and the repercussions of America's pro-Israel lobbyism before supporting war profiteering or casting judgment on the crisis.
Recently, U.S. President Obama announced a plan to increase that 3.2 billion figure and provide an additional $200 million to Israel for a missile system development project. That's right: we are funding this country's military to make its defenses as invincible as possible. But why? The answer has nothing to do with who attacked this country recently or what would be lost if it were to disappear tomorrow. The answer simply has to do with the following:
I. America's pro-Israel lobby
The following corporations either fund AIPAC or support Israel in some other way: Starbucks, Coca-Cola (Fruitopia, Fanta, Sprite, Sunkist...), Revlon, McDonald's, Motorola, Dannon, Nokia, Estée Lauder, Intel, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, L'Oreal, Giorgio Armani, Vichy, Garnier, Siemens, Maybelline, Ralph Lauren, Nestle, Sara Lee (Hanes, Playtex, Champion, Leggs, Douwe Egberts, Bryan, DIM, Ambi Pur, Bali, Superior Coffee, Just My Size, Kiwi, Maison, Outer Banks, Wonderbra...), The Limited Inc. (Express stores, Structure, Victoria's Secret, Bath & Body Works...), Kimberly-Clark (Kleenex, Kotex, Huggies...), Apax Partners & Co Ltd, Delta Galil (Barbie, Victoria's Secret, GAP, Banana Republic, Structure, J-Crew, JC Penny, Pryca, Lindex, DIM, DKNY, Ralph Lauren, Playtex, Calvin Klein, Hugo Boss...), Estee Lauder (Aramis, Clinique, DKNY, Tommy Hilfiger...), Marks & Spencer, Timberland and Home Depot.
AOL Time Warner, Disney and News Corporation, as well as their subsidiaries in broadcast (Fox News, CNN, Sky, Star, Phoenix, Granada, CNBC) and print media (The Sun, The Times, The Telegraph, Herald Sun, Independent, Sunday Mail, New York Post and New York Times), are also part of the pro-Israel lobby. These media giants present events in the Middle East with a pro-Israel slant, to nobody's surprise given their ownership. After all, News Corporation's owner, Rupert Murdoch, is a member of the Bilderberg Group - a major player in pro-Israel, neo-con planning. Murdoch is just as big of an Israel supporter as AOL Time Warner and Disney, both which are Jewish-owned companies.
II. The pro-Israeli lobby encourages war-mongering
In 2001, the AIPAC-led, pro-Israel lobby was one of the loudest sources arguing that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. The lobby wanted the public to believe that Iraq's leader, Saddam Hussein, had connections to Al Qaida (the organization said to be responsible for the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001). Of course, no WMDs were found in Iraq and no connection between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaida was proven. Nevertheless, the invasion of Iraq took place under the premise that Iraq was a threat for these reasons and, as a result, the Iraq of old, a vocal opponent of Israel and a potential threat to Israeli interests, disappeared.
Now the media and our politicians are focused on Iran, and it is not hard to see why; whereas Iraq held anti-Israeli sentiments and was argued to have weaponry capable of challenging Israel, Iran's president has challenged Israel's version of history, and its legitimacy as a product of that narrative. Iran also supports the Palestinian cause - and Hezbollah directly, in Lebanon - which the Israelis are at odds with over land claims. Even more importantly, Iran is capable of becoming a nuclear power, and this has some of Israel's supporters very upset - even to the point where they have advocated bombing Iran:
"Israel has only mere days to launch an attack on Iran’s Bushehr nuclear reactor if Russia makes good on its plan to deliver fuel there this weekend [...]What is not being shared is that the Israelis likely have hundreds of nuclear warheads. Even worse, Israel's first bombs were made with enriched uranium that was likely stolen in the mid-1960s from a US Navy nuclear fuel plant under the ownership of the Nuclear Materials and Equipment Corporation (see: https://consortiumnews.com/2016/09/11/how-israel-stole-the-bomb/). Furthermore, the Israelis have stolen American military secrets and intelligence via the notorious Jonathan Pollard, who was working as an Israeli spy within the US government in the 1980s. Since that time, Israelis like Martin van Creveld have bragged about their country's capacity to bomb European capitals and the Israeli government has threatened to strike Iran repeatedly (Iran, notably, has never threatened to initiate a conflict with Israel. If Iran had, this surely would have become part of the pro-Israel lobby's argument as to why war with Iran is "necessary"). In spite of this record, America continues to fund Israel's military arsenal through the means established. And how is this weaponry being used? Let's have a closer look.
[...] once Russia has loaded the fuel into the reactor -- slated for Saturday – Israel would no longer be willing to strike for fear of triggering widespread radiation in an attack.
Israel took out Iraq’s Osiraq reactor during a stealth mission in 1981. It is also believed to have conducted a similar strike on an alleged Syria[n] nuclear site in 2007."
(from "Israel has days to strike Bushehr," The Jerusalem Post - 8/17/2010):
II. Israel's use of U.S.-given funds and weaponry
Some of the military technology and weaponry that Israel has received from the U.S. has been used in Israel's aggressive campaigns against its neighbors. The destruction that occurred in result has killed thousands of citizens and forced thousands more to flee. Many of the displaced have since fled to Europe. Thus, their flight is contributing to the growing clash of civilizations in Europe, where mass Muslim immigration is threatening to change demographics permanently. In Europe, at least, Muslims are predicted to become the majority population by the second half of the 21st century. Of course, their exodus from Gaza and the West Bank is welcomed by Israel, because Israel wants Gaza and the West Bank to itself. Israel laying claim to this territory would be in violation of its peace treaty agreements, true. But the Israelis have ignored their obligations in so many areas already and, in the West Bank specifically, they have several settlements that were built contrary to peace agreements. Ultimately, it comes down to this: with power, you can make the rules for other nations and play by your own. And that is exactly what Israel has done.
Of course, Israel's actions have not been without consequence. In 1982, for example, Israel attacked Lebanon to neutralize the resistance group there known as the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). The carnage unleashed by Israel upon ordinary citizens was widely condemned by the international community and has begun to change the public's perception of Israel. But the U.S. did nothing in response to Israel's actions except temporarily suspend the sale of jet fighters to Israel. In hindsight, considering the size and strength of the pro-Israel lobby in America, none of this is a surprise. But the violence and destruction in Lebanon had another effect: it led to anger in Lebanon, fueling the rise of the new resistance organization mentioned earlier, called Hezbollah. Hezbollah has dedicated itself to avenging the victims of Israel's invasion and stopping Israel's expansion and resettlement in disputed territories. In response, Israel and the United States have designated Hezbollah as a "terrorist organization". Only two other countries in the world share this opinion at present, however this grand designation gave the Israelis cover to go after the organization in "self defense". Thus, the Israelis began bombing Lebanon and, in the attack, killed the then-leader of Hezbollah - as well as his wife, son, and four others. But the saga was just beginning. In 2006, after a border skirmish between Hezbollah and the Israeli army, Israel invaded Lebanon again and launched major air strikes on several Lebanese cities. Thousands of civilians died in the attacks and others were forced to flee. Once again, Israel's response was not challenged by the U.S. and no sanctions against Israel followed. In fact, the only sanctions put into place that year by the U.S. were those put on the besieged Palestinians shortly after they voted their own resistance organization, Hamas, into power.
III. The "proxy war" unfolding
Today, Israel alleges that Hamas is supported through Saudi Arabia, even if the Saudis receive incentives to stay neutral. Iran, meanwhile, is the key patron of Hamas, supports Hezbollah and is thought to have armed the anti-Western Islamists in Iraq and trained them, too. Besides the motivation to protect their "Islamic brothers", both Iran and Saudi Arabia are surely aware that their proxies can push military-strong and resource-weak Israel to the limit - and, quite beneficially, limit Israel's power for expansion into their own resource-rich territories. At the same time, Muslims from around the world have helped to fund or promote Hamas and Hezbollah, with refugees in the West playing a key role. Some would surely call this "aiding and abetting terror". Others would disagree, but surely condemn the terror attacks carried out against ordinary Americans to avenge U.S. support of Israel. Nonetheless, what is clear that both sides, the Jews and their Muslim enemies, are fighting a proxy war; while the Muslim world secretly arms the Palestinians, Hamas or Hezbollah with weapons or money to purchase weapons, Jews from all over the world who support Zionism support the Israeli cause and wish to subvert our nations to that purpose. Patriotic, democracy-loving Americans are told by their pro-Israeli government and media to support the Israelis for whatever reason. But the Israeli war machine thrives on popular support and funding to aid and abet their own terror-driven, expansionist ambitions. Don't be a pawn in their game: understand the dynamics of the Middle Eastern crisis and the repercussions of America's pro-Israel lobbyism before supporting war profiteering or casting judgment on the crisis.
