Can American Jews unplug AIPAC?
Excerpt from Can American Jews unplug the Israel Lobby? by Gary Kamiya at Salon.com:
Logic and forthrightness has traditionally taken a back seat to timorous self-censorship when it comes to discussing these matters. But in addition to the war debate, several other watershed events have helped erode the taboo against discussing the power of the Israel lobby.
The most important were the publications of John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt's "The Israel Lobby," and Jimmy Carter's "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid."
The overwrought reaction to Mearsheimer and Walt's piece, ironically, only supported its thesis.
Similarly, the opprobrium heaped on Carter only succeeded in making it clear how little room there is for open discussion of these issues in America.
For all these reasons, a powerful spotlight has been turned on the pro-Israel lobby. And there are signs that increasing numbers of Americans, Jews and non-Jews alike, are willing to openly question whether it is in America's national interest for AIPAC, whose positions are well to the right of those held by most American Jews, to wield such disproportionate power over America's Mideast policies.
As a group, American Jews continue to be staunchly liberal. A new poll shows that 77 percent of American Jews now think that the Iraq war was a mistake, compared with 52 percent of all Americans. (Jewish support for the war has collapsed: A poll taken a month before the war showed that 56 percent of Jews supported it, somewhat below the national average at that time.) Eighty-seven percent of Jews voted Democratic in 2006. And although data here is murkier, polls also show that most American Jews hold views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that are to the left of AIPAC's.
What all this adds up to is that for liberal or moderate American Jews who don't support Bush's war in Iraq or his "war on terror" and who are willing to look at Israel warts and all, the fact that AIPAC has anointed itself as the de facto spokesmen for American Jews is becoming more and more unacceptable. And increasing numbers of them are beginning to speak out.
The following excerpt from Is "Pro-Israel" an Oxymoron? is a good example:
Understanding the psychological imprint of the Holocaust and fear-based belief systems, and recognizing the grip of AIPAC on Congress and the intimidation of being labeled as anti-Semitic for anyone challenging the "military option," a new group of Jewish professionals has emerged to try to rescue this dangerously flawed debate. Members of this group called JAIPAC, Jewish Analysts Investigating Peace and Conflict, are professionals who work in areas of political science, international relations, conflict analysis and resolution, psychology, history, Middle East studies, and other relevant fields devoted to developing strategies for reducing tension, preventing violence, and transforming conflict.
This is good news.
Remember, it's not "The Jews" who are responsible for this mayhem, but some people who call themselves Jews, who embrace a political ideology disguised as religion.
In that respect Zionism is no different than Communism, Socialism, or any other political -ism that by definition cannot be practiced outside the context of a "state."
In other words, unlike ordinary Jews, Muslims, and Christians, who can queitly pray to their God within the confines of their home. Zionists must wage perpetual war with their neighbors to fulfill their "religion."
We need all hands on the deck to stop them.
It's too late. Only the true God can stop these international bankers, media moguels and puppeteers of government.
AIPAC is only one "visible" branch of their nefarious tree of power.
I believe its too late. The war will begin, and the zionist regime will continue to dominate America, Russian and European governments.
I also try to keep a basic attitude that religious beliefs and followers should be kept separate from political movements associated (rightfully or wrongfully) with that religion. But honestly, sometimes I don't know what to think. A gross example is this kosher foods issue. By the very name, we are supposed to think its a purely religious practice. It has nothing to do with any political factions and sectarianism.
For Judaics, certifying a food by some rabbis to be kosher cannot be considered a hobby to easily ignore or dismiss. It's well organized, it's nation wide, and it's not disputed.
No Judaic needs a PhD in theology or anthropology or humanities to realize that this is pure extortion of non Judaics and is an irreparable stain on their religion's piety. Why this deafening silence then? Would any other religion let this happen to them? Or are we being dragged to a corner to believe, they approve of it, even if they have no idea what happens to the ungodly amount of money?