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Conference of Pro-Israel Group Brings Applause for Attack-Iran Backers
The annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) Policy Conference this weekend may have taken us a step closer to war with Iran. One featured speaker was John Hagee. Hagee is a powerful evangelical leader who founded the Christians United for Israel lobby last year. Hagee is a staunch supporter of Israel; that much is clear. But he is a literal reader of the Bible who thinks Armageddon in the Middle East is a good thing, and conveniently misinterprets most of Judaism to make it a helpmate for Christianity.
Even so, AIPAC delegates may be right to conclude that Hagee is good for the Jews, but The American Prospect's Sarah Posner argues:
Whether Hagee is good for Israel is beside the point. The real problem is that he represents a catastrophe for the United States and its standing in the world -- not because he might love the Jews too much, or might in fact secretly hate them, but because…the notion that Hagee -- whose status is only elevated by invitations like AIPAC's -- is leading a political movement based on nothing more than a supposedly literal reading of his Bible only reinforces the view that the United States is being led by messianic forces at odds with world peace and stability.
Hagee's speech, which compared Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Pharaoh and Hitler, went over big.
Nancy Pelosi also spoke at the AIPAC meeting, but she didn't make quite as big a splash. In fact, she was booed when she called the war in Iraq a failure. She was using a much more pragmatic rubric: "whether it makes the U.S. safer, the U.S. military stronger and the region more stable." Just moments before, Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) had received a standing ovation when he said that the U.S. had no choice but to win in Iraq. (By the way, Stephen Cohen has a powerful take-down of that argument in The Nation today.)
So why does this pro-Israel group need us to stay in the war in Iraq? It wants to turn up the heat on Iran. One of its priorities is to push Congress to approve tougher sanctions on Iran, which is hostile to Israel. For a rundown of the ears most primed to receive reasons to attack Iran, read this.
(AIPAC is also skeptical about candidate Barack Obama because he once told the Des Moines Register that "nobody is suffering more than the Palestinian people.")
Posted by Cameron Scott on 03/13/07 at 4:58 PM | E-mail | Print | Digg | de.licio.us | Reddit | Newsvine | Yahoo! MyWeb | StumbleUpon | Netscape | Google |
Comments
One may not approve of AIPAC's stand but it is a little much - or little - to say "One of its priorities is to push Congress to approve tougher sanctions on Iran, which is hostile to Israel." Iran is not hostile to Israel. It is engaging in genocidal threats against the country and advocating first use of nuclear weapons, once it gets hold of them.
Posted by: Philip Horowitz on 03/14/07 at 9:03 AM
The President of the Islamic Republic of Iran does not have the power to make war or to use military force outside of the country. His statements are just for attention getting popularity, just like the Texas cowboy makes statements for attention getting popularity in America. The ruling class in the Islamic Republic likes the good life like ruling classes throughout the world and they will not risk the good life. The last thing that they will do is to go to war. The President of the Islamic Republic causes mental distress to foreigners, but he personally benefits and goes laughing to the bank, with the run up in the price of crude from $30 to $60. Follow the money. He is really a clown, lighten up. We laugh at your cowboy and you can laugh at our clown.
Posted by: Karoosh on 03/14/07 at 9:33 AM
Agreed on Iran's danger to Israel, without thinking than the 'right answer' is to go to war. But AIPAC having Hagee speak there was idiotic. As "Jews On First" and "Talk2Action" have demonstrated repeatedly, his position is that there should be a joint Israel-American attack on Iran because this will be one of the key triggers for Armageddon and the "Second Coming." He believes the Jews should return to Israel because this too is required by 'Biblical Prophecy' and the result he foresees is most of them dying and the remained converting to Christianity.
Posted by: Prup (aka Jim Benton) on 03/14/07 at 9:34 AM
It's not the Jews you have to worry about, it's the Zionist's you have to watch our for. The Zionist's are the ones pushing for constant war and they make up only a tiny fraction of the overall Jewish population worldwide. What they have done is use the Jewish history as a shield to deflect comments that reveal their true nature. Bring up the fact that they are trampling on human rights and get labeled an anti-Semite faster then you can say "peace in the middle east".
Posted by: Think! on 03/14/07 at 11:08 AM
The Christian Zionists are AIPAC's helpers. Carter directed his book at them. This branch of the Evangelicals believe that they can force the hand of God to bring about the end times. The end times that they envision are bad news for the Jews in that 1/3 of the Jews will be murdered and the good news is that the rest will see the error of their ways and accept Jesus as their Messiah. Many members of Likud do business with these Christian Zionists because they support the state of Israel in their occupation of Palistinian land. This members of Likud are like prostitutions, Likud and the Christian Zionists make strange bed partners. Pres. Bush is a Christian Zionist. A significant number of Jews and Israeli's do not support Likud and the occupation, e.g.Jewish Voice for Peace.org
Posted by: Jimmy on 03/14/07 at 11:30 AM
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Movable Type 3.33
Google these 3 Jewish organizations in the UK, Canada & Australia that are speaking out against the approach of AIPAC: Alliance of Concerned Jewish Canadians; Independent (UK) Jewish Voices; & the Independent Australian Jewish Voices.
Here is the Independent Australian Jewish Voices' A CALL FOR AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW:
We are Jews of diverse opinions on the Middle East who share a deep concern about the current crisis in the region.
We are committed to ensuring a just peace that recognizes the legitimate national aspirations of both Israelis and Palestinians with a solution that protects the human rights of all.
We condemn violence by all parties, whether state sanctioned or not. We believe that Israel’s right to exist must be recognized and that Palestinians’ right to a homeland must also be acknowledged.
As Australians we are privileged to live in a democratic state that embodies the principles of tolerance and free speech. We feel there is an urgent need to hear alternative voices that should not be silenced by being labelled disloyal or “self-hating.”
Uncritical allegiance to Israeli government policy does not necessarily serve Israel’s best interests. Our concern for justice and peace in the Middle East is a legitimate opinion and should be met by reasoned argument rather than vilification and intimidation. In particular, we are concerned that the Jewish establishment does not represent the full range of Jewish opinion. Contrary to widespread concerns, anti-Semitism is not fuelled by Jews who publicly disagree with actions of the Jewish State.
Jews understand what it is to suffer racism and victimization and therefore we are not only concerned about anti-Semitism but also the demonisation of all other minorities.
We call upon fellow Jews to join us in supporting free debate to further the prospects of peace, security and human rights in the Middle East.
Posted by: Paul Malouf on 03/13/07 at 8:15 PM