SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL SAGS IN US
By Rev. Ted Pike
26 Aug 10
Israel and its PR arm, the Anti-Defamation League, claim that,
despite worldwide condemnation of Israel’s attack on the “Free
Gaza” flotilla on May 31, support for Israel among the American
people remains robust.
Yet early this month, concerned leaders of Israel met to consider
a recent Israel-endorsed poll which showed that, as the result of a
month of controversy following Israel’s raid, American belief
that we need Israel as an ally plunged from 63 percent to 51 percent. “The
survey was carried out by pollster and strategist Stanley Greenberg
and sponsored by the American-Jewish organization The Israel Project
which organizes and executes pro-Israel campaigns with a focus on North
America. Greenberg, along with Israel Project heads, presented the
poll's findings to senior Israeli officials including President Shimon
Peres…” ("U.S.
Support for Israel is Decreasing, New Poll Shows," Haaretz, August 10)
If that 12-percent decline is representative of American attitudes
in general, it means that, primarily as a result of Israel’s
attack, almost 37 million Americans changed their minds, deciding to
no longer reflexively support Israel. Result: Nearly one in two Americans
(over 150 million) would answer negatively the poll's question, “Does
the US need to support Israel?”
Greenberg's poll also reveals a sharp decline in Americans' belief
in the sincerity of the government of Israel. Haaretz says that “…in
December of 2007, 60 percent of respondents said the [Israeli] government…was
committed to peace with the Palestinians.” By July, 2010, one
month after the raid, “only 45 percent of Americans said they
felt Netanyahu was committed to the peace process.”
“Greenberg has analyzed the poll results and says that the section
of the American public where Israel is most rapidly losing support
is among liberal Americans who align themselves with the Democratic
party.”
Israel is having to face the fact that not only Europeans but also
millions of Americans do not buy Israel’s spin that Israeli commandoes,
armed with machine guns, were innocently victimized by kitchen knife
and baton-wielding activists when they boarded the largest vessel,
the Mavi Mamara. Clearly, millions reject Israel's claim she had no
option but to shoot more than 50 with live ammunition, killing nine.
Israel Bans Testimony of Commandos and Survivors
Israel’s credibility also suffers because of her refusal to
allow UN investigators of the flotilla attack access to testimony by
IDF soldiers participating in the raid. To this point, Israel’s
in-house investigation has only allowed testimony by senior military
officials. But now The Jerusalem Post headlines an AP article, “Israel
Uncooperative in UNHRC Probe.” (The Jerusalem Post, August
24) While the UN Human Rights Council is now actually interviewing
flotilla survivors of the attack, Israel continues to refuse to allow
any investigative team access to the Navy commandoes who carried out
the early dawn attacks on the flotilla. Israel says it has nothing
to hide and its own investigation, lead by retired Israeli Supreme
Court Justice Jacob Turkel, will reveal the truth. Yet as long
as Israel refuses to allow Turkel to interview IDF soldiers or survivors,
as well as forbidding UN commissions access to Israeli Navy commandos,
it is inevitable that not only world opinion, but now American opinion,
may reasonably suspect that Israel has much to hide. As long as the
Netanyahu government continues such obstruction, it is inevitable that
Israel’s credibility will decline.
According to the Greenberg poll, “anti-Semitism” is very
high in Europe with 50 percent of Germans experiencing “very
cold” or “unfavorable” feelings toward Israel; 49
percent of Swedes feel “cold” or “very cold” toward
the Jewish state. ADL/Israel claim such antipathy is stimulating acts
of bigotry and violence against Jews in Europe. Of course, it is deplorable
when, in reaction to Israel’s arrogance and inhumanity toward
the Palestinians, violence erupts against innocent Jews. The reality,
however, is that, unless the world’s righteous indignation rises,
there is little to restrain Israel from further violations of human
rights, international law and UN resolutions. Israel will only expand
illegal settlements, expropriating and further persecuting the Palestinians,
as well as militarily violating national boundaries of its neighbors
and carrying out foreign assassinations.
Over the past several weeks, Israel has been poised with a very itchy
trigger finger, straining for an opportunity to attack Iran. Iran is
doing what most nations of Europe have been forced into: emerge from
inefficient fossil fuel sources of the “green” late 20
th century and return to the nuclear power alternative. Israel, however,
says Iran really wants to make atomic weapons to destroy Israel.
Such WMDs are what Israel also convinced us Saddam Hussein possessed,
persuading America to launch military action in Iraq 10
years ago. Such weapons didn't exist. Following 9/11, Israel also intensely
encouraged America that we could destroy Osama bin Laden and end the
Islamic terrorist threat in Afghanistan. Actually, in all these ploys
Israel has only one intention: utilizing America's military might to
make the Mid-East safe for Israel. The cost in American lives and suffering
is unimportant. America went seriously astray by believing Israel to
be credible then. Will we continue to do so?
It could well be that, had it not been for the restraining influence
of negative world opinion, Israel might now be plunging the Mid-East
and America into a new dimension of Mid-East conflagration with truly
catastrophic global consequences. Israel may be held back now only
because its government is terrified of even more bad PR.
It is clear that, in cases of Israel’s clearest wrongdoing,
constructive criticism is the furthest thing from actual anti-Semitism.
Such criticism of Israel is good.
Rev. Ted Pike is director of the National Prayer Network, a Christian/conservative
watchdog organization.
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