From: niepornt@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (David Marc Nieporent)
Subject: Re: israeli lobby
Originator: news@nimaster
Organization: Princeton University
Distribution: talk
Date: Mon, 21 Dec 1992 09:25:14 GMT

In article <1992Dec20.1777.21346@channel1> "wayne mcguire" <wayne.mcguire@channel1.com> writes:
>To: Jack Schmidling

> JS> Couldn't help think of McLaughlin's interview with Lee
> JS> Hamilton this morning.  He is the head of the Foreign
> JS> Relations Committee. John asked him what he thougt of the
> JS> move afoot to spring Pollard and he said he didn't know
> JS> enough about the case to comment. When pushed for a
> JS> response, he pleaded totaly ignorance of the most evil spy
> JS> in decades. Some foreign relations committee. Wonder if he
> JS> would have had an opinion on Walker? Can't be that he is
> JS> afraid of the Israel lobby, could it?

First of all, your rhetoric is silly.  "The most evil spy in decades?"
You mean, so Pollard is *more* evil than people who provided information
directly to the Soviet Union?  Wow.  What an odd standard.

But then again, you think nonwhite people aren't real Americans, so we
know what your standards are like.

>If you've been reading publications like the Forward and The New
>Republic lately you will know that there has been a frenetic
>effort underway by the Israeli lobby to keep Lee Hamilton from
>being appointed Secretary of State. They don't trust him to be
>their obedient servant, since he is an independent thinker who
>has dared to voice some criticism of some Israeli policies in the
>past. The Israeli lobby keeps long lists of enemies, and Hamilton
>and one of his top advisers are on that list.

Again, this is just bad political rhetoric designed to confuse the
truth.  *ALL* lobbies, on *ALL* issues, keep lists of enemies.  *ALL*
lobbies want someone who they think will be complete puppets.  

This is why people who attack Israel often get accused of anti-semitism.
Criticizing the Israel lobby for doing something which ALL lobbies do,
as though it was special to Israel.  So you're either being myopic or
biased.

>This is just one of many reasons why the Israeli lobby has gotten
>on my bad side, and angered so many Americans. I happen to think
>Lee Hamilton is easily one of the most impressive members of
>Congress, and someone superbly qualified to be Secretary of
>State. And here we have to contend with these representatives of
>a foreign lobby who are trying to dictate who will make U.S. foreign policy.

I mean, after all.  The Tobacco lobby doesn't try to dictate who will
make US health policy.  And the Gun lobby doesn't try to dictate who
will make US crime policy.

Nope.  It's only the evil Jews^H^H^H^HIsraelis who do this.

>I think a huge backlash is building in the U.S. against the
>Israeli lobby. They have gone too far. Even Yitzhak Rabin is
>aware of the problem, and has soundly tongue-lashed AIPAC and its
>related organizations for overstepping all decent bounds in their
>efforts to bully the American government to do their bidding.

No, he criticized AIPAC for needlessly being in conflict with the Bush
administration.  Questioning the way someone is doing something is
perfectly normal.  It isn't a sign of anything.

>Many of us will be watching the Clinton administration very
>carefully to see to what degree his strings are being pulled by
>AIPAC. One of his top advisers, David Ifshin, served as legal
>council for AIPAC and the Clinton campaign at the same time.

Shocked intake of breath.  And lucky none of his other top advisers
served with other special interests while they worked on the Clinton
campaign.  After all, we all know that Hamilton Jordan and Warren
Christopher never lobbied anyone, right?  I mean, and Ron Brown never
did, either.  And his wife.  My god.  She worked on the board of a major
children's special interest lobby.  And he actually *married* her.

>Can you imagine how bizarre things have become, btw, when
>American political leaders don't dare criticize someone like
>Jonathan Pollard, who stole our country's most sensitive secrets
>and voiced support for Jewish terrorism, for fear of antagonizing
>the Israeli lobby? This is truly madness. I can't imagine this
>state of affairs will go on for much longer.

Yes, there's definitely a reluctance to attack Pollard.  After all, just
because he was put in jail for longer than people who sold secrets
directly to our enemy, the Soviet Union, doesn't mean that he isn't
getting special treatment because of the Israeli lobby.

-- 
David M. Nieporent   | Is it too early to start making predictions for 1993?
niepornt@phoenix.    | Probably, but that never stopped me before.
   princeton.edu     | ALE: Baltimore ALW: Chicago NLE: Montreal NLW: Atlanta
Baltimore Orioles 93 | AL MVP: Cal Ripken  AL Cy Young: Mike Mussina