Newsgroup: it.politica.internazionale
Titolo: Israel is a pawn in American electoral politics

Insomma, si esortano i politici statunitensi a mostrarsi meno servili 
nei confronti della cupola "sionista".  Di salvare le apparenze almeno. 
  ROTFL!
 
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Israel is a pawn in American electoral politics
By MAIRAV ZONSZEIN
10/04/2011 22:31
 
Israel’s influence on US politics shows how its future can be utilized 
for political gain, not how important its security is to the US.
 
These past couple of weeks has been what some may call a great period 
for Israel and the so-called “pro-Israel” community in America, at least 
for the hawkish, near-sighted one. The Obama administration stuck hard 
to its opposition to the Palestinian bid for statehood and showed its 
unequivocal support for Israel at the UN General Assembly, resulting in 
a sudden surge in Israeli approval of Obama (who has largely been 
considered a “pro-Palestinian” president by Israelis, despite actions to 
the contrary) .
 
Newspapers have been saturated recently with polls on waning Jewish 
support for Obama, raising the question of whether he will lose the 
large Jewish backing he enjoyed in 2008 come next November. The American 
Jewish Committee just published a poll showing that “53 percent 
disapprove of the president’s handling of US-Israel relations” (however, 
it found that overall, American Jews would still largely vote for him).
 
This story began gaining traction when Anthony Weiner’s job as 
congressman for New York’s 9th District was taken last month by a 
Republican for the first time since 1923 – largely with the help of 
former New York Mayor Ed Koch’s crusade to convince voters that Obama, 
and by extension, Democrats, are bad for Israel. It is thus no wonder 
that Obama decided to flex his “pro-Israel” muscle at the UN General 
Assembly, which Israel’s foreign minister was quick to praise.
 
Meanwhile Republican presidential candidates have all been making 
definitive “pro-Israel” statements and, following in the footsteps of 
Sarah Palin, have been visiting Israel and asserting that it should not 
give up a single inch of West Bank land. Texas Governor Rick Perry 
declared that “As a Christian, I have a clear directive to support 
Israel,” while Mitt Romney, who is increasingly popular among Jewish 
Republicans, asserted that Obama has “thrown Israel under the bus.” None 
of this is being done with regard for Israel’s interests or for facts on 
the ground, but rather in an effort to challenge Obama’s seat and woo 
not only Jewish but “pro-Israel” voters, including the evangelical 
community, as well as anti-Muslim voters.
 
It is no secret that Jews, although only 2 % of America’s population, 
are a crucial factor in US presidential elections. The electoral system 
makes it so that certain states – such as Pennsylvania and Florida – 
where Jews make up closer to 5-8% of the population actually comprise a 
swing constituency. American politicians also pander to leaders of the 
Jewish community because “pro-Israel” money (which is not strictly 
Jewish) comprises between a quarter and a third of all donations to 
major political parties in the US.
 
In the race to win over “pro- Israel” voters in America, politicians 
throw around “pro-Israel” statements left and right to serve their own 
interests. In the process, they repeatedly affirm a narrow definition of 
what it means to be “pro-Israel” as a position where security justifies 
occupation, where settlements are not an obstacle to peace and in some 
cases, where settlements are great and divinely ordained. According to 
this approach, the stalled peace process is not Israel’s responsibility.
 
OBAMA FELL into this trap last week at the UN. After all, how can Obama 
be seen as a president hostile to Israel when he has repeatedly 
reaffirmed the Likud government’s position by voting against the 
resolution deeming settlements illegal several months ago, and now, by 
going against Palestinian statehood, even at the expense of other 
American geopolitical interests? As a New York Times Magazine article 
about Obama entitled “The first Jewish president” recently put it, 
“despite the damage thwarting that bid might do to America’s standing in 
the region, the Obamans have never wavered in going balls-out for 
Israel.” Even at the expense of American positioning in the Middle East, 
Obama has affirmed his support for Netanyahu’s Israel – but not because 
he or the GOP candidates are interested in Israel’s future, but rather 
in order to try and solidify political power at home.
 
Israel, a country that claims to represent world Jewry and whose 
democratic character and viability is highly questionable as its 
government increasingly passes discriminatory legislation, is merely a 
pawn in American electoral politics.
 
Some may think that Israel’s influence on American politics shows just 
how important its security is to the US, but in fact, it shows rather 
just how carelessly Israel’s character and future can be utilized for 
political gains that have nothing to do with the well-being of its 
citizens and those under its control. This does not bode well for the 
myriad of American and Israeli Jews who feel that this definition of 
“pro-Israel” does not represent them. Nor does it bode well for those 
who have hoped America could act as a strong broker for peace 
negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians.
 
The careless and oversimplified use of “pro-Israel” positions in 
American electoral politics highlights just how dangerous it is to use 
Israel’s politics to leverage support at home. It is not only 
problematic for those American Jews whose views are not represented by 
right-wing “pro-Israelism,” but dangerous for America’s geopolitical 
standing in the Arab world (which now sees America as unconditionally 
behind Israel) and for both Israelis and Palestinians, whose very lives 
are at stake.
 
The writer is an Israeli-American freelance journalist and translator 
based in Tel Aviv. She is a writer and editor at 
972mag.com
 
 
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-EdContributors/Article.aspx?ID=240543&R=R1
 
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http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-EdContributors/Article.aspx?ID$0543&R=R1
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