After the Seattle Jewish Transcript published my last letter to the editor (see post below) about AIPAC’s undermining of the Road Map, Rebecca Dinar, an enterprising staffer in the local Seattle AIPAC office sent me a press release on AIPAC’s “position” on the Road Map. The statement is attributed to AIPAC’s national executive director and its president.
The title reads: AIPAC Welcomes Road Map. Notice, it doesn’t say “AIPAC Supports Road Map.” A small point, you say?? Perhaps, but then read what follows:
Nor do we agree with those who uncritically endorse a road map to statehood whether or not the Palestinians meet their commitments to end terrorism.
You have to parse this carefully to understand the political deceit and hypocrisy in this statement. In other words, AIPAC does NOT support the current formulation of the Road Map because AIPAC (parroting the views of the Sharon government) believes the Road Map must FIRST demand that the Palestinians completely end terror BEFORE the Israelis should be expected to make any concessions or fulfill any obligations. The Road Map’s beauty is that it demands SIMULTANEOUS actions of both Israel & Palestine. It does not put the onus on one side to act first. If it did, that side would balk and withdraw from the Road Map process.
So AIPAC tries to walk a political high wire by kowtowing to the Bush camp in saying they “welcome” the Road Map; while at the same time kowtowing to Sharon by saying that they oppose it. Nice [political] work if you can get it.
