9 thoughts on “To War, To War, Aipac Goes to War – Tikun Olam תיקון עולם إصلاح العالم
task-attention.png
Comments are published at the sole discretion of the owner.
 

  1. Kudos, Richard. Great piece. I would like to add that the Israeli peoples’ interest is equal to the American peoples’ interest and the Iranian peoples’ interest. That is, peace.

    Our governments cannot learn to be friends, but we are, and have always been. There is not one iota of life where we do not share similarities. Our nuances make us each great and capable of sharing something unique for flavor.

    Therefore, it is important that the people act in restraint of all the governments who seek war as a solution. You see, we are not “collateral damage”. Not a single one of us.

    1. RE: “Supporting sanctions is the same as supporting war since sanctions are certain not to work? Weird logic.” ~ Bob Mann

      REPLY: Onerous sanctions essentially preclude resolving the dispute through the use of diplomacy. Since the dispute cannot be resolved through diplomacy (due to the onerous sanctions), war becomes more likely. How’s that for logic, “Einstein”?

      P.S. MY POSTULATE: If Iran were allowed to become capable of developing a nuclear weapon (not even actually having one), that would essentially constitute a breech of Israel’s “Iron Wall”*. Jabotinsky’s “Iron Wall” has been Israel’s modus operandi for decades, and is especially ingrained into the Likud mind-set. They simply cannot fathom Israeli security** using an alternative paradigm. Hence, any threat to Israel’s “Iron Wall” becomes an “existential threat” to Israel (especially for Likud-minded).

      * The Iron Wall, Vladimir (Ze’ev) Jabotinsky, 1923 – http://www.mideastweb.org/ironwall.htm

      ** including Israel’s prospects for consuming the West Bank and perhaps expanding further

      P.S. FROM WIKIPEDIA:

      (excerpt)…Jabotinsky argued that the Palestinians would not agree to a Jewish majority in Palestine, and that “Zionist colonisation must either stop, or else proceed regardless of the native population. Which means that it can proceed and develop only under the protection of a power that is independent of the native population – behind an iron wall, which the native population cannot breach.”[1] The only solution to achieve peace and a Jewish state in the Land of Israel, he [Ze’ev Jabotinsky] argued, would be for Jews to unilaterally decide its borders and defend them with the strongest security possible…

      SOURCE – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Wall_(essay)

    2. Either your brain wiring is missing a synapse or you don’t follow slightly abstract arguments. If Aipac supports sanctions along with keeping all options on the table (a euphemism for eventual war), and sanctions fail, then the only remaining option is war. Ergo Aipac supports an eventual war policy toward Iran.

  2. RE: “I am not arguing that Israel’s interests aren’t legitimate (from their point of view). They are. But they are Israel’s interests, not ours.” ~ R.S.

    SEE: Unlike Iran, Israel won’t face sanctions ~ By Zvi Bar’el, Haaretz, 12/07/11
    Israel is a mature, independent country, and it is entitled to decide for itself what kind of democracy best suits it – even if it is a suicidal democracy.

    (excerpt)…Israel isn’t Iran. In Iran, human rights organizations can receive assistance from a defined list of international organizations and institutions, “with the approval of the relevant government ministers,” as Iranian law puts it. In Israel, proposed legislation would bar some organizations from receiving any money at all from foreign governments, while others would have to run the gauntlet of a Knesset hearing to get an exemption from, or at least a reduction on, the 45 percent tax.
    Israel isn’t Iran. In Iran, the supreme leader appoints the head of the judicial system. In Israel, the supreme leader uses every trick in the book to try to shape the Supreme Court’s composition to his liking without soiling the facade of democracy.
    This is a difference of vast proportions. Iran doesn’t put on sanctimonious airs, doesn’t cluck its tongue at others, doesn’t disguise what it is and doesn’t try to sell its system of government to the world as “an island of democracy.”…

    ENTIRE COMMENTARY – http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/unlike-iran-israel-won-t-face-sanctions-1.400029

  3. David Harris is executive director of the American Jewish Committee. He is not CEO of the National Jewish Democratic Council.

      1. Thanks. That explains my confusion on this as well. I had wondered if “David Harris” was both executive director of the American Jewish Committee and CEO of the National Jewish Democratic Council.

  4. Liked your title and being an avid Marx Brothers fan got the
    reference. Unfortunately, Israel and AIPAC’s lead up and
    fanning of war flames is nowhere as entertaining and funny
    as the one in Duck Soup.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *