The Power of the Israel Lobby
By URI AVNERY
from Counterpunch
There are books that change people's consciousness and change history. Some tell a story, like Harriet Beech Stowe's 1851 "Uncle Tom's Cabin", which gave a huge impetus to the campaign for the abolition of slavery. Others take the form of a political treatise, like Theodor Herzl's "Der Judenstaat", which gave birth to the Zionist movement. Or they can be scientific in nature, like Charles Darwin's "The Origin of Species", which changed the way humanity sees itself. And perhaps political satire, too, can shake the world, like "1984" by George Orwell.
The impact of these books was amplified by their timing. They appeared exactly at the right time, when a large public was ready to absorb their message.
It may well turn out that the book by the two professors, John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, "The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy", is just such a book.
It is a dry scientific research report, 355 pages long, backed by 106 further pages containing some thousand references to sources.
It is not a bellicose book. On the contrary, its style is restrained and factual. The authors take great care not to utter a single negative comment on the legitimacy of the Lobby, and indeed bend over backwards to stress their support for the existence and security of Israel. They let the facts speak for themselves. With the skill of experienced masons, they systematically lay brick upon brick, row upon row, leaving no gap in their argumentation.
(Continued here.)
from Counterpunch
There are books that change people's consciousness and change history. Some tell a story, like Harriet Beech Stowe's 1851 "Uncle Tom's Cabin", which gave a huge impetus to the campaign for the abolition of slavery. Others take the form of a political treatise, like Theodor Herzl's "Der Judenstaat", which gave birth to the Zionist movement. Or they can be scientific in nature, like Charles Darwin's "The Origin of Species", which changed the way humanity sees itself. And perhaps political satire, too, can shake the world, like "1984" by George Orwell.
The impact of these books was amplified by their timing. They appeared exactly at the right time, when a large public was ready to absorb their message.
It may well turn out that the book by the two professors, John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, "The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy", is just such a book.
It is a dry scientific research report, 355 pages long, backed by 106 further pages containing some thousand references to sources.
It is not a bellicose book. On the contrary, its style is restrained and factual. The authors take great care not to utter a single negative comment on the legitimacy of the Lobby, and indeed bend over backwards to stress their support for the existence and security of Israel. They let the facts speak for themselves. With the skill of experienced masons, they systematically lay brick upon brick, row upon row, leaving no gap in their argumentation.
(Continued here.)
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1 Comments:
The influence and financial power of the Israel lobby appears to be affecting all aspects of foreign policy and even Free Speech.
The concern is that we may not even recognize who is the messenger. Look at the new group that is supporting the Iraq War – Freedom Watch. According to Congresspedia , Freedom Watch is backed by the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC). Thier first target appears to be to keep Norm Coleman in line. Not only does Freedom Watch run TV ads, but then the PAC arm of the RJC donates monies directly to Coleman.
It will be interesting what is reported of the discussions at Freedom Watch’s “private forum of 20 experts on radical Islam that is expected to make the case that Iran poses a direct threat to the security of the United States.” scheduled this month.
But just as concerning as their impact on foreign policy, the decision by the College of Saint Thomas to deny permission for Nobel laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu to give a speech is appalling. The Strib reports : it “was scuttled by university officials who did not want to offend the Jewish community over the Nobel Peace Prize laureate's views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”
My thoughts are at Minnesota Central blog .
As The Pioneer Press reports : “St. Thomas has invited controversial speakers before. Two years ago, conservative author and commentator Ann Coulter came to the campus to speak.”
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