Sorry. We were not able to answer all of the questions in this session. We are hoping you can join us i the next session dealing with similar issues next monday August 12 at 15:30 GMT with Dr. Naseer Aruri
Answer
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Name
Erikson
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Profession
Question
We here so much about Israel being the US's only reliable ally in the reigion and for this reason the U.S. should throuh its full support behand israel, but what tangible benifts did the U.S. actually get from this allaince but lots of anger from Arab states.
Answer
In my opinion the US has received barely zero benefits but many handicaps. To describe Israel as Americas only reliable ally in the region is absurd. Israel does exactly what it wants to do in terms of territorial expansion and ignores the demands of the US. The most recent example was Sharon's defiance in response to president Bush's demand that Israel stop its military sweep through the West bank. The US government has maintained enormous unconditional support of Israel for thirty-five years. During that period the US has seen its standing world wide diminish and in this last year its standing has diminished sharply. We are seen worldwide without exception as the lackey of Israel and indifferent to the severe violation of human rights of the Palestinians and other Arabs.
Name
salim
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Profession
retired
Question
Had the British given the Zionist permission to establish themselves in America and they moved there and were doing the exact same thing that they are doing in Palestine, what do you think the reaction of the American people would be?
Answer
I would like to believe that the reaction would be decisive opposition. The sad fact is that most Americans, despite the flow of information in this age, are woefully misinformed about the true situation in the Middle East and the US complicity in Israel’s subjugation of the Palestinians.
Name
mohammed
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Profession
Question
do you think Cong.McKinney is in a position to win the election despite all the efforts of the Israeli lobby?
Answer
I hope so fervently. She is a star in the congressional galaxy. She is a woman of great courage and one of the very few willing to speak up in criticism of Israel's grave violation of International law. I have contributed to Congresswoman McKinney’s congress fund and I hope that all US citizens receiving this message will do the same.
Name
Halim
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Profession
Question
What is your thoughts on why the Bush adminstration is so staunchly supportive of Israel despite the fact that that jewish vote and support in this country went behind gore and the fact that the vast majority of muslims in this country voted for Bush. Why is he turning his back on his primary supporters in the last election.
Answer
Bush should by now be personally aware of the debt he has for Muslim voters. He is probably responding to bad advice from his political advisors among whom are several Jews and members of the Christian right. He should recognize the likelihood that Jews will likely vote for his opponent the next time around. I say that because his opponent will certainly pledge one hundred percent support for what Israel wants and Jews will certainly remember Bush's statements in behave of Palestinian statehood and his reference to the West Bank and Gaza as occupied territory, In the last election bush received not only the critical support of Muslims but also of the Christian right. The views of the Christian right are quite similar to the Ultra orthodox Jews in Israel. Both of them believe that the Jews must control all of Greater Israel before the Messiah will arrive. The votes of the Christian right are far more numerous then those of US Jews. The Arab Israeli conflict is based in religion. A false notion that God intends for Jews to rule the territory once held briefly by Israelites.
Name
Steven
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Profession
Teacher
Question
The facts of the American relationship with political zionism are fairly well known, the billions in annual subsidies to the Israeli government, the role of PACs in controlling debates in the US gov't, the media being unable to move beyond the Israeli gov't as a its main source of information, the perceived strategic interest of Israel as a military and ecnomic garrison for the West in the Mideast. But isn't there another facet to the US-Israeli relationship, centered around what might be called "cultural zionism"? Besides the obvious support of right wing Christians in the US, I wonder if you could comment on the role of cultural zionism in the US-Israeli relationship. What I mean by cultural zionism is the foundational ideology of America, how the Puritans and Framers saw American as the "city on the hill" which would be "beacon to the world," the relationship of manifest destiny to a secularized form of biblical zionism. In other words, to what extent is American culture infused with a zionist belief system, and how does this belief system impact the relationship?
Answer
The belief system that you describe is no doubt significant. I encounter it almost daily in conversations with neighbors. While unhappy with the violence in the Middle East they accept the notion that Greater Israel belongs to Jews and many of them also have the false notion that the Palestinians do not exist. This was planted in America many years ago by Golda Meir and kept alive by textbooks in Israel and a succession of Israeli prime ministers. I would like the questions to expand more on this theory that he is proposing.
Name
Ahmed
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Profession
Question
Why is the israili loby so strong in U.S in contrast with all other nations and especially Arabs?
Answer
I devout the entire text of my book They Dare to Speak Out in answering this question because it is too broad to state adequately in a few words. But never the less I will add a few words in answering this question.
A small but passionately committed group of Jews are so efficiently organized that they dominate our governmental structure, our news media and our institutions of higher education and even our social and business systems. These zealots have effectively silenced almost all criticism of Israel. There is never any free speech on Capital Hill about Middle East policy. What Israel wants, Israel gets. This has produced a bias in US governmental policy toward Israel and the Arab states; A bias so extreme that it has established intense anti-American feeling throughout the Arab-Muslim world and much of the rest of the worlds population as well. The US is seen world wide as the willing partner in Israel's humiliation and destruction of Palestinian society. This sequence of events found its culmination in 9/11.
Name
Roger
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Profession
Retired
Question
How can it be that the US is the lackie of Israel? The US has the biggest economy in the world and most military might, with a demonstrated willingness to use both for political ends. Certain a two-bit dictator like Sharon and a pariah state like Israel cannot be calling the shots in Washington. Aren't we missing something? What keeps the US consistently supporting an increasing inhumane and aggressive zionist state?
Answer
Here again I must refer you to my book: They Dare to Speak Out, which addresses this issue. A new addition of this book, which is greatly expanded and deals directly with events of 9/11, will be available in January of 2003.
Name
Joe
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Profession
Question
Good morning.
Why there is not much discussion about the Israeli stronghold on the US congress and administrations?
Is it not utterly criminal for US government to be giving over $10 billion a year in aid to Israel, when we are so much in debt and are facing so many difficulties?
As you are well aware, Israel is competing with USA in both technological and military hardware sales around the globe and has even sold sensitive information to China. The technology has been transfered from USA to this "ally" of ours!
Do you believe transfer of technology, both civilian (ie Intel) and Military hardware to Israel, so that then we and the rest of the world can become customers of Israel qualify as a form of betrayal of public trust?
Thank you.
Answer
You make solid points in your question. I am not sure where the 10 billion dollar figure arose from but I am sure that Israel gets more support then the 3 billion dollar a year that is publicized. The relationship of our government to Israel’s illegal behavior can probably be considered a crime against humanity.
Name
Yaseen
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Profession
Publishing
Question
Thanks for your participating, Mr. Findley. Your books are well known in the Arab world and have been translated to Arabic. What I would like to hear about is how that those books have contributed to the syndrome we call here "Looby Sihyooni," that is, that America is a puppet of the zioinist lobby. It seems to contradict the notion that America is a democratic country with independent political thought. Does the zionist lobby really have as much influence? How does its power relate to other lobbies, like those for various corporate sectors? Are having too narrow of a focus by looking only at the zionist lobby? I ask this because we get a lot of requests here for funding for an Arab lobby, as if the problem is that the Arabs have not their own lobby, and if only they did, things would be more balanced. Is it really that facile, or are we missing something?
Answer
Corporate interests cannot be separated from the seen, but they do very little to counter the power of the Zionist lobby in the US. Of course some corporations favor the interests of Israel because Jews control them. Other corporations seem to be intimidated of expressing and advancing their own economic interests. Here again I have elaborated on this in the books I have written. If US corporations were strongly engaged, as they should be in speaking a fare policy towards Arab states the impact could be very substantial, but like all other aspects of our society, cooperate managers are intimidated.
Name
Maryam
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Profession
Question
So how should people "face the facts" of the Israeli-American relationship. Although most people deplore violence, it seems stones in the streets and boycotts in the market are still the most tangible forms of activism. What do you recommend? How should people of conscience fact these facts?
Answer
By speaking out without fear. If only a small number speak out the Israeli lobby will smother them, but in large numbers this would be difficult. If I had three or four colleagues in congress that joined me in initiatives we would have a far greater impact then we did. But to speak out alone is better then to not to speak out at all. You will sleep better if you challenge every bias item in the news media.
