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OpEdNews Op Eds    H3'ed 11/7/10

American Midterm Candidates Pandered For Pro-Israel Money and Votes

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- An end to all forms of terror: state, organizational, and individual.

We welcome all who support the principles above to join us in building this important voice in our community.

Apparently NRSC objects to human rights goals that include equal peace and justice for Israelis and Palestinians - a sad commentary from a historic American political organization founded in 1916, after the ratification of the 17th Amendment to the Constitution.

Republican Kirk prevailed in the end, winning President Obama's former Senate seat in a much coveted, albeit close 48% to 46% defeat over Giannoulias.

Perhaps the most bizarre Israel-centric race of the 2010 midterm season took place between stalwart Israel supporter, seven-term Democratic Congressman Brad Sherman (CA-27), and his native-American opponent Mark Reed, a descendant of the indigenous Mohawk and Apache tribes.

Besides Illinois Senate Republican candidate Mark Kirk, California Republican and political newcomer Mark Reed, was perhaps the most rabid supporter of Israel in this 2010 election.


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Photo by Linda Milazzo at candidate Mark Reed's Oct. 13th townhall at Temple Ramat Zion


What makes Reed's Israel allegiance so bizarre is the inescapable irony that Reed's native-American ancestors had their land taken by European colonists to form the current nation of America, just as European colonists (in this case, European Jews) drove the Palestinians from their land to form the current nation of Israel.

In a July telephone interview with Reed, I questioned him about the irony of his unequivocal support for Israel in light of Israel's ongoing colonization and oppression of Palestinians which is so similar to the colonization and oppression suffered by Reed's own Mohawk and Apache ancestors.

Reed responded:
"As a native American I'm empathetic. But when a dominant power enters into an underdeveloped region, it must establish an economic structure to sustain itself."
Reed must be thrilled that Israel's present economic structure is so vibrant; significantly more so than that of the U.S. And it's helped to remain vibrant thanks to the $3 billion it gets annually from financially strapped America. True, Americans are hurting. But thanks to Israel-supporting legislators who serve Israel in the U.S., Israel continues to thrive.

Mark Reed's affinity is so unquestioningly for Israel that he chastises Sherman, the consummate Israel/AIPAC loyalist, for not being Israel-loyal enough. Reed admonished Sherman for not taking the Obama administration to task for what Reed believes is Obama's disregard for Israel and its leaders.

As Reed states on his website:

Countless anti-Israeli actions have occurred during the Obama Administration, such as:

- Support for multinational resolutions to strip Israel of nuclear weapons

- Refusal to approve any major Israeli requests for U.S. weapons platforms or advanced systems.

- For the first time in recent US history, the US government actually sold weapon technology to Muslim nations before selling the technology to Israel.

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Linda Milazzo was a Managing Editor of Opednews until Fall 2014, and a Los Angeles based writer, educator and activist. Since 1974, she has divided her time between the entertainment industry, government organizations, community development (more...)
 

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