But the good news for people who honor, value and respect heroes is that Condi's okay with congressman Berman's effort to remove Mandela from the terrorist lists. Voice of America reports "Secretary Rice told a congressional committee Wednesday the United States now has excellent relations with ANC-led South Africa. She said it was embarrassing that she still has to issue special waivers for Mandela and other senior South African government officials to enter the United States."-
And VOA reports that Berman said,
"I believe that many years ago we could have corrected this. I think that those of us in Congress, I speak for myself, I had no idea it was still the case. Long after apartheid, long after the new government in South Africa took over, many whose leaders come directly out of the ANC, that we would still be keeping a data base of ANC members and then disqualifying them for admission into the United States is wrong. And I think, you saw it with Secretary Rice, even some of the most conservative Republicans agree with me that there's no justification for this. So we're going to change it.'
This may be one rare battle that AIPAC loses. Though I'm Jewish, and a steadfast supporter of Israel's right to exist and defend itself from terrorist attacks, I've long believed that AIPAC's extreme right wing positions and their hardball approach to all things middle east have made matters worse for Israel. Certainly, Israel and the Israeli people are worse off than they were pre-Bush. Yet AIPAC and some Isralis believe Bush has been the best friend of all the US presidents in recent years.
AIPAC may want to back off on this battle. There's a new kid in town. The J Street Project is a "pro Israel, pro Peace"- a new PAC and affiliated lobbying organization that aims to be political, according to Mother Jones,
"It's the first time that there has been a political arm for those of us who are pro Israel but pro peace, and who believe that reaching a negotiated settlement in the Middle East is absolutely essential for the security of both Israel and the United States," Jeremy Ben-Ami, the executive director of J Street and JStreetPAC told me. "That is the reason for this effort. We believe the majority of American Jews and many other Americans friendly and supportive to Israel really do recognize that a policy both here and there that would be geared towards really pushing for a two state solution is in Israel's and the U.S.'s best interests."
"What has happened in the political world is that the people both elected [to Congress] and candidates and the folks around them have come to believe that the only way to speak to the Jewish community is to take the most right-wing position," Ben-Ami said. "There is no political benefit to be at the center."
"We would like to create a political mechanism, a political benefit to being at the center," Ben-Ami continued. "Perhaps there should be a dialogue between the U.S. and Syria. Perhaps the U.S. should pursue an alternative route to Iran. Let's get serious about a two-state solution, and stop the settlements and stop the occupation and get a two state solution. That is currently not being said."
Perhaps the latest victimization of hero Nelson Mandela will open the opportunity for new pathways through one of the world's most difficult problems, to peace in the middle east, or at least provide more latitude for navigation than AIPAC's right leaning lobbying has allowed.
Talk about a great birthday present for Mandela, who will be celebrating his birthday this summer. It's an interesting birthday question, "What do you give to one of the world's most admired living heroes?"- I'd guess, for Mandela, a safe answer would be something that moves the world toward peace and justice. Taking Mandela off the terrorist list-- a no brainer. Consequently opening up some new possibilities for peace in the middle east? Priceless.
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