US and Israeli Codependent Relationship is Not Just about Money

From Palestine Chronicle

Political pandering' - Hillary Clinton at AIPAC conference.
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"We must look back twenty-five years to realize how far Israel has fallen in world support," wrote famed Jewish scholar, Harvard sociologist, Nathan Glazer in 1976.

In the last 40 years since Glazer wrote his piece, which was uncovered and transmitted by Philip Weiss, Israel's global support has fallen much further. The country that once appealed to both United States' capitalism and the Soviet Union's socialism is now militarily powerful but, otherwise, politically isolated on the international stage.

The misleading perception that Israel is a 'beacon of light' among nations has worn off. Worse, the last time this phrase was uttered at an international level, it was made by Geert Wilders, a Dutch populist right-wing politician perceived by many to be a racist and an Islamophobe.

Yet, the more isolated Israel became, the more its dependency on the United States grew.

"Supporting Israel is not in America's interests," Weiss wrote. "In fact, Israel is a strategic liability for the US. That makes American Jewish influence the ultimate pillar of Israel's survival."

Although Zionists often speak of a historical bond between the US and the Jewish people, nothing could be further from the truth.

On May 13, 1939, a boat carrying hundreds of German Jews was not allowed to reach American shores and was eventually sent back to Europe.

That was not a foreign policy fluke. Three months earlier, in February 1939, members of Congress rejected a bill that would allow 20,000 German Jewish children to come to the US to escape the war and possible extermination at the hands of the Nazis.

Not only did Congress shoot it down but the public had no interest in the matter either, as allowing Jews into the US was quite unpopular at the time.

Fast forward nearly eight decades, things have changed in name only.

While most American Jews continue to support Israel, they are opposed to the administration of Donald Trump, which they rightly perceive to be dangerous and hostile to all minorities, Jewish included.

However, Israel does not seem to have much qualms with the new administration. On the contrary, the most ardent Israeli Zionists are particularly pleased by Trump's clique of reviled politicians.

Mere days after Trump won the US Presidential election, American Zionists moved quickly to ensure Israeli interests were fully guarded by the new administration.

The Zionist Organization of America wasted no time, either, by fraternizing with individuals accused of having anti-Jewish agendas. ZOA's annual gala on November 20 hosted none other than Steve Bannon, a leader in the so-called "alt-right," otherwise known as white supremacy in the US.

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