I listened to President Obama's speech to AIPAC Sunday, March 4, 2012, while sitting outside the Washington Convention Center where AIPAC was holding its annual conference. We at OCCUPY AIPAC hooked up a PA system to a computer and listened to the live stream while watching tens of thousands of Israel's American supporters arrive for their yearly intimidation of the U.S. Congress and the U.S. President to fund and protect Israel.
Much
of the focus for others writing about the President's pandering speech to AIPAC
will be about the Iran nuclear program and, if weaponized, the threat to Israeli
and U.S. security, in that order. I will leave the Iran nuclear program to them
while I will write about a part of his speech that pertains to a part of the
world that I know personally.
But one last comment about Iran -- Obama
said the Iranian government denies the Holocaust.
I would say that the Iranian government is not the only "denier."
President Obama and his advisers are the "deniers" of incredible Israeli violence and horrific violations of international law.
In
his speech, Obama said, "When the Goldstone report unfairly singled out Israel
for criticism (after Israel attacked Gaza), we challenged it."
Having been
to Gaza within days after the 22-day Israeli attack on Gaza that killed 1,440,
wounded 5,000 and left 50,000 homeless (13 Israelis were killed -- five of them by Israeli
fire), I know the Goldstone Report is accurate in its recording of endless
Israeli attacks on Gaza by air, land and sea. President Obama must not know that
the Goldstone report comments on the actions of all parties, not just the
Israelis. How would Obama know whether the report is accurate or not, when not
one Obama administration officer has visited Gaza to observe the destruction
first-hand, nor have they asked any of the American citizens who have traveled
to Gaza for their observations.
In
another event concerning Gaza, Obama recounted, "When Israel was isolated in the
aftermath of the flotilla incident, we supported them." I was a passenger on one of the six ships in
the 2010 Gaza Freedom Flotilla. I know personally that Israeli commandos
brutally attacked all six ships in the flotilla. On the Mavi Marmara commandos executed nine
passengers and wounded 50 more.
There were only civilians on the ships and there
were no weapons on the ships. Israeli commandos murdered an American citizen,
shooting him five times. Despite the
repeated requests of the family of the U.S. citizen, 19 year old Furkan Dogan,
the Obama administration decided it did not need to conduct its own
investigation but would rely on the Israeli government investigating itself.
Israel was isolated by the world after its criminal behavior against the Gaza
flotilla -- and for good reason! I will
add that the Obama administration did not contact any of the American citizens
on the flotilla to ask for their comments on the Israeli attack other than a
brief consular visit in the Israeli prison where we were held.
Obama said
the U.S. protects Israel from "one-sided resolutions" in the United Nations
Human Rights Council, yet the U.S. and Israel stand virtually alone as the rest
of the nations of the world see clearly Israel's outrageous actions that are
condemned by the Human Rights Council.
Obama
stated the United States stands against divestment and boycott of Israeli goods,
yet as boycott, divestment and sanctions actions by citizens demanding that
organizations look at human rights records of companies in which they have
invested, despite what Obama says, Israel is beginning to feel the pinch as
citizen "sanctions" on Israeli companies that steal resources from Palestinian
lands are implemented.
Finally, Obama said that the U.S. opposes those
who "delegitimize" Israel. Yet it is the
State of Israel that, by its illegal actions against Palestinians in the West
Bank and Gaza, delegitimizes itself -- Israel does not need anyone to help in
delegitimization.
Obama ended that section of his speech with "when the chips are down, I have Israel's back," no doubt hoping that AIPAC supporters will contribute substantially to his re-election campaign because of his perpetual "denial" of the criminal actions of the state of Israel ... a "denial" dangerous for the national security of both the United States and the State of Israel.
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