Why Is It Political Suicide For Anyone To Criticize AIPAC?
{Editor’s Note: This is the 11th installment of a series of articles attempting to address the 32 questions posed by Ron Paul in his recent farewell speech given in front of Congress. Check out the previous installment, Why Have We Allowed The Government To Regulate Commodes?}We recently covered the latest flare up in military actions between Israel and Palestine, one in a long and seemingly never-ending, bitter war. Within that piece, the United States' unwavering support for Israel was cited - support that in the opinion of this publication is unwarranted. Of course, financial support to virtually any country from the liberty view is unwarranted. However to say in a political forum in America that one opposes any of Israel's actions, or the massive monetary donations so kindly made to them on our behalf, is tantamount to political suicide. Ron Paul asked in his final speech why this is - why criticizing AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) should spell doom and destruction for anyone who dares to question it.It's a very valid question - simply look at the latest Democratic National Convention for your proof. There was a ridiculous amount of media coverage when the Democratic party dropped language recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel (note that almost the entire rest of the world does not). Such a fury of coverage and massive amounts of lobbying from the AIPAC eventually got the language restored. The DNC was bullied into acquiescing and it was seen as a black eye to Obama's campaign. The issue of Jerusalem as Israel's capital has long been a point of contention as well as a point to curry favor with Israel and Jewish-Americans. Even in the Bush and Clinton eras, as cited in this Guardian article.
Although it's evident that functionally the city is the Jewish state's capital, even close allies such as Britain say that to give formal recognition would be to legitimize the Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem when talks with Palestinians are meant to decide its status, even if an agreement looks a distant prospect. So most countries, including the US, keep their embassies in Tel Aviv and generally speak about Jerusalem as the seat of the Israeli government.But the US Congress has taken a contrary position – in its enthusiasm to be as pro-Israel as possible. In 1995, the Republican-led Congress passed a law requiring the US embassy to be moved to Jerusalem by 1999. President Bill Clinton declined to do so as he attempted to shepherd Yasser Arafat and various Israeli leaders toward a deal. George W Bush attacked Clinton for it.
Why is it political suicide for anyone to criticize AIPAC ?Let's look at exactly what AIPAC is for that answer. AIPAC is very simply a lobbying group. A very powerful, very well funded lobbying group that harasses and harangues Congressmen and Presidents into supporting Israel, even if it may not be in our best interests to do so. To question AIPAC is to risk being branded as an anti-Semite - something that is tantamount to death for a politician. I'm sure AIPAC has agents and publicists in place to spread such rumors when necessary. The threat of being branded a racist or anti-Semite is a very large guillotine hanging over the head of any politician, and AIPAC is not shy to drop it without hesitation.What else does AIPAC do? Well, it's also an outlet for pro-Israel propaganda - a public relations engine to spin all of Israel's actions to show them in a positive and sympathetic light. This holds true most recently with the Gaza flare-ups, even when factually Gaza is far more pitiable and harder hit by casualties. We can find an example of this simply booking looking at their website. Currently the base image is of a ruined elderly couple's home - victims of a rocket attack. Never mind that the damage and lives lost to Gaza residents is literally tenfold, and the "rockets" that pepper Israel are the equivalent to fun snaps when it comes to armament. Israel also was the one to disrupt a pending peace deal in order to unlawfully assassinate a Hamas leader - an attack that also killed civilians, including women and children.No country is above criticism, nor being questioned about its actions or the financial or military support it receives from our nation. Not England, not Germany and definitely not Israel, no matter how powerful a lobby they may possess.Receive access to ALL of our EXCLUSIVE bonus audio content – including “Conspiracy Corner”, “Degenerate Gamblers” and the “League of Liberty Podcast” by joining the Lions of Liberty Pride and supporting us on Patreon!
