Reply #44: Reply [View All]

[ex_jew]

"why you think Israelis should leave"

I don't necessarily think Israelis should leave, I just don't want my country (the US) to get involved.

"Actually Afghanistan attacked the United States"

I hadn't heard about this. Do you have a reference ?

Iran "is attempting to build a nuclear bomb".

Iran says it is not building a bomb and has just agreed to inspections, although based on the Iraqi precedent, they'll be attacked in any case.

"Israel is clearly an ally and friend of the US"

It's an ally because we're useful. If we had given Syria hundreds of billions of dollars over the years, they'd be an ally too, instead of someone that needs to be destroyed because Sharon feels "threatened".

"I was not aware we are in a death spiral due to our support for Israel. Can you explain?"

We have lost our civil liberties, our standing in the world community, our fiscal health, the strength of our military (because it is bogged down in Iraq) all in some measure due to our mysterious bond with Israel. We are completely dependent on foreigners to finance our deficit and provide us with oil. Quite a dire outlook. If we continue on this path, it WILL be a death spiral.

"continually invaded Israel".

This is NOT the history of the last 25 years. Do you think Syria will "continue" to invade Israel ? Will Egypt "continue" to invade Israel ? What about Lebanon, or Jordan ? I'd be very surprised, and if it did happen, I think Israel could defend itself very nicely without any help from us.

"144 nations do not ‘stand against’ Israel and the US and we are not butting heads with every other nation on the planet. The UN GA is not some wise moral body"

Whether the UN is wise or moral or not, you may have noticed that the large majority of countries simply do not agree with US and Israeli policies regarding the wall, the occupation, Iraq, the oh-so-desirable assasination of Arafat etc.

"Jewish control: first can you provide the reference that Jewish contributions to the Democratic Party make up 50% of total made."

This was what I heard at a symposium this week in Berkeley. I believe the statement was made by Jeffrey Blankfort. I do not have a
scholarly source. He also estimated that Jews contribute about 25% of the funds raised by Republicans. My point is that since no one can think about running without these vast contributions, their freedom to choose "even-handed" policies does not exist. Dean tried an end-run around the conservative forces by soliciting donors on the internet, but even he had to make peace with the pro-Israeli establishment.

Is this "controlling the US" ? Yes, in the sense that no one can get
elected who disagrees with our policy toward Israel. It doesn't mean that Jews can force everyone to stop driving on Saturday, for instance.