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why does the US support Israel so much?
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| Spacey Orange |
| i know the israel lobby is strong in the US but there must be something more to it than that. |
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| Fir3start3r |
Lots of money.
Can't think of much else... |
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| Spacey Orange |
| what do you mean? |
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| Fir3start3r |
The reason Israeli nationalists can lobby so hard is because they have the funds to do so.
If you want to make a change in politics (at any level), make lots of money and see how well you are received... |
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| metalgearsolid |
| Well, hes right most movie actors and actoresses are jewish and the directors too and if you really think about it most people involved in media or hollywood are either jewish or black. And than look at how many jews are dentists or doctors a lot of them. They have a lot of positions where their is a lot of money to be earned. |
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| George Smiley |
Why does America support Israel so much? Here's a summary of what my study turned up...
- The Israeli lobby is the second most powerful after the old people's lobby
- Each party receives the majority of it's funding from Jewish sources
- The Jewish vote is extremely important in elections. Jews tend to live in 'swing states', and altho 60% usually always vote Democrat and 10% usually always vote Republican, the remainer constitute a 'swing vote' and Jewish people tend to be swayed by support for Israel
- The Christian right (which make up the core of the Republican vote) support Israel due to their evangelical beliefs
- Support for Israel is part of American culture (they tend to view Israel as a fellow democracy in need of their help)
- Politicians who seemingly move against Israel do not last very long
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| Spacey Orange |
i know the lobby is strong but does that really explain the lopsided vote in the story below and given that we are much more dependant on the arab countries' oil than israel. if arab countries 'wiped israel off the map', would the US be better off or worse off? would it make a difference?
| quote: | House overwhelmingly backs Israel in vote
By ANNE PLUMMER FLAHERTY, Associated Press Writer
Thu Jul 20, 2:42 PM ET
The House, displaying a foreign affairs solidarity lacking on issues like Iraq, voted overwhelmingly Thursday to support Israel in its confrontation with Hezbollah guerrillas.
The resolution, which was passed on a 410-8 vote, also condemns enemies of the Jewish state.
House Republican leader John Boehner cited Israel's "unique relationship" with the United States as a reason for his colleagues to swiftly go on record supporting Israel in the latest flare-up of violence in the Mideast.
Little of the political divisiveness in Congress on other national security issues was evident as lawmakers embraced the Bush administration's position.
So strong was the momentum for the resolution that it was steamrolling efforts by a small group of House members who argued that Congress's pro-Israel stance goes too far.
The nonbinding resolution is similar to one the Senate passed Tuesday. It harshly condemns Israel's enemies and says Syria and Iran should be held accountable for providing Hezbollah with money and missile technology used to attack Israel.
Yet as Republican and Democratic leaders rally behind the measure in rare bipartisan fashion, a handful of lawmakers have quietly expressed reservations that the resolution was too much the result of a powerful lobbying force and attempts to court Jewish voters.
"I'm just sick in the stomach, to put it mildly," said Rep. Nick J. Rahall (news, bio, voting record) II, D-W.Va., who is of Lebanese descent.
Rahall joined other Arab-American lawmakers in drafting an alternative resolution that would have omitted language holding Lebanon responsible for Hezbollah's actions and called for restraint from all sides. Rahall said that proposal was "politely swept under the rug," a political reality he and others say reflects the influence Israel has in Congress.
"There's a lot (of lawmakers) that don't feel it's right ... but vote yes, and get it the heck out of here," Rahall said.
Rep. Darrell Issa (news, bio, voting record), R-Calif., who co-sponsored the alternative resolution and also is of Lebanese descent, agreed. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee lobby "throws in language that AIPAC wants. That isn't always the best thing for this body to endorse," Issa said.
Nevertheless, Rahall and Issa said they were considering voting in favor of the resolution. "I want to show support for Israel's right to defend itself," Issa said.
Another lawmaker with Lebanese roots, Rep. Charles Boustany Jr., R-La., said he too planned to vote in favor of the resolution despite holding deep reservations on its language regarding Lebanon. "I think it's a good resolution. But I think it's incomplete," he said.
The lack of momentum for alternative proposals frustrated pro-Arab groups.
"This is the usual problem with any resolution that talks about Israel — there are a lot of closet naysayers up there (in Congress), but they don't want to be a target of the lobby" of Israel, said Eugene H. Bird, president of the Council for the National Interest, a group that harshly condemns Israel's military campaign.
"These guys aren't legislating. They're politicking," said James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute.
An AIPAC spokeswoman said Congress's overwhelming support for Israel reflects the support of U.S. voters and not any pressure applied by lobbyists. "The American people overwhelming support Israel's war on terrorism and understand that we must stand by our closest ally in this time of crisis," said Jennifer Cannata.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice planned to discuss diplomatic efforts to end the violence, and the possibility of international troops to police a peace, over dinner Thursday in New York with United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
On Friday, Rice will receive a report from fact-finders Annan sent to the region.
Rice, herself, is expected to go there. "She intends to travel to the region as early as next week," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.
Approximately 2,600 U.S. citizens have been evacuated from Lebanon by the United States since Sunday.
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| quote: | U.S. threatened with more isolation By TOM RAUM, Associated Press Writer
Fri Jul 21, 5:23 PM ET
President Bush's uncompromising support for Israel in its battle with Hezbollah, a stance now backed by Congress, is threatening to isolate the United States even further from the international community.
It is also putting the administration at odds with fragile democratic governments in the Middle East that it is simultaneously trying to prop up, and sowing increasing anger across the Arab world.
The democratically elected prime ministers of both Iraq and Lebanon have been among the most vocal critics of U.S. policy in the 10-day Israeli bombardment of Lebanon.
Some foreign policy analysts question whether Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice can make much headway on her trip to the region early next week — especially given U.S. rejection of international calls for a cease-fire and refusal to talk to key players such as Hezbollah or its Iranian and Syrian sponsors.
"You don't just negotiate with your friends. Sometimes you negotiate with your enemies, or at least your adversaries," said Sandy Berger, former national security adviser in the Clinton White House. "We negotiated with the Soviet Union for 50 years."
Both the first President Bush and President Clinton met directly with then-Syrian President Hafez al-Assad in efforts to advance Mideast peace prospects.
But the current Bush administration is adamant in resisting any direct contact with Syrian President Bashar Assad, son of the former president, or with Hezbollah leaders.
"The track record stinks" in terms of what both former Presidents Bush and Clinton achieved in their meetings with Assad's father, White House press secretary Tony Snow said. And Rice told reporters on Friday, "Syria knows what it needs to do, and Hezbollah is the source of the problem."
Hezbollah is an Islamic militant group based in southern Lebanon that is supported by both Syria and Iran. The crisis began when Hezbollah kidnapped two Israeli soldiers and Israel retaliated by widespread bombing in Lebanon and with a naval blockade. Hezbollah upped the ante by firing hundreds of missiles into northern Israel, provoking more Israeli counterattacks and displacing what the U.N. estimates as a half-million people.
Arab anger is rising toward both Israel and the United States, even though moderate governments throughout the region do not wish to see Hezbollah's tentacles grow any further, viewing the group as an extension of Iran's ambitions to increase influence throughout the Middle East.
The U.S. has not yet been able to capitalize on that Arab ambivalence toward Hezbollah.
"The administration does the rhetoric of war well, but is not very good with diplomacy," said Judith Kipper, a Middle East specialist at the private Council on Foreign Relations in Washington.
Trips by Rice to the region "don't accomplish anything," she said.
Both the House and Senate passed resolutions this week by overwhelming margins supporting Israel — and Bush administration policy — in the conflict.
But the votes were probably more of a reflection of midterm election year politics — and a desire not to offend Jewish voters — than any newfound appreciation of Bush's foreign policy skills.
The combined effect of the administration's hardline pro-Israel stance and Congress' echoing of it is to undermine U.S. diplomacy, said Shibley Telhami, a Mideast scholar at the University of Maryland.
"We're acquiescing in what is obviously a humanitarian disaster, regardless of who's to blame. And that is not a message that helps the United States," Telhami said.
While leaders of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan have condemned Hezbollah's tactics, "they're going against public opinion in their countries. You have an overwhelming outpouring of public support for Hezbollah."
Daniel Ayalon, Israel's ambassador to Washington, said Israel understands public opinion has been inflamed in the Arab world. He said he expects "a spike against us" in the days to come, but he emphasized that Israel was not prepared to give up its campaign until Hezbollah is sufficiently weakened.
At that point, Israel might consider supporting an international peacekeeping presence, Ayalon said in an interview with The Associated Press. But not before.
For the Bush administration, it's a hard balancing act.
It wants to show it is reaching out to allies in the Middle East and in Europe, as with Rice's trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories and then to Rome for a broader meeting. But the administration also doesn't want to meet with Syria, Hezbollah or Iran — and it wants to give Israel time to try to find and destroy Hezbollah command centers and weapons stockpiles.
It all results in what critics suggest is a one-sided form of shuttle diplomacy.
Rice defended the style of her diplomacy — as well as the late start. "I could have gotten on a plane and rushed over and started shuttling and it wouldn't have been clear what I was shuttling to do," she said Friday.
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EDITOR'S NOTE — Tom Raum has covered national and international affairs for The Associated Press since 1973.
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| Flotser |
Also England, Germany, and maybe some more countires seriously support Israel's reaction. And I don't know if it happened before but countries like Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, and the goverment in Lebanon blame Hizbulla for what is happaning... ofcourse they can't say "We support Israel"...
And I think USA also supports Israel more because they are more realistic regarding the threat of the fundementalistic fanatic islamic terror, and they don't have reasons to be scared from it's own muslim citizens like European countries have. |
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| CHRles |
The US, and especially the US army, hate the Hizbollah even more then Israel hates the Hizbollah. Learn your 1980s history to find out why.
The same is true in Gaza - the US government HATES the Hamas.
Both are considered dangerous, fantatical terrorist organizations, and even worse - both are considered proxies of Iran.
So yeah, you're damn right the US is going to support Israel.
You think the US military didn't bomb cities and villages in Afghanistan while fighting the Taliban? How about the situation in Iraq with Al Quaeda?
Also keep in mind that some of the "innocent" civilians being killed in Lebanon are Shiites living in Southern Lebanon who support the Hizbollah.
Hows this different from the tactics of America bombing German cities during World War II while fighting the Nazis?
You think that if the US were to go into Cuba or North Korea, or Iran, that innocent people won't get killed?
Don't blame the US and don't blame Israel - blame the governments of Lebanon, Syria, and Iran, as well as various terrorist organizations for the death of their own civilians. It's time for these governments to take responsibility for their actions, b/c right now the Hizbollah are firing thousands of Katyusha rockets into Israel and I don't see Syria, I don't see Iran, and I don't see Lebanon condoning these actions. All I see is Israel and the US showing sympathy for Lebanese civilians who are caught in the crossfire. |
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| ogvh5150 |
For spacey:
I almost picked this up at B&N weeks ago. |
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| Spacey Orange |
| quote: | Originally posted by CHRles
All I see is Israel and the US showing sympathy for Lebanese civilians who are caught in the crossfire. |
a big :wtf:. the US doesn't even pressure the Iraeli gov't to ease up on the bombing to get it's own citizens out. and dropping leaflets on civilian neighboorhoods is demonstrating 'sympathy'.
that some hutzpah! |
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| CHRles |
The US media is showing both sides of the story. What do you see on Hizbollah backed media?
The US government has asked Israel to be considerate of the young new Lebanese government. Why isn't Hizbollah being considerate of the Lebanese government as well?
Israel is dropping leaflets and warning citizens of southern Lebanon to evacaute the area ASAP. Why isn't Lebanon telling it's own citizens to do so? Why isn't Hizbollah warning it's own supporters to make a run for it?
PS there's about a million people in northern Israel who have fled to Central Israel (the Tel Aviv and Jerusalem areas) just as there's a million Lebanese who the media described as "homeless" |
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