Muslims Urge Government To Review AIPAC Status
Source: Arab Daily News
Leaders of the organization American Muslims for Palestine urged the U.S. Government to review the activities of AIPAC, the foreign Israel lobby, to determine if it should be treated as a foreign agent and be scrutinized more closely.
March 22, 2016
As the annual convention for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee draws to a close today, the American Muslims for Palestine, a national education and advocacy organization, questions AIPAC’s status as a lobby organization and takes to task the presidential candidates who degraded themselves with pandering, sycophantic speeches at its convention over the past two days.
Despite some analysts’ predictions AIPAC was losing influence when it failed in diverting President Barack Obama’s Iran deal last year, four out of the five remaining presidential candidates appeared at the Washington DC Convention Center to pledge their fealty to Israel in ways that contravened US foreign policy, weakened our moral stance and seriously called into question the American role in pursuing Mideast peace as an ‘honest broker.’
AMP condemns in the harshest terms candidates’ pledges to move the US embassy to Jerusalem, to ‘rip up the Iran deal,’ to criminalize the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement – all part of AIPAC’s platform — as well as their false characterizations of Palestinians as violent and their absolute silence on Israel’s occupation and apartheid policies. They sold our American values of liberty, democracy and self-determination for pro-Israel votes and money during the AIPAC’s convention, whose leaders once were arrested for espionage and handing over US intelligence to Israel, putting the interests of a foreign government ahead of the interests and values of their own country. The charges against AIPAC employees Steven J. Rosen and Keith Weissman were dropped; Lawrence Franklin, the Pentagon employee who passed the information to AIPAC, which allegedly gave it to Israel, was sentenced to 12 years in prison, according to news reports.
The lobby organization has no compunction in meddling in US policy issues and has done so repeatedly, from the appearance of a plethora of anti-BDS bills in state legislatures, as well as in Congress, to trying to sabotage the Iran Deal and pressing for more US aid to Israel. Its self-stated mission is to “strengthen, protect and promote the US Israeli relationship in ways that enhance the security of Israel and the US.” What it more accurately does is to influence legislation in favor of Israel even over American interests.
Read more: http://thearabdailynews.com/2016/03/22/muslims-urge-government-review-aipac-status/
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MariaThinks
(2,495 posts)Purveyor
(29,876 posts)to be registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
RiverNoord
(1,150 posts)Are you serious?
AIPAC is an agent of the Israeli government, funneling vast sums of money to American politicians who agree to subjugate American foreign policy to the demands of whatever happens to be the current priority of the Israeli government. Those who don't sign up are targeted at their next reelection attempt - and AIPAC is very good at forcing these people out of the American government.
Additionally, AIPAC sponsors espionage against the United States. It's rare that we even indict AIPAC operatives who have passed classified information along to Israel, but when we do, the charges are generally dropped rather quickly.
AIPAC has dodged 'foreign agent' registration multiple times over its history. And there are a great many American Jews who are openly opposed to its agenda.
Oh - their New York headquarters are 7 blocks away from the American Chapter of the World Zionist Organization. They used to be in the same building, but that didn't look so good.
Is there anything even remotely comparable to AIPAC among American Muslim organizations?
And, just to be clear, I'm an atheist, have good friends who are Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu. I used to live in Northeast Minneapolis, which is a very interesting melting pot of ethnic heritages (and, of culinary interest, the broadest range of restaurants and markets serving the Metro area's vast variety of ethnicites - mmm... Central Avenue). A couple of blocks from where I lived, to the southeast, was a Buddhist temple. A couple of blocks to the southwest was a mosque, and a few blocks to the north was a Hindu temple.
It's precisely because I'm in no way anti-Semetic that I find the mission of AIPAC so appalling. It has nothing whatsoever to do the welfare of Jewish Americans. And its successes simply enable the Israeli government, which is steadily engaged in systematic expulsion of non-Jewish people from land their families have lived on for centuries and replacing them with 'settlers' (who are, largely, among the most extreme 'orthodox' Jews in the world).
These activities do not provide the United States with any benefit. And the value of information we receive from Israel as a result of covert operations is paltry compared to the cost WE pay, especially those of us who are Jewish, through our government's military and diplomatic (lots and lots of UNSC vetoes) support of Israel, while it conducts a systematic campaign of (it really is) ethnic cleansing in the West Bank and Gaza.
leftynyc
(26,060 posts)starting with AIPAC being an agent of the Israeli government. I can't tell you how reassuring it is that you felt compelled to mention the Jewish friends.
RiverNoord
(1,150 posts)However, it seemed like a piece of information that might be relevant to some. I've heard precisely the same thing from other non-Jews over the years, and my Jewish friends tell me to let it go, it's the kind of thing that non-Jews who like to bullshit about how super-pro-Jewish they are say to boost their egos.
So, I know you're not a Jew.
If truth is in any way important to you, I would ask you to identify a single 'lie' from the post you responded to. I'm not even interested in links or evidence, 'cuz there isn't any. I'd just like to know what you consider to be untrue about what I wrote. According to your post, it should be many things.
leftynyc
(26,060 posts)If your Jewish friends pointed out why it's pointless to point out the fact you have Jewish friends - and the reasons for it, why do you still feel compelled to do it?
I already pointed out the first lie - that AIPAC is an agent of Israel. It's an American lobby that support Israel. No different than CAIR in that regard.
onenote
(42,539 posts)RiverNoord
(1,150 posts)vkkv
(3,384 posts)Last edited Tue Mar 22, 2016, 04:03 PM - Edit history (1)
(in non-inflation-adjusted dollars).
At the completion of this 10-year-plan in 2018, the U.S. will have given Israel $30 billion in unconditional military aid. The United States awards this grant in one lump sum, unlike other foreign recipients, which receive their payments in installments. Israel uses the interest it earns on this amount to pay down its debt to the United States, valued at $455 million in January 2013. In his March 2013 visit to Israel, President Barack Obama pledged to continue multi-year aid packages to Israel through 2028.
Under the terms of the agreement, Israel will be able to spend 26 percent of these U.S. funds on Israeli-manufactured military equipment. (This is known as Off-Shore Procurement.) This agreement, which is unique only to Israel, has allowed Israel to grow to be the world’s 7th largest exporter of military weaponry and equipment.
Israel also receives aid in other ways such as loan guarantees, refugee resettlement assistance, and reduced cost or free military equipment.
In addition to $3.1 billion per year in Foreign Military Assistance issued through the US Department of State, Israel also receives funds through the Defense Department appropriations bills for missle defense programs, like Iron Dome.
http://www.ampalestine.org/index.php/key-topics/us-aid-to-israel/626-us-aid-to-israel-2015-fact-sheet
leftynyc
(26,060 posts)68 billion that's going to Israel THIS YEAR? Thanks.
RiverNoord
(1,150 posts)And quite a lot less in economic assistance.
But... that's vastly more than we provide to any other country in the world, in terms of direct grants and DOD-directed spending.
For the past 12 years, military aid to Afghanistan and Iraq has been pretty close.
In contrast, we contribute around 700-750 million dollars to the NATO budget.
leftynyc
(26,060 posts)sentence:
Leaders of the organization American Muslims for Palestine urged the U.S. Government to review the activities of AIPAC, the foreign Israel lobby, to determine if it should be treated as a foreign agent and be scrutinized more closely.
It's not a foreign lobby, it's an American lobby filled with AMERICANS. I don't blame these clowns from wanting to trash a highly successful lobbying organization but this is stupidity on a giant level. This organization can go fuck themselves.
dembotoz
(16,784 posts)nope did not come up with one
leftynyc
(26,060 posts)it's a foreign lobby and NOT filled with Americans. I'll wait while you try and find a way to dispute anything I wrote.
still_one
(92,060 posts)and in his interview on CNN yesterday he made it clear he supports both military and economic aid to Israel
leftynyc
(26,060 posts)One day DU will realize they represent a very teeny minority of Americans that don't support Israel. I guess today is not that day.
still_one
(92,060 posts)RiverNoord
(1,150 posts)you mean, specifically, having a problem with military aid that ends up financing systematic colonization of militarily occupied lands, in contravention of the U.N. Charter as well as the 4th Geneva Conventions, then... Well, if we're a tiny minority, then we're a pretty messed up country. And if you support those activities, be honest enough to say so.
These activities aren't OK. They're very, very bad. I wouldn't care about our aid to Israel if not for the fact that it not only enables these activities, which really are morally repugnant, but it (in conjunction with the ongoing fallout of the invasion of Iraq) drastically reduces our diplomatic clout on subjects of human rights.
Were you around when Ronald Reagan ended sanctions on apartheid South Africa that Carter had established, then later vetoed congressional sanctions (and was overruled?)
I was. It was appalling. The time had come.
How long will it be before the modern state of Israel has ceased its 'settlement' (forced displacement of civilians in militarily occupied land and replacement with its own citizens) activities in Gaza and the West Bank? Is there an end in sight? The current Israeli government has made it clear that it has no interest in curtailing these activities at all.
Or the status of the city of Jerusalem? Do you think it's OK for Israel to annex it as it's 'eternal capitol' because it's possible that a long, long, time ago, some of it was the home of a fairly short-lived Judean city-state?
Do you have any lines you would draw on those subjects, with respect to whether the United States should continue to provide around 1/3 of the military budget of Israel?
Cuz' if you don't have any opinion on these subjects, you should shut the fuck up and leave the discussion of these problematic issues to the people who actually pay attention.
6chars
(3,967 posts)
FlatBaroque
(3,160 posts)MariaThinks
(2,495 posts)hidden.
bigotry, no matter how its masked against Jews, is NOT acceptable.
nichomachus
(12,754 posts)Good luck with that.
6chars
(3,967 posts)LanternWaste
(37,748 posts)That was clever, eh?
Electric Monk
(13,869 posts)leftynyc
(26,060 posts)that offered to give his speech remotely but they didn't allow that and he sent his remarks instead? That candidate?
eomer
(3,845 posts)He talks about the needs of people on both sides of the conflict and clearly has as his motivation finding a way to peace and justice for everyone involved. The other candidates all seem to be trying to stoke the fires of war (no surprise).
leftynyc
(26,060 posts)that doesn't change the fact the poster saying he was the only one that didn't pander to the organization, implying he turned down their offer to speak didn't know what the fuck they were talking about. Since no American soldiers have died in any of Israel's wars, these warmongering bullshit posts garner nothing but a yawn from me. I wouldn't expect any country to sit down with terrorists to hammer out an agreement.
eomer
(3,845 posts)And regarding your yawn, could it be that you're having trouble sleeping at night due to your apparent indifference to human suffering so long as American soldiers haven't died?
leftynyc
(26,060 posts)in the eyes of so many on the left. He didn't make Israel responsible for all the problems which goes against DU protocol. I have plenty of concern for the innocent - like that American that was stabbed to death just last week in Israel. There is suffering going on all over the world - I save my concern for those who are in no way responsible for their suffering - not those who commit terrorism to get what they want.
eomer
(3,845 posts)And I assume you save some of your concern for those Palestinians who are in no way responsible for their suffering?
leftynyc
(26,060 posts)concern for the Palestinian children who are subjected to daily doses of anti-Jewish and anti-Israeli poison being poured into their brains every single day at school. They don't have a chance to have a normal life. Their adults fail them every single day and have for decades.
eomer
(3,845 posts)Like to you, for example (hypothetically of course).
Bradical79
(4,490 posts)Why so hateful?
leftynyc
(26,060 posts)I bring up the fact that children in Palestine are fed on a diet of hate and psychological poison and I'm hateful? Whatever.
lancer78
(1,495 posts)As John Kerry said, Israel is becoming an Apartheid state.
Electric Monk
(13,869 posts)oberliner
(58,724 posts)There is so much misinformation in this article it is ridiculous.
Bradical79
(4,490 posts)You don't have to be made up of foreigners to act as a foreign lobby.
hack89
(39,171 posts)can't the same be said for pro-BDS organizations and their activities?
Jitter65
(3,089 posts)FlatBaroque
(3,160 posts)lancer78
(1,495 posts)Is someone telling the Republican voter that Israel has state sponsored abortion supported by THEIR tax dollars, and AIPAC's influence will vanish overnight.
leftynyc
(26,060 posts)I hear billboards work.
lancer78
(1,495 posts)I would. I hate seeing my tax dollars support apartheid. Of course, I would be called an anti-semite, something I clearly am not.
ericson00
(2,707 posts)lollolllll
and that poll is before the jihadist terrors in Europe.