Felt compelled to post this segment of latest article written by Ralph Giraldi.
There is, however, another country that has interfered in U.S. elections, has endangered Americans living or working overseas and has corrupted America’s legislative and executive branches. It has exploited that corruption to initiate legislation favorable to itself, has promoted unnecessary and unwinnable wars and has stolen American technology and military secrets. Its ready access to the mainstream media to spread its own propaganda provides it with cover for its actions and it accomplishes all that and more through the agency of a powerful and well-funded domestic lobby that oddly is not subject to the accountability afforded by the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) of 1938 even though it manifestly works on behalf of a foreign government. That country is, of course, Israel. And that assessment of Israel and what damage it does regarding what most Americans would regard as genuine national interests is most definitely not reported, revealing once again that what is not written is every bit as important as what is. I would note how what has recently happened right in front of us relating to Israel is apparently not considered fit to print and will never appear on any disapproving editorial page. Just this week the Senate unanimously passed an Anti-Semitism Awareness bill and also by a 99 to zero vote renewed and strengthened sanctions against Iran, which could wreck the one year old anti-nuclear weapon proliferation agreement with that country.The Anti-Semitism Awareness Act is intended to give the Department of Education investigatory authority over “anti-Jewish incidents” on America’s college campuses. Such “incidents” are not limited to religious bigotry, with the examples cited in the bill’s text including criticism of Israel and claiming that the holocaust was “exaggerated.” It is a thinly disguised assault on the Boycott Divest and Sanction (BDS) movement, which is non-violent, does not criticize Jews as a religion or ethnicity, and is actually supported by many Jewish American who are concerned about Israel’s apartheid regime. The Anti-Semitism bill makes Jews and Jewish interests a legally protected class, immune from any criticism. “Free speech” means in practice that you can burn an American flag, sell pornography, attack Christianity in the vilest terms or castigate the government in Washington all you want but criticizing Israel is off limits if you want to avoid falling into the clutches of the legal system. The Act is a major step forward in effectively making any expressed opposition to Israeli actions a hate crime and is similar to punitive legislation that has been enacted in twenty-two states as well as in Canada. It is strongly supported by the Israel Lobby, which quite likely drafted it, and is seeking to use legal challenges to delegitimize and eliminate any opposition to the policies of the state of Israel. As the Act is clearly intended to restrict First Amendment rights if they are perceived as impacting on broadly defined Jewish sensitivities, it should be opposed on that basis alone, but it is very popular in Congress, which is de facto owned by the Israel Lobby. That the legislation is not being condemned or even discussed in the generally liberal media tells you everything you need to know about the amazing power of one particular unelected and unaccountable lobby in the U.S.
Felt compelled to post this segment of latest article written by Ralph Giraldi.
ReplyDeleteThere is, however, another country that has interfered in U.S.
elections, has endangered Americans living or working overseas and
has corrupted America’s legislative and executive branches. It has
exploited that corruption to initiate legislation favorable to itself, has
promoted unnecessary and unwinnable wars and has stolen
American technology and military secrets. Its ready access to the
mainstream media to spread its own propaganda provides it with
cover for its actions and it accomplishes all that and more through
the agency of a powerful and well-funded domestic lobby that oddly
is not subject to the accountability afforded by the Foreign Agents
Registration Act (FARA) of 1938 even though it manifestly works on
behalf of a foreign government. That country is, of course, Israel.
And that assessment of Israel and what damage it does regarding
what most Americans would regard as genuine national interests is
most definitely not reported, revealing once again that what is not
written is every bit as important as what is. I would note how what
has recently happened right in front of us relating to Israel is
apparently not considered fit to print and will never appear on any
disapproving editorial page. Just this week the Senate unanimously
passed an Anti-Semitism Awareness bill and also by a 99 to zero vote
renewed and strengthened sanctions against Iran, which could wreck
the one year old anti-nuclear weapon proliferation agreement with
that country.The Anti-Semitism Awareness Act is intended to give the Department
of Education investigatory authority over “anti-Jewish incidents” on
America’s college campuses. Such “incidents” are not limited to
religious bigotry, with the examples cited in the bill’s text including
criticism of Israel and claiming that the holocaust was “exaggerated.”
It is a thinly disguised assault on the Boycott Divest and Sanction
(BDS) movement, which is non-violent, does not criticize Jews as a
religion or ethnicity, and is actually supported by many Jewish
American who are concerned about Israel’s apartheid regime.
The Anti-Semitism bill makes Jews and Jewish interests a legally
protected class, immune from any criticism. “Free speech” means in
practice that you can burn an American flag, sell pornography, attack
Christianity in the vilest terms or castigate the government in
Washington all you want but criticizing Israel is off limits if you want
to avoid falling into the clutches of the legal system. The Act is a
major step forward in effectively making any expressed opposition to
Israeli actions a hate crime and is similar to punitive legislation that
has been enacted in twenty-two states as well as in Canada. It is
strongly supported by the Israel Lobby, which quite likely drafted it,
and is seeking to use legal challenges to delegitimize and eliminate
any opposition to the policies of the state of Israel.
As the Act is clearly intended to restrict First Amendment rights if
they are perceived as impacting on broadly defined Jewish
sensitivities, it should be opposed on that basis alone, but it is very
popular in Congress, which is de facto owned by the Israel Lobby.
That the legislation is not being condemned or even discussed in the
generally liberal media tells you everything you need to know about
the amazing power of one particular unelected and unaccountable
lobby in the U.S.