The toxic power of Israel in American politics

Israel is a small country, about the size of New Jersey. It has a tiny population, less than 10 million. It receives more American foreign aid than any other country. It appears to have more political power in American politics than any other country, although Russia may be close or even more influential. Israel aggressively defends itself against any threat, real, reasonably perceived or faux, fabricated. Since 1948, America has supported and defended that pipsqueak little country time and time again, often or usually to the significant detriment of US interests and international standing. 

A WaPo opinion by Perry Bacon discusses how Israel intends to change the US congress to make the US more pro-Israel than it already is:  

The House’s left was right about Gaza. 

That could cost them their seats.

Some of the best members of Congress could be ousted this year. They are facing huge spending campaigns against them, as punishment for taking positions not shared by the wealthy and powerful, most notably their strong opposition to Israel’s military actions in Gaza.

The targets of Israel 

Eighteen members of the House, all Democrats, started calling for a cease-fire months ago, as it became clear Israel’s response to the attacks by Hamas on Oct. 7 would be full-scale destruction of Gaza. .... All 18 of these members are Americans of color. Several were elected with the help of leftist groups such as Justice Democrats and the Working Families Party.

The very pro-Israel American Israel Public Affairs Committee seems to think these members are having an effect, too — and therefore it wants them out of office. AIPAC has recruited more moderate Democrats to run against these progressives in primaries and will reportedly back those challengers with tens of millions of dollars.

These members are in real danger of losing. They are very liberal on economic issues, too, calling for higher taxes on the wealthy and more regulations on corporations. So there isn’t going to be a heavily funded super PAC coming in on their side to save them.

That is how Israel plays hardball politics in America. American defenders of Israel reject criticism of this targeting of Democrats by saying that if they lose their seats in congress it is because voters do not support them. That argument conveniently ignores the corruption of American politics by the Citizens United USSC decision that legalized corruption of politics by money.

Qs: 

1. Is it unreasonable for Americans (like me -- I see Israel as more enemy than friend) to be angry at Israel for explicitly using our corrupted pay-to-play system of politics to target Democrats in congress who advocate for a ceasefire to try to protect innocent, starving Palestinians?

2. Is it reasonable to justify Israel targeting Democrats who want a ceasefire simply because it is legal to use special interest money posing as free speech to obliterate political opposition instead of letting voters decide for themselves on a level playing field among candidates?

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Some context for the wonks

Things like this are why I have soured on supporting Israel.

1. Israel Has Formed a Task Force to Carry Out Covert Campaigns at US Universities -- A major Israeli news site says Israel’s foreign affairs and diaspora affairs ministries are behind the operation. Under the heading “Legal Axis,” the Israeli government plan calls for “taking legal action outside the law [what ‘outside the law’ means exactly is not specified in the YnetNews article] against activities and organizations that pose a threat to Jewish and Israeli students on campuses, such as Students for Justice in Palestine.”

MBFC analysis of YnetNews

2. Draft UN Report Finds Israel Has Met Threshold for Genocide -- “Israel’s genocide on the Palestinians in Gaza is an escalatory stage of a long-standing settler-colonial process of erasure.”

3. Israel Is a Strategic Liability for the United States -- The special relationship does not benefit Washington and is endangering U.S. interests across the globe. Unwavering U.S. support for Israel has been a consistent element of U.S. Middle East policy since the establishment of the state in 1948. President John F. Kennedy coined the phrase “special relationship” in 1962, explaining that Washington’s ties to the state were “really comparable only to that which it has with Britain over a wide range of world affairs.” By 2013, then-Vice President Biden argued that “it’s not only a long-standing moral commitment; it’s a strategic commitment.” Washington continues to provide Israel with roughly $3.8 billion annually in addition to other arms deals and security benefits. (Some of the other top recipients of U.S. aid, such as Egypt and Jordan, receive large amounts in exchange for maintaining normalized relations with Israel). Israel and its supporters are hugely influential in Washington, commanding attention on both sides of the political aisle through different forms of direct and indirect lobbying and influence.

MBFC analysis of Foreign Policy

4. The Israeli right undermines Biden’s Middle East agenda -- The right-wing prime minister has spent much of his political career chipping away at the prospect of a two-state solution and came back to power with allies further to the right who explicitly reject any talk of Palestinian statehood. They also advocate further Jewish settlement of the West Bank and even of war-blighted Gaza. The rhetoric coming from within Israel has made U.S. attempts to hatch a regional plan to calm the crisis more difficult.

5. American traitor, Israeli hero -- The Pollard case shows that the interests of Israel and America are often sharply at odds. The U.S. government’s announcement that Jonathan Pollard will soon gain his release from prison is cause for celebration in Israel, and understandably so. There, Pollard is considered a patriot and hero. By engaging in espionage on Israel’s behalf, he placed himself at great risk. Once caught, he endured considerable punishment — 30 years in a federal penitentiary. Israelis have no problem grasping why their take on Pollard and ours should differ. They fully understand that on many occasions U.S. and Israeli security interests are at odds. And when that occurs they do not doubt what comes first. It’s Americans, insisting that “no daylight” exists between the United States and Israel, who perpetuate a false understanding of this relationship — a pretense that may benefit Israel, but certainly does not benefit the United States. .... Their hero is simultaneously our traitor because the prerequisites of Israeli safety and well-being differ from the prerequisites of American safety and well-being. (Jonathan Pollard, the American who spied for Israel, was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1987. While working for US naval intelligence, he had stolen suitcases full of top secret documents and passed them on to Israel. Last Friday, having spent 30 years in prison, he reached the end of that sentence and was released on parole at the age of 62. Pollard was, as he insists, acting out of love for Israel and concern for its security – and, despite the wads of cash and fat diamonds he was paid for his spying, despite the allegations that he tried to sell sensitive US intel secrets to other countries, too, Pollard’s self-proclaimed motivations are what bind Israelis to him.) 

MBFC analysis of Politico Europe

NOTES: 

1. For decades Israel has, and still does, aggressively spy on the US and what they learn is sometimes used against us. 

2. I strongly disagree with the argument that Israel knows Israel’s best interests. Looking back at decades of blood and misery, Israel has consistently undermined its own best interests in the name of extremist theocratic, authoritarian Zionism and the arrogance, hate and bigotry it inspires. If the US had forced and maintained a two-state solution for the benefit of Israel and the Palestinians long ago, the current war very likely would not have happened. Would not have happened because it could not have happened if the two states were monitored and peace competently militarily enforced. Now it is too late for that. In the US, a directly analogous situation is America’s extremist authoritarian radical right constantly blocking laws that would deal with the US-Mexico border situation.