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Criticism of Israel is not “anti-Israel” - or worse, says US congressman
Published: 02 March, 2010, 08:52
Edited: 03 March, 2010, 18:53
Children from the Palestinian Hammuda family spend the night outside their destroyed house in Jabalia's Ezbet Abed Rabbo district in the northern Gaza Strip (AFP Photo / Olivier Laban-Mattei)
(45.7Mb) embed videoTAGS: Conflict, Interview, Middle East, USA
The deplorable humanitarian situation in Gaza and the West Bank demands immediate attention - says US Congressman Brian Baird.
Dialogue over both Israel’s and the US stance on Gaza and the West bank is largely hampered by the politicization of the issue, argues the American politician from the state of Washington.
“There has been this attitude that if anyone “sides with” any issue on the Palestinian side, or criticizes any conduct of Israel, that you are somehow anti-Israel or even worse, anti-Semitic, or somehow disloyal to your own country,” says Baird. “Nothing could be further from the truth.”
Baird notes that such policies are, most importantly, counter-productive to Israel’s own security interests. He also believes that it should be America’s prerogative to provide assistance to Palestinian civilians.
“In the case of Gaza we could bring immediate relief to citizens without asking Israeli permission,” says the US congressman. “We just roll the ships up, take the aid to the people who most need it and show them that we care about them and get real tangible quality of life improvements in the process without empowering extremists on either side.”
02.03.2010, 06:46
3 comments
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AMEN! I am finally glad to hear one politician in my country who has some sense. I am so sick of my country taking up for Israel all of the time. They have gotten us into so many situations with countries in the middle east because they feel they can bully everyone around because they have a big friend in the west. Now all we need is for our PRESIDENT to see it this way and we can start to making strides as a country.
It would appear that Congressman Brian Baird is one of those very rare people in US politics who are not 'bought and paid for' by the Israeli Lobby / or friends thereof. Supporters of Israel have spent decades linking anti Israeli-government sentiments with anti-semitism, a policy which may well have helped them in the past, but today is of questionable value. Israeli politics really should stand on its own two feet and stop pulling out the anti-semitism card whenever the questions get a bit tough. The large sums of money 'donated' to prefered US political candidates and the sponsorship of their campaigns by pro Israeli groups / individuals has now become questionable too. The power that pro Israeli groups yeild is formidable and was brought into sharp focus just months ago when the Obama administratin did a complete u-turn on his initially insistant and firm approach to Israels handleing of the Palastinian issue, particularly on the expansion of Israeli settlements (illegal under international law). The seige and deliberate starvation (of funds / building material / resources / water / food / fuel) of the people of Gaza is an outrage. The collective punishment of an entire people for the actions of a few is deplorable. It will however take more than one brave congressman to break the blockade of Gaza, and it will take a complete paradigm shift for the US administration to force Israels hand in anything relating to the Palastinian issue. It is time that Israel stopped throwing mud at other countries regarding 'human rights' and 'illegal weapons programs' and looked inward. Perhaps by takling their own issues they may actually acheive what most Israelis really want - to be left alone to live in peace.
This is the oldest trick up their sleeve, good cop vs. bad cop (Billy's wife, Biden and company), the "yes we can" and "change" man's chief of staff is ex-IDF tug. Just trying to get some brownie points for "cuba-style" sanctions against Iran.However Mr.Baird plays important role in the illusion of "just" broker.