Thursday 19 February 2009

FOR PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST: STOP AIPAC-ISRAELI LOBBY

Source

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Tears in Occupied Basra, Iraq. AIPAC had played a key role in fomenting support for the U.S. invasion of Iraq. It is playing an even greater role in supporting a future military strike against the people of Iran.


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The Annexation Wall surrounds the Palestinian village of Qalqilya. The wall deprives its 12,000 residents of their basic needs to work, to receive proper medical care, and to harvest their own land. AIPAC heavily lobbied Congress to support the Wall.

People are scared in the US, to say ‘wrong is wrong,’ because the pro-Israeli lobby is powerful.
Well, so what? For goodness sake, this is God’s world! We live in a moral universe. The apartheid govt. was very powerful, but today it no longer exists.-
Desmond Tutu, Nobel
Peace Prize Winner

AIPAC, or the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, describes itself as the most important organization affecting the U.S. relationship with Israel. With a budget of $65 million, and membership now standing at over 100,000, it is no wonder that congressional staffers consider it one of the most powerful and effective lobbies on Capitol Hill.

Once a year, AIPAC holds its annual conference in Washington DC. This May it was attended by over 5,000 participants. Its annual policy conference is one of Washington’s largest gatherings of lawmakers, topped only by the President’s State of the Union address. Guests this year included two-thirds of the House, half the Senate, and Vice President Richard Cheney.

Only rarely is a critical word uttered among politicians regarding AIPAC and its associates that support unjust and aggressive (and disastrous) U.S. policies toward the peoples of the Middle East. We aim to change that.

For too long, policies that support Israeli militarism and occupation have gone unchallenged. Political voices raising even minor disagreements with prevailing policies are silenced or subject to campaigns of intimidation. We must open the door to full debate regarding U.S. relationship with Israel and U.S. policy with other countries in the region.

These pages will examine how AIPAC and related institutions (usually collectively known as the “Israel Lobby”) support a dangerous status quo, including AIPAC’s support for U.S. military aid to Israel, which amounts to over $3 billion per year. We will examine its support for even the worst of Israeli policies, and its support for further U.S. military action in the region.

We will provide resources to counter AIPAC initiatives before Congress, such as the current legislation in Congress to punish the Palestinian people. You will hear many voices and listen to the debate among those who want U.S. policy to change but differ on how influential the “Israel Lobby” really is in formulating that policy.

Most importantly, we will serve as a resource for people organizing actions to challenge the status quo. We believe that changing U.S. policy is really the bottom line. The people of the United States, and the people of the world, deserve better than policies of endless war, occupation, and support for dispossession of the Palestinian people. We the people want a policy based on fairness and mutual respect. Therefore, we welcome the participation of those who want a U.S. foreign policy based on adherence to international law and support for human rights for everyone.

Source www.stopaipac.org

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