Our Israeli Allies
....are upset with Barack Obama, according to Aluf Benn, the editor of Haaretz, which is a major moderate-liberal Israeli newspaper. In a New York Times op-ed today, Benn complains that Obama has been talking to everybody else, but not the Israelis--and he has a point.
Actually, Benn makes several important points. Here's another:
[A]s far as most Israelis are concerned, Mr. Obama has made a mistake in focusing on a settlement freeze. For starters, mainstream Israelis rarely have anything to do with the settlements; many have no idea where they are, even when they're a half-hour's drive from Tel Aviv.
It's taken me decades to realize this. Most Israelis--especially those who live in Tel Aviv and environs--not only don't see settler types, they also don't see many Arabs. They live their lives, do their work, have fun at the beach. By contrast, when journos like me parachute in, we usually go to Jerusalem, where the government and a significant Arab population lives, and usually (in my case, at least,) combine it with a visit to the West Bank or Gaza. Most journalists based in Israel live in Jerusalem and spend lots of time in both communities. They are aware of the proliferation of settlements and they have experienced the outrageous conditions in the Palestinian territories.
If you believe Obama's policy is the right one, as I do, the latest public opinion surveys from Israel are disappointing--but not insurmountable. Obama needs to explain his policy to the Israeli public. He also needs some front-end concessions from the Arab states who will benefit from a Middle East peace deal, starting with Saudi Arabia. Given the recent events in Iran, the election results in Lebanon, Syria's renewed cooperation and a softer tone from Hamas (and the cessation of missiles fired from Gaza at Israeli civilians), this is a promising moment. But progress will only be made if Israelis understand that a settlement freeze (and, ultimately, a retrenchment) and the peace process that follows are in their long-term best interests. The President needs to address that, especially since Benjamin Netanyahu won't.
Update: I'm told that Obama is already planning to make this sort of effort--Israeli television interviews etc.--in the coming weeks.
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1
The fact that most Israelite don't care enough to know where the settlements are, or care about them at all, seems to be a great reason to bring them up. Not that I care that he addresses the issue at all, imo we should stop giving Israeli's any money or support.
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2
What's wrong here...well, I hate to tell you this, but Isreal is NOT OUR ALLY!!!!!!!
An Ally is not your best buddy or whatever. An ally is a country that signs a treaty of alliance with our country. We tried years ago to make this happen and they didn't want to sign.
Allies don't operate aggressive intelligencec ops against each other. Allies don't operate huge lobbies to affect policy towards each other. Allies come to each other's mutual defense.
You might consider Israel our friend, but they are by no means our ally.-
2.1
An ally doesn't attack your ships and kill their crew members.
I don't think a friend does, either.
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2.2
" .. You might consider Israel our friend .. "
Maybe not.
* It should be remembered that Israel and the Israelis still owes us a blood debt - for the American blood they wantonly spilled and the American lives they violently terminated in the Mediterranean sea.
[We normally respond brutally to harm that befalls one of our own at the hands of foreigners.]
[We note that those foreign Israelis are good at remembering their blood debt and seeking those who spilled Israeli blood - for decades if not centuries.]* Not to forget the specter of our sovereign leader (GWB#43) being ordered off a golf course to receive instructions from a foreign sovereign Olmert on how USA must vote at the UN! Yes, Bwana! And it is done!
[In a private moment of reflection, Israeli rabbis may wonder how autonomous is the USA vis-a-vis Israel and whether USA IS in fact a sovereign state - and not a de facto protectorate of Israel.]And not to forget the ongoing insolence of the rogue state of Israel - whereby dollars of the tax-paying gentiles in USA are provocatively used to build illegal houses in Palestinian territories - totally against USA's instructions and UN resolutions!
Yet USA has millions of homeless natives. Do the USA taxpayers work for the foreign state of Israel? Is that spelled in our constitution?If Israel is our friend, then why do we need enemies?
Our Israeli Allies
JK says so. AIPAC says so.
Not the American hillbilly - who votes on details expenditures of the tax-dollars in the state capitals.Does our constitution state that Israel MUST be our ally or that the imperial needs of Israel, the creature comforts of Israelis and the supremacist ego-trips of those foreigners shall supersede those of "We, the people"? Is funding for shelter and the happiness of foreigners more important to our lawmakers than the pursuit of happiness of more than 30 million currently starving and homeless Americans?
Were Americans asked to vote on the billions of dollars spirited off to Israel - so that these foreigners don't have to toil for their livelihood but
- laze around in houses built by the beleagured American taxpayer;(*)
- and insult the intelligence of Americans;
- hatch bloody mischief and genocide against the Palestinians;
- and determine what new wars Americans are going to fight on their behalf?JK, why are they "our allies"? [And don't give us that crap about phantom ties and religious myth.]
* The story is that the billions of dollars the Americans throew at Israel goes into social programs. Indeed, the dollars the Israeli would spend i those social programs are thereby freed to be spent on warmongering and aggression in Palestinian lands. So indeed, USA indirectly enables and funds Israeli adventurism, aggression, crimes against humanity and lip.
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3
If the Israelis don't like our policies they can stop taking the foreign aid we give them.
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4
Here we go again. Not knowing what we don't know because we only listen to people who think like we do. Israeli's don't understand how important the settlement issue is to Arabs the same way that white America didn't get what the Gates arrest meant to Black Americans. It's visceral, because just like every Black person has a police story, every Arab has a story about losing land and property and having no right of return etc. The settlements are a burning insult to an oozing injury. A continuous reminder of abuses of power real or imagined.
We've spent decades talking to Israel and we will continue to talk to them, but to have any credibility in this process, Arabs need to feel that they are also part of the discussion. Just as Black Americans sought validation of their reality about police abuse of power through the medium the Gates outcome, Arabs are seeking validation of their concerns through the settlement outcome. It's only when all sides feel validated can you being negotiation.
Now perhaps Israel should be ashamed that so few of their population have any knowledge of such an important issue to the other side. In this country, would we tell African Americans that incidents of racial bias is no big deal just because the vast majority of whites don't have to deal with these kinds of events? Well I guess the answer if yes, so in any event we shouldn't and they should learn from our mistakes and shouldn't do it either.
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5
Our relationship with Israel serves no interest for the US, while in fact actually stoking anti-US sentiment in the region. Israel subverts American security on a daily basis by way of spying, sabotage, black-flag ops, and leaking our intelligence to the highest bidder. Israel is not an ally. I see no reason why Obama should have to campaign his initiatives before the Israeli public.
I say make 'em squirm.
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6
mainstream Israelis rarely have anything to do with the settlements;
I've always felt that looking at regional differences in experience sheds a lot of light on viewpoints that are otherwise homogenized into oblivion by out TeeVee culture.
Interesting to note that the US isn't the only place where that's an important factor.
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7
Israel be another one o' those subjects tha' be "off th' table" - no logical, rational, fact-based discussion allowed!
YARR!
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7.1
I suggest pirate raids. Start up the Barbary Pirate crews again and have at them!
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8
Joe thinks the Arab states should make front-end concessions. But that assumes good faith on the Israeli side. There is no evidence of that at all. If there were any good faith Israel would have responded to the Arab peace plan offering full normalization for a peace deal based on the green line.
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9
Tel-Aviv is very insulated. I was in Israel and the West Bank in 2006 during the offensive against Hezbollah. Around Jerusalem and certainly in the West Bank it was evident that there was an ongoing conflict, security was high, people were talking about it, etc etc. But in Tel-Aviv the city was utterly unphased. The city was bustling. North Tel-Aviv piers were crowded every night with party-goers, club-hoppers, and the restaurants were jam packed well into the night. I heard little to no chatter about what was happening in the north. It was if it was in another land altogether. The Tel-Aviv populace is either strikingly complacent or entirely ill-informed. Either way, the undying flames of hostility in and around the Jerusalem area are in no way indicative of the entire nation of Israel. Most, I believe, simply go about their lives with little to no thought of what occurs in Gaza or the West Bank.
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10
I share what appears to be a common concern other commentators are making. What benefit has Israel as this supposed ally actually brought to us? We've allowed our Middle Eastern policy initiatives to be driven too long by certain special-interest groups with a disproportionate impact on our government. I don't understand logically how we wouldn't make more of an effort to win the hearts and minds of those who are a great risk to our nation. Try to find the middle ground with them in order to minimize the dangers they pose to us. Instead we seem to repeatedly worry about what Israelis think? WHY? Are they fighting our battles for us - literally? If anything their military efforts against the Palestinians have only done more harm to our goals than any good.
We can no longer let the fear of them screaming antisemitism dictate our foreign policy in the region. Its time we use actual strategic thinking to get the best benefit for us - even if that means not for Israel. Does this mean we do not offer them support, no, we should but that support should be tempered with the realities that its about our interests first. If they want to go it alone, have at it, lets see how they feel when we're not giving them millions in aid.
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10.1
$3-$4 billion per year in traceable aid. Not including arms shipments, and numerous other unaccountable perks. The Israel loans (which almost always are forgiven later on and thus become grants) are granted in the beginning of the fiscal year. Israel is the only country to get their aid in one lump sum in the beginning of the year.
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11
Okay, sigh, I'm not playing spob and will take the hit, but am really wondering about the animosity here…and Exiled knows my mostly pacifist views. That aside, (not seriously) are we supposed to just call the whole thing off and send Israelis back to Egypt? Will that make everyone happy? Wasn't Israel attacked by their neighbors when founded? And 1973? And there was a chance to have a Palestinian state in 1948…but the neighbors rejected it? Why are they fighting? Is it for religious reasons? The Dead Sea? Islam and Judaism worship the same God. I'd really like to know. (I hate ranting, sorry)
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11.1
The initial fighting in 1948 was due to the fact that Palestine (now Israel, West Bank and Gaza) was partitioned in a clumsy manner, with the bulk of land going to a minority Jewish population. The Arabs living there, in excess of a million, were rightly unhappy with only having 45% of the land while they held a two-thirds majority. Subsequently, Israeli Zionists whose goal was a Jewish state began 'cleansing' towns of Arab inhabitants causing a massive exodus of refugees. The neighboring Arab states consequently attacked Israel, but were swiftly beaten. The wars that followed were sometimes instigated by Arab states, sometimes by Israel, yet always ended with Israel's borders expanding, in violation of the UN Charter and the 4th Geneva Convention. Land acquisition through war is a violation of post-WWII international law. In 1967, Israel instituted its settlement policy, again in violation of international law. The 4th Geneva Convention forbids the transfer of a nation's civilian population to occupied territories. Gaza and West Bank were soon home to many Jewish-only towns protected by Israeli troops. The West Bank now has 500,000 Israeli settlers in an elaborate network of Jewish-only settlements, linked by Jewish-only roads, and protected by Israeli military, all within the recognized sovereign borders of the West Bank. Israel's Supreme Court has ruled these settlements illegal, yet they continue. There is also the 18 year occupation of Lebanon by Israel, from 1982-2000 which was a brutal occupation that led to the formation of Hezbollah. So long as Israel remains on land illegally annexed, continues to provide security, capital and resources to illegal settlements on sovereign territory, and blockade the people of Gaza in ghastly conditions there will continue to be irreconcilable issues that lead to conflict.
A quick summary of Israel's military operations by Professor Stephen Walt
http://walt.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/01/17/the_myth_of_israels_strategic_genius -
11.2
Me own "animosity" be regardin' th' ongoin' thumbin' o' th' nose by successive Israeli governments t' th' UN an' th' rest o' th' world, an' th' double standard we be employin in regards t' th' Israeli government - hand o'er th' money, mouth' th' platitudes, no questions asked!
This be no' 'bout Isreal's ri' t' exist fer me, bu' instead 'bout their "ri'" t' be held t' a diff'rent standard than th' rest o' th' world. Thar be no open discussion regardin' th' actions o' Israel - it be shut off by our own government, in bed ag'in wi' another lobbyin' group - AIPAC.
If th' Palestinians were killin' th' same number o' Israelis tha' Israel be killin' Palestinians, if Palestinians were settin' up illegal settlements wi'in Israel, ye can be bettin' thar'd be some hew an' cry comin' fr'm th' US!
Some o' us be soundin' harsh, bu' I be b'lievin' th' issue be tha' it be long past time we stopped supportin' Israel's ongoin' breakin' o' international law, an' ongoin' killin' o' Palestinians! It be long past time we be holdin' Israel t' th' same standard we be holdin' ev'ryone else, an' stop treatin' 'em li' they be above reproach - they most definite' no' be!
Arrgh!
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11.3
The problem is we have done everything to help Israel reach for peace with their neighbors and they continue to kick sand in the faces of the Palestinians.
As far as history, I need to give you the information which is not in the history books. Israel and the Hussein family of Jordan (later Trans-Jordan) reached a secret unsaid deal. Israel was not interest in an separate Palestinian state, which would have been a constant threat to Israel, and Jordan was interested in conquering territory (Jordan offered the Zionists an opportunity to become a part of the Kingdom of Jordan, which the Zionist politely declined). They agreed to a split and only fought over Jerusalem. How else do you explain Israel surviving with a stretch of territory only 10 miles wide?!
As far as 1973, after Egypt and Syria attacked Israel, Jordan asked Israel's permission to fight against it!? And Israel told them, "yes"?! You can't make this stuff up! This was all a part of the facade of Jew vs. Arab.
In Israel, the threat from the outside unites Jews who have different backgrounds and different interests. If they did not have the Arabs, they would fight among themselves. For Arabs it is worse, rather than Arab countries focusing on their own internal problems, they use Israel as a scapegoat and a whipping boy. As crazy as it sounds, most governments condone and encourage this insanity!
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11.4
deconstructive, I don't think anyone here is suggesting that we turn our backs on Israel, the issue is that because of wars in the Middle East and the war on terror, more and more Americans realize that we've conceded a great deal to what Israel wants with no direct benefit to us. I mean for example, i think Israel should keep Jerusalem, its a point I don't think we should concede, but there's no reason for Israel to continue to support any settlements that have repeatedly been falted and demonstrated to be illegal, even by UN resolution:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Security_Council_Resolution_446They have no right to these settlements and we shouldn't back them up on it.
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11.5
I be conflicted regardin' Jerusalem - it would'a been better fer it t've been something o' a world-protectorate instead o' th' capital on' one country based on th' readin o' one religion's sacred book...
It be done now tho - an' I b'lieve thar needs t' be a way t' share it - Muslims be havin' a legitimate claim based on tha' standard, too!
Arrgh!
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11.6
Hmm, could Jerusalem be a city-state like the Vatican (ironic?), San Marino, or other tiny nations like Nauru? (and to realize Nauru is literally a giant pile of bird poo, but I digress) I doubt Italy has her eye on San Marino. A J-state power sharing council sounds sensible to me.
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Consider this: If the Korean-Americans in USA would likewise vociferously declare North Korea "our ally" then NoKo could go about building their nukes and embark on any aggression they desire with impunity. We would even throw in a few billions of dollars a year for their creature comforts - and cover their backside against the barbarians at the UN.
And if Zimbabwean-Americans take the hint ...
And if African-Americans can take the hint ... -
13
If Israelis are so disinterested in settlements that they don't know anything about them, how are they outraged the Obama would demand the issues surrounding them be settled?
We are just seeing Benn reflect the hypocritical tea tantrum that Israel is throwing because it has fallen from being the most important state in our union to the 5th or 6th. -
14
Wasn't Israel attacked by their neighbors when founded?
It only takes one to start a conflict but it certainly takes two to sustain it across multiple generations. People talk about the amount of foreign aid we provide to Israel but what we don't discuss is how much that foreign aid depends on them still being in danger.
We are literally paying them to prolong the conflict and avoid peace. Change the incentive and they'll change the behavior.
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14.1
,i>" .. We are literally paying them to prolong the conflict and avoid peace. ..
Indeed.
Quite succinct.
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@JK: ...the latest public opinion surveys from Israel are disappointing--but not insurmountable.
The President of the United States has to gain the approval of the Israeli public?
Obama needs to explain his policy to the Israeli public.
And then what happens, Joe?
Or, historically, hasn't Israel pretty much done what it wanted, regardless of US policy?
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15.1
Hey Joe, what grape_crush said....
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15.2
Ha ha. If we don't watch out they are going to spy on us and steal our technology.
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16
While there are absolutely many valid opinions being expressed in response to this post, i'm a little dissappointed at the outright resentment of our relationship with Israel. For anyone to flat out state that we don't have an extremely important and valuable strategic relationship with the Israelis is nonsense. It's obvious that our relationship with the Israelis causes problems for the US, yet it still provides an important coalition with the only truly functioning democracy in the region. To deny that the benefits of our relationship with Israel outweigh the costs is naive and ignores the fact that we depend on Israel for balance and support in the region.
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16.1
Could you actually demonstrate how exactly Israel does this - I'm not saying I disagree with your point - however, its that generalization that allows us to sometimes not look at how easily we bend to Israeli expectation.
It's about our strategic interests, not theirs, not anyone else's. We can give a little here and there, but why do we primarily give to them? If what you say is true, then how exactly, specifically do we benefit?
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16.2
@indepandering: To deny that the benefits of our relationship with Israel outweigh the costs is naive...
Hmmm...Guess I need to find something that clearly defines what those benefits and costs are. Suggestions?
....and ignores the fact that we depend on Israel for balance and support in the region.
Ambiguous. The US does have other allies in the region, at least nominally. Could you be more specific as to what you mean by 'balance and support'?
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16.3
It be easier t' be havin' a "functionin' democracy" when ye can be manipulatin yer population t' be maintainin' th' numerical supremacy o' one religious group. I be understandin' this were why Israel were founded, bu, t' be callin' such a jury-rigged system a democracy be stretchin' it a mi'.
Fer instance, it took nigh on 200+ years, bu' we finally have a black president - wha' d' ye think th' odds be in Israel t' be havin' a Christian 'r a Muslim PM - ever?
I'd be acceptin' th' term "democratic theocracy", bu' democracy? No' quite.
arrgh.
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16.4
I completely understand the point your trying to make and there's no way to deny that the Israel lobby has too large of an influence upon the government. And yes, we do have allies in the region (personally i'd rather not depend on Egypt and Saudi Arabia as the go-to players) but I feel that in such a volatile part of the world it's important to have a friend that shares specific policies as well as interests globally. And while the Israelis continue to advance their own interests which may at times be at odds with Americans, the overall goal of peace and prosperity is a common one. Netanyahu is obviously pandering to the typical right-wing Israeli politics but such a rigid ideology is bound to moderate as the other key players (syria, Hamas, etc.) come to the table ready to play ball. Once we reach that goal it will be an immense achievement, and as long as Israel remains ground zero for Middle Eastern conflict I don't see how we could ignore such a situation.
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16.5
"...I feel that in such a volatile part of the world it's important to have a friend that shares specific policies as well as interests globally."
Please tell me you're joking. What the f@ck do you think makes it so "volatile"?
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16.6
New here to posting but have followed most here for the past few months. That said, I'm still trying to understand what concrete benefits that the US has gained from its relationship with Isreal. It appears on the surface that we simply chose to side with the people that look like the majority demographic here in the states. Does Isreal guarantee our access to cheap and plentiful crude? Do we really care about what type of gov't (democracy, theocracy, monarchy, anarchy...lol, etc) runs any of the oil producing middle eastern nations as long as we have access? I don't believe that we do. Which makes me question what is it about Isreal that is of such strategic importace to the US? Welcome all answers that can enlighten me...
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16.7
A very good first question. Too good for a decent answer, in fact.
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16.8
Israel serves no legitimate interest for the US. Stability in the region is jeopardized by her expansionist agenda and oppressive tactics. Anti-US sentiment is stoked by our allowance of her indignant attitudes towards international law. America is seen, rightly so, as an enabler of Israeli aggression. Israel cannot even assist us militarily in the region because Jewish troops invading an Arab state such as Iraq or Afghanistan would have dastardly consequences. Israel is nothing more than a liability. Throughout the Cold War privileged intelligence we passed along to Israel (and not UK, France, or anyone else) was routinely sold to the Soviets by our dear ally, Israel. In 1973, Israel blackmailed the expeditious shipment of US arms to assist in the war with Egypt with the threat to use a nuclear weapon, known as the Samson Doctrine within Israel, which authorizes the use of nuclear weapons against an adversary that threatens Israeli continuity, not necessarily an enemy that has nukes itself. Top all of this off with Israel's assault on the USS Liberty killing 34 Americans and wounding another 200 as well as decades of espionage, sabotage and black-flag operations manipulated to dislodge US-Arab relations and Israel has behaved no better than an enemy of the US.
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17
oh and to expand on that point about Israeli public opinion surveys, maybe the question should be what current American opinion polls suggest about our current policies with Israel. I know Swampland is not suggestive some trend, but I think it'd be interesting to see what Americans feel now, versus 10 years ago. The GOP loves to go on and on about the importance of standing by Israel, as if that is how Americans universally feel, but I have a feeling the sentiment just isn't there.
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Thanks, exiled, pirate, fhm, and ym. fhm, do you have links on these behind-the-scenes events? I love studying secret deals, that's where most things get done (alas). We gotta get KT and Jay REALLY drunk one evening for the skinny on their stories' real backgrounds. And Amy too.
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18.1
Alas deconstructiva, I am incompetent when it comes to links and the sources are long forgotten. I have read the readings of many historians, many of them called revisionists, because they are accused of "revising" history. However, I have read what looked like authenic documentation which was recently released by the Israeli government. Some may say that the documents are simply propaganda. However, I trust these documents since the source of these documents are Israelis.
The whole situation is rather bizarre and complicated. Did you know that the predecessors of Hamas were funded by the Israeli government? The Israeli government allowed Islamic institutions to flourish in the Gaza and the West Bank as a counterweight to the secular PLO ("divide and conquer"). They did not initially view the Islamists as a threat,and when the Islamists became threatening, the Israeli government tried to infiltrate the organization. Their efforts failed, and because of that initial Israeli governmental support, we have Hamas.
The Israelis have created this myth about the state of Israel and the Arabs have done nothing but to nurture the myth. How did these few Jews beat all those Arab armies? Well, Czech arms to the Zionists, arms embargo to the Palestinians, and the other Arab countries fighting for themselves. One war Israeli apologists don't talk about is the 1956 Suez war. Why? Israel attacked Egypt - against the myth that the Arabs always start the war. Israel was allied with France and England - against the myth that the Israelis always fight alone. 1967 war was about water rights - these were the words of Ariel Sharon in an interview with William Safire. Once again, you can't make this stuff up. When Israel invaded Lebanon, the Shiites were initially welcomed the Israelis because they hated the Palestinians. Zionists had a long relationship with the Heshemite family of Jordan going back to the 1920s. Why do you think one of them was assassinated by the Palestinians?
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19
Deconstructiva....
I implore you to read the following...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/07/gaza-israel-palestine
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19.1
Thanks Exiled for sharing with everyone. Powerful.
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20
http://www.ifamericansknew.org/history/origin.html
http://web.hks.harvard.edu/publications/workingpapers/citation.aspx?PubId=3670 (click on the PDF file by Stephen Walt)
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22.1
Whoa there, neo...light an' sprinklin' wi' th' links! Too many a' one time be overwhelmin'
!Arrgh!
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22.2
Thanks. If you implore me I guess I'll have to read them all, esp. the guardian, but can I save Chompsky until last? Reading him is sometimes like fusing Palin's rhetoric with Joyce's Finnegans Wake.
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22.3
Haha, yea, read in any order you like. Just a little light reading for the evening
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23
Sorry for all the posts and links, I tried to submit them as one single post, but every time my post simply disappeared...
~Independering
So, because Israel is a democracy they are our allies by default? What of Lebanon? Which has an extremely intriguing power-sharing structure between Shia, Sunni, and Christian based on democratic representation?
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24
the overall goal of peace and prosperity is a common one.....
.
There's the part I don't believe. If you want peace, the first step is to stop fighting. If you want conflict it's even easier to acheive. Too many people have too much stake and profit invested in continued conflict.Follow the money.
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24.1
I don't see how you can actually believe that the Israelis WANT to continue fighting their Arab neighbors. I understand your trying to say the Military-Industrial complex has too much of an influence in Israel and the United States, but to actually say that the Israeli population is actively seeking ways to continue sending their sons and daughters to their deaths is nonsense.
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25
Like I said, all valid points, just trying to play a little devil's advocate considering the liberal viewpoints i've seen expressed on this issue so far. But anyway...
Israel is definitely NOT our ally by default, but once again to deny our common interests seems a little off to me. And when I see posts drawing comparisons of our support to Israel with hypothetical support to Kim Jong Il, something has to be said. Just like Joe we all have issues with the way the Israelis handle things, in addition to the blind support our government has for Israel, but from a realistic view of foreign policy it would not be smart to alienate one of our strongest supporters and allies.
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25.1
Independering
In case you were unaware, I am Republican. Opposition to Israel is not a liberal stance. Unwavering support for Israel is a bipartisan initiative which holds sway over the majority of the 535 Congressmen, both Democrats and Republicans. There is no ideology involved in taking Israel to task for its illegitimate stances and its liability to the US. Human rights violations are simply that, no matter what political philosophy you subscribe to.
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