April 7, 2007


U.S., Israel and AIPAC: “No, Thank You”

Palestine: “Yes, Thank You”

On March 18^th we posted an article titled “Mid-East Policy vs. the U.S. Constitution” in which we said we were inviting representatives of the Israel Lobby (AIPAC) and the Governments of the United States, Israel and Palestine to attend GML 2007 to comment on the accuracy of a recent paper published by Professors John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, entitled, “The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy,” and a book published recently by Jimmy Carter entitled, “Palestine Peace Not Apartheid.” 

We wrote that according to Mearsheimer, Walt and Carter, the United States has abandoned its own national interest and security to advance the interests of Israel, that neither strategic nor moral arguments can justify America’s unconditional support for Israel, that the United States has become the de facto enabler of Israel’s unlawful expansion and military occupation of the Palestinian Territories, that the United States is paying for the destruction of the Palestinian society, that U.S. policy in the Middle East (including giving Israel well over $140 billion in U.S. income tax revenues) has been driven by the activities of the “Israel Lobby,” and that the Israel Lobby attacks any person or organization that criticizes or is perceived to be a threat to Israel’s interests. 

We wrote that if, in fact, the information presented by the Professors and Carter was correct, it must be concluded that U.S. Foreign Policy is repugnant to the General Welfare clause of the Constitution. 

In support of such a conclusion we presented the following line of logic:  

If Palestinians are being oppressed and their society is being destroyed by Israel, and if Palestinians and empathetic Arabs and Muslims in surrounding countries are now directing their anger and hostilities against America because our financial aid to Israel is paying for the destruction of the Palestinian society, and if these hostile acts by Arabs and Muslims against America are the underlying cause of the domestic “War on Terror” in America, and if the “War on Terror” in America is the proximate cause of the developing Police State in America (euphemistically called the National Security State), and if the growing Police State is eroding the individual Rights, protected Freedoms and cherished Liberties of the People, then it would be undeniable that U.S. foreign policy regarding Israel is not in our national interest and is not serving the general welfare of all Americans.

In short, if U.S. Middle-East policy, (including foreign aid, U.S. military actions, high-technology weapons sales, covert CIA interdictions, etc.) is the result of the de facto wholesale adoption of the self-interests of the state of Israel over the constitutionally protected self-interests of the American People, then our Government is, in effect, conducting foreign policy that is abhorrent to the Constitution.  

As reported by Mearsheimer, Walt and Carter, U.S. foreign aid is being used to establish and further a racist and minority religious belief system, it is being used to unlawfully imprison and impoverish large segments of the Palestinian/Muslim population, it is being used to attack other nations in the region that oppose Israel’s destruction of the Palestinian society, and it is being used to achieve questionable political ends that have resulted in injurious “blowback” upon the American populace -- including the attacks of 9-11 and the continuing diminution of our civil liberties.  In essence, our aid and assistance is being used to deprive human beings, both here and abroad, of their unalienable Rights as endowed by their Creator.

Certainly, it is not in the interest of mankind to stifle debate on such an important issue. The issue must enter the public discourse in America, under the protection of the First Amendment’s speech, press and assembly guarantees and, if necessary, under the First Amendment’s guarantee of the Right to Petition the Government for Redress of Grievances. 

We wrote that the issue was of such importance to our country that we would devote one-half of the first day of GML 2007 (our conference held last week at the Hilton Hotel in Alexandria, Virginia, March 29-31) to the subject, and that we had invited AIPAC and the governments of the United States, Israel and Palestine to attend, for the purpose of admitting or denying the facts that were included in the publications by Mearsheimer, Walt and Carter. 

GML 2007

On December 11, 2006, AIPAC was formally invited to participate in GML 2007. On March 21, 2006, AIPAC telephoned to say they would not participate. We sent a confirming email.

On March 15, 2007, after speaking by telephone with a staff person at the Israeli Embassy in Washington DC, we were directed to send, by e-mail, our invitation to Israeli Ambassador Meridor for a representative of the Government of Israel to participate in GML 2007. We did not receive a response to the invitation. 

On March 19, 2007, after speaking with a staff person at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, DC, we were invited to send, by facsimile, our invitation to the Secretary of State Condeleeza Rice for a representative of the Government of the United States to participate in GML 2007.

Strangely, on April 2, 2007, upon our return to New York from GML 2007, we received a letter from the office of the Secretary of State, [ed. 1.2 MB, RIGHT-Click to download] dated March 28, 2007 (the day before the 3/29/07 start of the Conference) but postmarked March 30, 2007 (the day after our 3/29/07 webcast wherein we showed the 3/19/07 invitation to the audience and reported there had been no response, and the same day as our “V” demonstration in front of the White House). The letter informed us that no one from the Department of State would be attending the conference.  

On March 15, 2007, after speaking by telephone with a staff person at the Palestine Embassy in Washington DC, we were directed to send, by e-mail, our invitation to the Palestinian Deputy Ambassador Abuznaid for a representative of the Government of Palestine to participate in GML 2007. We received a telephone call and an email response from Ambassador Abuznaid, providing the names and contact information for a number of individuals who he believed were familiar with the works of the two Professors and Carter and would be well qualified to comment on the accuracy of the information in those two publications.  

When all was said and done, neither the Israel Lobby nor the Governments of the United States and Israel would attend GML 2007 to deny the accuracy of the information presented by Mearsheimer, Walt and Carter.

On the other hand, two experts on the Palestine-Israel conflict did attend and each attested that the information presented by Mearsheimer, Walt and Carter was accurate. These experts were Dr. Muhammad Hallaj, a Palestinian, and Dr. Norman Birnbaum, a Jew.

A video copy of their presentations and of the question and answer period that followed will be available soon on DVD.
 

Some Disagreement Within
The Ranks of WTP

We have received a number of sharp and caustic emails following the announcement that we would openly and objectively discuss the constitutionality of America’s unconditional financial and military support of Israel, the role that America has played directly and indirectly in the destruction of Palestine society, the “War on Terror” that has consumed our nation, and the developing Police State and erosion of individual Liberty and the rule of Law here at home.

Click here to view some of the emails we received. 

We thought it best to respond first, by stating unequivocally that we are not anti-Israel or anti-Jew. We are pro-Constitution, and deeply concerned about what is happening to the individual Rights, Freedoms and Liberty of all Americans. We are concerned about how American resources and policies are being used to serve foreign interests at the expense of the fundamental, unalienable Rights of the American people, in gross violation of our Constitution.  We believe that all human life is to be revered and honored with the enjoyment of the same unalienable Rights of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness that we proudly claim as Americans. We believe the protection of human life and liberty is every person’s duty and responsibility. 

Some of our critics based their criticism on their understanding of Biblical history. Others based their criticism on their belief that Israel is vulnerable, a victim of unwarranted and unjustified Palestinian aggression and in need of America’s financial aid. Still others appear to be influenced by their political affiliations.  

We will respond by respectfully asking our critics to carefully consider the following questions.
 

Regarding The Holy Scriptures 

Are your biblical views based on personal, thorough research and reading of the Holy Scriptures, or do they represent what you have been “taught” by others to believe?  Is it possible that you have a severely flawed understanding of Biblical history?  

Isn’t it true that nowhere in the Holy Scriptures is it written that God’s ultimate plan for the geographic territory known today as the state of Israel, will be implemented by a specific nation of people (Americans or Israelis) acting pursuant the direction of their secular government leaders? 

Isn’t it true that according to God’s Word, the people of Israel rejected and turned away from Him resulting in their being “scattered to the wind?” 

Isn’t it true that God promised to restore to His Grace the spiritual descendents of the twelve tribes of ancient Israel (not just the racial descendents of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin)? 

Isn’t it true that this promise will be fulfilled when He decides, not when AIPAC or the Christian Evangelical Community decides? 

Isn’t it true that there is no Biblical or moral justification for the government-sponsored theft of private property, the violent subjugation, and the oppression of millions of innocent Palestinians?

Isn’t it true that no religious belief system worthy of respect can justify the murder and oppression of innocent human beings?

Who Is A Threat To Whom?   Who Has Been Acting In Bad Faith? 

Isn’t it true that there is a voluminous body of non-partisan literature that thoroughly documents the fact that the 1967 Middle East War was provoked and preemptively initiated by Israel, not the Arabs? 

Isn’t it true that the 1967 USS Liberty incident, when Israel intentionally and maliciously attacked a flagged U.S. Navy ship and murdered and maimed dozens of American Sailors and Marines (an act of war that was covered up by the U.S. government for over 30 years), is a true example of Israel’s “Might Makes Right” dogma, and what it really thinks of its so-called “best friend” (America) and its Arab neighbors? 

Isn’t it true that Israel holds all of the military cards (plus all of the tanks, fighter aircraft, tactical missiles, biological and chemical weapons, nuclear arms, Sigint and Elint technology, and so forth) in its lopsided and potentially terminal aggression against the Palestinian people and other Arab peoples in the region? 

Isn’t it true that neither the Palestinians nor the Arabs ultimately represent a fatal threat to Israel, especially with America’s military might standing in ready reserve?  

Isn’t it true that all human life has equal value, and is worthy of the same respect and protection?

How Well Informed Are We?

Isn’t it true that a large percentage of Americans who call themselves Christians have approximately the same level of knowledge and comprehension of Biblical history and the eternal truths revealed in God’s Word, as they do America’s history and the divinely inspired truths revealed in our founding documents? 

Isn’t it true that many are incapable of high order reasoning and objective self-analysis, especially when confronted with the fundamental contradiction between what they say they believe and how they actually conduct their lives? 

Isn’t it true that committed followers of Jesus Christ must accept His word as complete instruction for how we are to live and relate to our fellow man? 

Isn’t it true that God’s Word is not a menu from which we can choose the instructions that are acceptable, or tolerable, and then dismiss those which cause discomfort or demand personal accountability? 

Isn’t it true that the teachings of Jesus Christ are unambiguous about how human beings are to relate to each other, under all circumstances? 

Isn’t it true that most Christians on the “political left” don’t want to hear that abortion and homosexuality are fundamentally inconsistent with the teachings of Jesus Christ, while most Christians on the “political right” don’t want to hear that unprovoked, aggressive “pre-emptive” wars are immoral and fundamentally incompatible with everything Christ taught? 

Isn’t it true that the beliefs and conduct of American Christians on both ends of the political spectrum are more influenced by their political affiliations, than by their thorough understanding and devotion to the actual teachings of their professed faith? 

Isn’t it true that the first books of the Old Testament are primarily a history of the ancient Israelites, with limited practical relevance to our contemporary lives? 

Isn’t it true that the Old Testament Psalms, Proverbs and books of the Prophets, provide God’s instruction and direction for our lives? 

Isn’t it true, that when read in combination with the New Testament, the Psalms, Proverbs and books of the Prophets present a beautiful, compelling and complete story of God’s plan and purpose for all His creation? 

Isn’t it true that at the center of that story is “His-story”?  

Isn’t it true that His-story is a story of God’s enduring love, charity, mercy and grace? 

Isn’t it true that His-story is a story of personal discipline, self-control, integrity, honor and sacrifice? 

Isn’t it true that His-story is a story of humility and forgiveness? 

Isn’t it true that His-story is a story of moral courage? 

Isn’t it true that His story is not a story of bigotry, judgment, self-righteous aggression and violence, but a story of Love, Peace and the spiritual ascension of the Children of God?
 

Final Thoughts

As we Americans survey the world around us and reflect on the part that we have individually and collectively played in writing “our” history, what story do we want to be our legacy?

What story do we wish to help author?

What story do we want to help finance? 

What story will we leave to guide future generations of Americans?

Which story will we commit our lives, works and spirits to?  

Will it be His-story, or some other story? 

We must decide -- and soon. 

In the end, it appears our nation has been drawn into this senseless global religious and geo-political conflagration for two primary reasons:  

First, because our Nation has rejected the true Faith of our Founding Fathers in favor of the moral relativism that has now consumed our culture.

Second, because we have abandoned our Founders’ divinely inspired and eminently prudent counsel regarding the dangers of unbridled government power and unwise foreign entanglements. 

As a nation, and as a planet, we had best soon decide how to live together in peace and harmony and how to best govern ourselves in the service of protecting His unalienable gifts -- for all of Mankind. 

Because we are so deeply devoted to the principles of faith and freedom upon which America stands, it seems that defending our Constitution is the honorable and right place to start.

 

Read our March 18^th article titled “Mid-East Policy vs. the U.S. Constitution”

Please remember:

The Landmark Right-To-Petition Lawsuit
and Operations of the WTP Foundation
are Funded Solely By Your Generous Support.