AIPAC
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Thursday, June 5th, 2008
Order viagra online without prescription, Barack Obama had 7,000+ American Jews and non-Jewish friends of Israel eating out of his hand at the AIPAC Policy Conference yesterday morning. There was no political reason for him to disappoint Palestinians, the Arab world and the pro-Israel left by stating his commitment to an “undivided" Jerusalem. Viagra pharmacy, I have the highest hopes for this man, but his statement on Jerusalem was a major blunder that could easily have been avoided.
I have been coming to these AIPAC conferences over the years as an observer and as the Jewish peace camp’s equivalent of a Log Cabin Republican, believing that if you can’t get a seat at the power table with these people, viagra online, at least you should be in the room and take their measure.
This one, Viagra without prescription, like all the others, was a masterpiece of political theater. It was a combination of agit-prop worthy of Mao, a Veterans of Foreign Wars conclave and shmaltzy Yiddish theater, order viagra online without prescription.
One plenary session after another conveyed that it is 1938, it has always been 1938, buy viagra no prescription, the darkness is upon us, with footage of the Holocaust on giant screens, Viagra, interspersed with scary stills of the Iranian president, scenes of terrorist bombings, Hamas rockets in mid-flight. The argument that Israel’s security was intertwined with America’s, cheap viagra pills, that Israel is on the front line of our battle, was hammered home in seminars with military experts, Cheap generic viagra, in speeches from Members of Congress. It was conveyed in icons and totems, like the ubiquitous logo with an American and Israeli flag, and the tag line: “The American-Israel relationship: Built to Last.” And, cheap viagra no rx, amidst all the flagwaving and policy discussions, there were tear-jerkers, Wyoming WY Wyo. , like the obligatory but deeply moving stories of Israelis who had built lives from the ashes.
But the most important political theater focused on the candidates. Order viagra online without prescription, Before the conference, AIPAC sent emails and letters urging attendees to be respectful of all speakers. Throughout the proceedings, for three days, Missouri MO Mo. , its stage managers did a masterful job of putting a damper on grumpy right wing protest, knowing that, Kjøpe viagra online, in the past, strident hawks and settler supporters had booed Nancy Pelosi and Colin Powell (when he defended the Road Map) and a string of reasonable people stretching back to Secretary of State Jim Baker.
A staffer who led a small seminar on lobbying techniques told us that every speaker is a “guest in our house,” that any friend of Israel should be greeted as a friend of ours, ordering viagra online cheap.
The worst thing, the very worst thing, Order viagra overnight delivery, that could happen to AIPAC would be a war between a presumptive presidential nominee and the self-appointed “pro-Israel” community. That is something the cabal-watchers who are obsessed with the attention paid by politicians to the American Jewish community fail to understand: AIPAC needs the candidates as much as they need AIPAC. The group needs access to every administration, lines of communication, friendly relations with mid- and upper-level staffers, order viagra online without prescription. It needs access not only to try to influence and monitor policy; it needs access because its high-level donors expect to be rewarded and honored with the chance to be in small rooms where administration officials listen –or pretend to listen—to them. So it would have been very foolish to annoy Barack Obama, cheap viagra without prescription.
Before the session in which Obama and Hillary Clinton (and Congressional leaders from both parties) were to speak, screens in the center of the grand ballroom of the DC Convention Center displayed telling quotes from, Nebraska NE Nebr. , fittingly enough, American icons, not rabbis:
“If passion drives you, let reason hold the reins” –Benjamin Franklin
and
“Friendship is precious.” –Thomas Jefferson, generic viagra.
McCain, of course, Farmacia viagra baratos, had been the star of Act 1, laying down the gauntlet for his opponent by insulting Iran, challenging Obama’s security bona fides and weak-kneed willingness to talk to enemies. Order viagra online without prescription, He got applause for every bit of red-meat rhetoric, more than a dozen ovations. More than half of the people who roared and got to their feet were Democrats and a large percentage are not going to vote for him, West Virginia WV W.Va. . Some of them had been fans of the Oslo process. (American Jews, Buy viagra online cheap, according to the old saw, live like Episcopalians but vote like Puerto Ricans. Some Americans Jews think like Shimon Peres but cheer like Likudniks).
But in Act 2, Obama did what he had to do, and for the most part he did it very well, order viagra online without prescription. Even as he walked on eggshells, købe viagra, differentiated himself from McCain and outlined a reasonable approach to foreign policy, he gave them everything they needed and more: a sincere and heartfelt admiration and empathy for Israel, Köpa viagra, an assurance that his toughminded diplomacy did not mean placating Iran, a commitment to Israel’s “qualitative military edge.”
At one point, he even rushed, breathlessly, billig viagra apotek, through a sentence about Israel’s obligations, one that was left out of the NY Times report on the speech and has gone almost unmentioned in the blogosphere. Georgia GA Ga. , He bravely said that Israel could “advance the cause of peace” by taking steps to “ease the freedom of Palestinians, improve economic conditions” and “refrain from building settlements.”
That got no applause, but it didn’t matter, he already owned the crowd, where to buy viagra. They wanted to come away feeling, deep in their kishkes, Buy cheap viagra online, that this man would protect Israel. He gave them what they wanted. Order viagra online without prescription, And that is why all the Republicans in the room joined in the standing ovations. And why the stage managers breathed sighs of relief.
So there was no need to call for a Jewish state with Jerusalem as its “undivided” capital. If he had left out any reference to Jerusalem, no one would have noticed. He and his advisors cannot possibly believe that this should be a red line for Israel. Ehud Olmert doesn’t believe it, order viagra online without prescription. No Israeli or Palestinian who sincerely wants a two state solution believes it.
It will have no bearing on what happens if he is elected, because if the parties to the conflict want to divide Jerusalem, of course he will express delight.
But the foolish words escaped from his lips, in a scene broadcast throughout the world, and now he won’t be able to take them back. It is yet another discouraging signal to the Palestinian people, most of whom have understandably lost faith in the possibility of a negotiated settlement, even though they continue to endorse the idea.
It is yet another reason why alternative voices in the American Jewish community need to be heard. And it is another reason why there is an urgent need to change the political calculus that prompted Obama to believe that maximalist rhetoric about Jerusalem was necessary.
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Monday, May 26th, 2008Viagra discount, The scoffers are coming out of the woodwork. After all the hoopla over the new J Street project, in separate conversations, two friends have expressed skepticism about the Jewish peace camp's ability to offer more than token resistance to AIPAC's lobbying juggernaut, Massachusetts MA Mass. .
AIPAC has 100,000 members and its operating budget is somewhere between $40-50 million. Comprar viagra, The J Street organization has a comparatively paltry $1.5 million budget. Other dovish American Jewish groups --like Brit Tzedek v' Shalom, Americans for Peace Now, Israel Policy Forum, ordering viagra pills, Meretz USA and Ameinu-- have a fraction of the resources and membership that AIPAC and Jewish groups even further to the right can deploy.
So who in their right mind can believe there is even a slight chance that we can change anything, viagra discount. One of the scoffers called me "Rabbi Don Quixote." Perhaps he's tagged me correctly. Cheap viagra, But here are some reasons to believe:
1) First of all, the dovish Jewish organizations pushing for balanced, fair and creative American diplomacy in the Middile East are not alone. As I have pointed out a number of times in this space, Delaware DE Del. , they have increasingly worked in tandem on legislative initiatives with Churches for Middle East Peace -which represents most of the mainline Protestant denominations as well as other Christians- and Arab American organizations, including the American Task Force on Palestine and Arab American Institute. αγοράζουν φτηνά viagra, That is a splendid development. Viagra discount, This not just a Jewish issue or a Muslim issue or an Arab issue. This is an American issue, as Philip Weiss keeps insisting. (I disagree with much of what my old friend Weiss writes about American Jewry, viagra online kopen, but he's certainly got that one right). Likeminded people from different faith groups who see no contradiction in being pro-Israeli, Pharmacy viagra, pro-Palestinian and pro-American should be working hand in hand.
Moreover, every once in awhile, the great battleship of the Jewish Reform movement, ordering viagra online without prescription, the Religious Action Center, joins these little skiffs, Rhode Island RI R.I. , and the armada becomes a bit more impressive.
2) An untold number of Congresspeople and their staffers are fed up with AIPAC, viagra discount. I know this because the information comes from someone who understands more about the agendas and moods of Democratic Representatives and Senators than anyone: Victor Kovner.
Kovner is the former Corporation Counsel of New York City under David Dinkins, one of the most active fundraisers for the Democratic party in New York City, ordering viagra online, a fellow board member of Americans for Peace Now and one of the key advisors to the people at J Street. At breakfast last week, Montana MT Mont. , he told me, "Some Members of Congress have felt intimidated and resentful, and have been forced to take positions against their better judgment, out of fear of retribution...."
Then this careful attorney, Um viagra online, who does not say anything without carefully weighing its impact, uttered something delightfully bold, αγοράσετε viagra, knowing full well that I would probably use it here and in my forthcoming book: "I would like to restore the First Amendment rights of Jewish Americans and non-Jewish Americans to speak their minds on Israel-Palestine issues, without being subjected to baseless, vicious calumnies."
His comments gibe with my own observations as well as those of a former Congressional aide, who told me, Utah UT , "There is a lot of pent-up anger. Lots of staff and some Members curse the box that AIPAC puts them in. Viagra discount, They feel like they are forced to take positions that they don’t believe are in the best interests of the U.S. Wisconsin WI Wis. , or Israel...I don’t think that progressive voices in the Jewish community have demonstrated the ability to deliver political and financial support for people who step out."
Asked what would happen if they did provide that support, the former aide, who is still a player in Washington, said, Koop korting viagra, "It might really change the atmosphere around here because they would find Members welcoming them."
I suspect this means that we don't need to make nearly as much noise or donate nearly as much money as the conventional Israel lobby. The angry waters have been rising steadily, Kansas KS Kans. , lapping against the dam, and perhaps it won't take as much effort as is commonly assumed to open the floodgates.
3) If all goes well, at least within a few years, where to buy cheap viagra, politicians will think twice before crossing the passionate moderates who want to give the next president the political leeway to lean on both sides of the conflict, rather than just one side. Buy viagra c.o.d., Members of Congress already think ten times before crossing AIPAC, fearing its wrath if they don't sign whatever outrageous bill or "Dear Colleague" letter is plopped in front of them. But everyone can play that game, viagra discount. Here is Kovner, softer and more politic: "When somebody who might otherwise think that they would receive our support disappoints us on a particular issue, Vermont VT Vt. , notwithstanding our efforts, there is always the possibility of opposing them in a primary or general election...Such activities would be quite ambitious at this point, Connecticut CT Conn. , when we are just getting started. But it’s possible."
Some on the left are uncomfortable with using America's deplorable campaign finance system to promote reasonable policies. But it makes little sense to wash our hands of it, to be Pollyannas, Illinois IL Ill. . Too many Palestinians are waiting at too many checkpoints, too many kids in Sderot and Ashkelon are worried about Hamas rockets slamming into their schools. Viagra discount, We don't have time to wait until the rules of the game change. Order viagra no rx, I say, let's put the fear of J Street into a few centrist, waffling legislators.
There are other signs of hope, buy viagra online. Or at least there are signs that it is not inconceivable to build consequential political support for the next president to be more evenhanded, more active, less constrained by interest groups yammering at the edge of his or her ears. I will offer a few more next time.
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Wednesday, April 16th, 2008Buy cheap viagra, At long last, the urgently-needed "J Street" project has been officially launched. It has generated a great deal of media attention, much of it positive, viagra prescription, but the most important story by far was in yesterday's Washington Post:
Some of the country's most prominent Jewish liberals are forming a political action committee and lobbying group aimed at dislodging what they consider the excessive hold of neoconservatives and evangelical Christians on U.S. Lowest price viagra, policy toward Israel.The group is planning to channel political contributions to favored candidates in perhaps a half-dozen campaigns this fall, the first time an organization focused on Israel has tried to play such a direct role in the political process, ordering viagra online legally, according to its organizers. Comprare viagra sconto, Organizers said they hope those efforts, coupled with a separate lobbying group that will focus on promoting an Arab-Israeli peace settlement, will fill a void left by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, Køb discount viagra, or AIPAC, Cheapest viagra prices, and other Jewish groups that they contend have tilted to the right in recent years.
The fact that it passed the Post's litmus test as a real story will prod the political elite to take notice, even before it accomplishes anything concrete. Of course, the fact that it is backed by some prominent Democratic donors and fundraisers is even more important, buy cheap viagra.
I am forced to restrain myself from writing too much on this initiative, buy cheap viagra. That is mostly because I am writing a book on the domestic political context of American Middle East policy, αγοράζουν online viagra, and I don't want to give away too much of what I've discovered in advance. Even if I wanted to, my publisher, ordering viagra without prescription, Potomac Books, Hawaii HI , wouldn't let me. But I have been observing the various phases J Street has gone through and know something about the attendant birth pains. Buy cheap viagra, Jeremy Ben-Ami (its executive director). Daniel Levy (the tireless Israeli peace promoter) and others who have worked so hard to make this happen deserve not just acclaim, viagra for sale, but gratitude from everyone who see no contradiction between being pro-Israeli, Viagra no prescription, pro-Palestinian and pro-American.
Gershom Gorenberg, the gifted Israeli writer, viagra online kaufen, succinctly sums up why J Street is important:
Reading the front page of my Hebrew paper last weekend, Georgia GA Ga. , I tried to imagine an American senator saying something like, "I have great respect for the Israel Defense Forces. But eventually Israel will have to leave the West Bank, viagra pedido en línea. In its heart, Oklahoma OK Okla. , the Israeli nation has already decided. The Israeli army should not create a rift with Palestinians that haunts us for generations, buy cheap viagra. Think of Palestinians stripped at the checkpoints only because there might be terrorists among them. Think of those who stand for hours at checkpoints because we fear that a booby-trapped car could pass through."I didn't have to make up that speech from scratch, comprar viagra de descuento, because I was reading about Ehud Olmert saying words very similar to a forum of IDF commanders in the West Bank. Buy cheap viagra online, The prime minister could say that despite their short-term security benefits, West Bank checkpoints have long-term moral and strategic costs for Israel. How many pro-Israel members of Congress fear that if they voiced the same concerns, South Dakota SD , AIPAC would soon be encouraging donations to their next primary opponent.
One of the most daunting challenges facing the American Jewish peace camp is that it is very difficult to give supporters concrete and useful things to do, Um viagra online, other than write a check to organizations within that peace camp, or support activists in Israel, or sign petitions and letters about legislation and other Beltway business, order viagra from canada. Buy cheap viagra, J Street is something else, something new. In addition to wandering around your search engine and reading all about it, Köpa viagra, please please please make sure to go to its web site and help it succeed.
Kevin, MM, cheapest viagra in the world, John Sinclair, Delaware DE Del. , and all of the other contributors who have never met a Zionist you could tolerate, I don't want you to feel excluded. Please tell us if you think this initiative is misguided, ordering viagra overnight delivery. And if you believe it is, please suggest another political path, another way to get from A [the intolerable status quo] to B [an end to Palestinian suffering].
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Monday, January 21st, 2008Richard Silverstein's Tikun Olam Cheap viagra online legally, notes that Israeli novelist A.B. Yehoshua called for removing the U.S. Goedkope viagra apotheek, ambassador to Israel and attacked America's Israel lobby. But he missed a few nuances. I might be the only one in the universe who cares about these nuances, Montana MT Mont. , as they touch upon some of the work I've tried to do over the years, Viagra without a prescription, but forgive the self-indulgence:
First, Richard S. quotes from a Y-net story:
In a scathing op-ed published in the Italian daily La Stampa, Israeli novelist A, cheap viagra online legally. B, kjøpe viagra online. Yehoshua said George W. Buy cheap viagra online, Bush should recall the US ambassador to Israel until the Jewish state dismantles all illegal outposts in the West Bank, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Sunday."If the American president would have really wanted Israel to disassemble the illegal outposts…he would have done better to stay in the White House…" Yehoshua wrote in response to Bush's recent visit to the Middle East, ordering viagra online without prescription. Cheap viagra online legally, "He should have recalled his ambassador to Tel Aviv (Richard Jones) for an indefinite period until the outposts were evacuated.
"I can guarantee you that had he acted in this manner, Comprar viagra baratos, Israel would have promptly dismantled the outposts, and the US administration would thus cement the faith of the Israelis and the Palestinians in the peace process," he said in the op-ed, order viagra online.
Yehoshua added that Israel was deceiving the international community into focusing solely on the illegal outposts. Viagra generic, "Instead of dealing with (all) of the illegal settlements (in the West Bank), only the illegal outposts are being discussed – this legitimizes the status of (the other) settlements, in which 250, comprar viagra,000 Israelis reside, Cheap viagra online, " he said.
Richard S. then picks up his commentary, which treats this is a remarkable and new development:
First, köpa billiga viagra, it indicates a desperation on the part of the rational Zionist center-left. It is clear to them that no one in current Israeli politics has the will or interest to do the hard things that need to get done for there to be peace, cheap viagra online legally. Minnesota MN Minn. , Under those conditions, a dyed in the wool Zionist like Yehoshua is willing to give voice to heresy and call for direct U.S. interference in Israeli domestic politics, discount viagra.Second, Cheap viagra online legally, the statement bespeaks a recognition among those same rational Zionists that now is the time for a settlement. This realization is accompanied by the conviction that losing this opportunity will be much worse than past lost opportunities because the stakes seem higher than they have ever been in terms of the violence that might be unleashed in the event of failure now.... Cheap viagra online legally, Interestingly, and not surprisingly, Ynet has omitted Yehoshua's direct criticism of the Israel lobby. JTA reports that Yehoshua also had this to say:
"Yehoshua further described all West Bank settlements as illegal and described the `Jewish lobby' as having `become a powerful tool of influence on Israel's behalf within the U.S, acquistare a buon mercato viagra. administration.'"
What is important here is that it's no longer Jimmy Carter or Walt-Mearsheimer attacking the Lobby. Vermont VT Vt. , It's now a mainstream Israeli figure like Yehoshua who, as a Zionist, might be seen to have a vested interest in supporting the work of the Lobby
Well, viagra, it's important but the novelty should not be exaggerated. Order viagra pills, Yehoshua's statement is noteworthy because his castigation of the lobby and calls for American intervention are so passionate and so public.
But mainstream, leftwing Zionists, including Labor Party leaders, have often asserted that the conventional Israel lobby doesn't represent Israel's true interests, cheap viagra online legally. Haaretz's Akiva Eldar and many other columnists have lambasted AIPAC for years. For that matter, viagra online kopen, let's not forget that PM Rabin himself took on AIPAC in some widely reported confrontations in the early 1990s. φτηνές φαρμακείο viagra, It was clear from all the reportage that one key reason was the perception that the lobby had been much too close to Likud and Greater Israel supporters, and would be an obstacle to the peace process. Rabin's people did not make any efforts to correct those stories, παραγγείλετε online viagra. Cheap viagra online legally, In 1993, Israel Policy Forum was founded with the close cooperation of Labor doves, who understood that the conventional Israel lobby could not enthusiastically sell peace talks with Arafat and the two-state solution to the American Jewish community.
Moreover, Order viagra, mainstream, left-of-center Israelis have often called for direct American intervention into Israel's affairs, especially since the collapse of Camp David II, Georgia GA Ga. . Former Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben Ami has written many times that bi-lateral talks won't work, Ordering viagra online legally, because the gaps between Israelis and Palestinians are too wide, and neither side is willing to stop taking steps that preclude a workable settlement. He has called for America and the international community to intervene --in a variety of ways-- to save Israel from itself. Over the years, I myself have ghostwritten and placed op-eds for a number of prominent Israelis (trust me on this one) who have expressed similar sentiments.
Yehoshua should be applauded (even though his comments were buried in La Stampa), as should Richard S, cheap viagra online legally. for bringing it to our attention. The more the American Jewish mainstream hears from Israelis who want the U.S. to give Israel some tough love, the better. But if they think it is an unprecedented development, they might not take it seriously. They should realize that Yehoshua is pushing the envelope a little farther, but it is not a new envelope.
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Tuesday, December 18th, 2007Order viagra online legally, Something seems to be brewing out there, something new. I've been doing Middle East peace work, on and off, since the mid-1980s, generic viagra. I have never heard so many people from so many different corners of America defying right-wingers (and ultra-left-wingers) on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and saying the same things at the same time. Kentucky KY Ky. , What do a distinguished Senator and Democratic presidential candidate, 80 evangelical Christians who love Israel, a coalition of major Muslim, Christian and Jewish religious leaders, αγοράζουν online viagra, some Arab American groups and the pro-Israel left have in common. In the last month, Acheter viagra bon marché, they have all called for the U.S. to actively pursue a two-state solution and they have spoken out--with varying degrees of specificity--against the occupation as well as Palestinian terrorism, order viagra online legally.
Item 1--Recently, under the media radar screen, Chris Dodd has been sending around a "Dear Secretary Rice" letter to his colleagues, Idaho ID . Reliable sources tell me AIPAC is unhappy about it. Not wanting to burn bridges with a Presidential candidate and important Senator, αγοράζουν φτηνά viagra, the group has not actively opposed it. But when people call AIPAC and ask about it, they are being told that the letter is (horror of horrors!) "pro-Palestinian." In fact, it is decidedly (also horror of horrors!) even-handed, comprar en línea viagra. Here is a summary from Brit Tzedek's website Order viagra online legally, , where you will find a link to the full text of the letter:
... On the Israeli side, the letter calls for a freeze on settlement construction, Florida FL Fla. , the dismantling of illegal outposts, and a reduction of roadblocks and checkpoints in the Palestinian territories. The letter notes the crucial significance that Israel “ease the living conditions of the Palestinian people as a symbol of its commitment to a final settlement.” In light of the Israeli government’s recently released plans to build 300 new homes in the East Jerusalem settlement of Har Homa as well as its threats to cut off fuel and electricity into Gaza, this letter could not be more timely, order viagra online without prescription.The Dodd letter also reaffirms American support for Israel’s right to defend itself and calls on Palestinian President Abbas to continue to denounce all terror attacks and to recognize Israel’s right to exist. It further encourages Secretary Rice to strengthen the Abbas government by providing humanitarian and financial aid to the Palestinian Authority (a message echoing November’s Ackerman-Boustany letter in the House of Representatives).
It is possible now to put forward positions in Congress that would have gotten a Member's head handed to him not long ago, order viagra online legally. Wisconsin WI Wis. , Even if Dodd were one of the leaders in the Democratic presidential race and had more to lose, it seems reasonable to assume that he would have taken the same action. There is, a Hill insider tells me, cheapest viagra, "less terror" of calling for aggressive moves to stop settlements and remove checkpoints, as doing so does not necessarily mean the right wing hasbara brigade will target you or that AIPAC-influenced PACs and right wing Jewish individuals will pour money into your opponent's campaign. Cheap generic viagra, [Note that this source says less terror, as opposed to no terror.]
Item 2--While the right-wing maximalist Christian Zionists get most of the press, other evangelicals with equally passionate ties to their Holy Land but more conciliatory views are also organizing, according to a recent post by David Neff in the Christianity Today blog:
Over 80 evangelical leaders have signed a statement indicating their belief "that the way forward is for the Israelis and Palestinians to negotiate a fair, ostaa halvalla viagra, two-state solution."These leaders—including Christian college and seminary presidents, denominational heads, Osta viagra, and other ministry leaders—pledge their "ongoing support for the security of Israel," and state that "unless the situation between Israel and Palestine improves quickly, the consequences will be devastating" for Israel. Palestinians with little economic opportunity "are increasingly sympathetic to radical solutions."
[A brief excerpt from the statement]:
We believe that the principles about justice taught so powerfully by the Hebrew prophets apply to all nations, buy viagra online without prescription, including the United States, Israel, Billige viagra apotek, and the Palestinians. Order viagra online legally, Therefore we are compelled to work for a fair, negotiated solution for both Israelis and Palestinians. We resolve to work diligently for a secure, enduring peace and a flourishing economy for the democratic State of Israel. We also resolve to work for a viable permanent, Arizona AZ Ariz. , democratic Palestinian State with a flourishing economy that offers economic opportunity to all its people. We believe that the way forward is for the Israelis and Palestinians to negotiate a fair, Viagra sale, two-state solution."
Now, that is not exactly bold language. But, as I understand it, kjøpe viagra, most of these people are not from the left wing of the evangelical movement (e.g., the Sojourners). For all I know, some of them might like Mike Huckabee, order viagra online legally. Farmacia viagra baratos, And the contrast between them and the "don't-yield-one-inch" fanatics like John Hagee could not be more stark, or more welcome.
Item 3--The National Interreligious Leadership Initiative for Peace in the Middle East, formed in 2003, viagra for sale, consists of major Jewish, Muslim and Christian religious leaders. Maryland MD Md. , Galvanized by the irrepressible Ronald Young, they came up with a policy statement in advance of the Annapolis peace talks and a similar one after the conference. Among other things, they call for U.S, viagra en ligne afin. Order viagra online legally, support for the "benchmark ideas developed by Israelis and Palestinians over the years in official and unofficial negotiations, and reflected in public documents like the People's Voice initiative and the Geneva Accords." These are heavy hitters, acknowledged denominational leaders, not just individual clergy signing ads in the New York Times. And they have found a way to unite not just over lofty and general goals but at least a few specific principles.
Item 4-- And then there is the American Task Force on Palestine, New Mexico NM N.Mex. , which I've noted before. This is a new and welcome phenomenon: Palestinian American two-staters who are seeking to find common political cause with the pro-Israel left, Churches for Middle East Peace and others.
None of this means that all of these disparate people have the capacity, New York NY N.Y. , right now, to coalesce into an effective, energized lobby for the rest of us. But it means that there is an unprecedented convergence of minds and bodies and spirits dedicated to goals that were once controversial and divisive, both in the Middle East and the U.S. That yields some hope for eventual, tangible changes in the American political landscape.
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Wednesday, December 12th, 2007Cheap viagra, At a luncheon panel on Israel and Iran at the Century Foundation yesterday, I was taken aback by some thoughts shared by Trita Parsi, author of the new and highly regarded Dangerous Alliance -The Secret Dealings of Israel, Iran and the United States, and Daniel Levy, the former Israeli negotiator who is now Director of the Foundation's Prospects for Peace Initiative, among other things. Stay with this and you might surprised, too:
Parsi said the rhetoric of Yitzhak Rabin and the Labor Party during the Oslo years inflamed Israeli-Iranian tensions and helped to usher both countries along the path of confrontation, buy viagra online cheap. One of Rabin's principal explanations and justifications for the peace process, Halvalla viagra apteekki, of course, was that peace with Israel's immediate neighbors, including the Palestinians, order viagra online legally, would help to protect it from far more dangerous threats on the periphery, Generic viagra, notably Iraq and Iran. The idea was that progress towards solving the Palestinian problem would make it easier for relatively moderate Arab and Persian Gulf states to help Israel, because it would give the leaders of those states more political cover to act as a buffer against Iran or Iraq, buy generic viagra, and either openly or tacetly ally themselves with Israel. Acheter en ligne viagra, Levy, in turn, said Rabin's rhetoric was mainly a function of domestic politics, District of Columbia DC D.C. , a tool used to sell the Oslo process to the Israelis.
I used to make the same argument just about every time I tried to sell the Oslo process to American Jewish audiences or ghostwrote op-eds for dovish American Jewish and Israeli leaders, cheap viagra. Buy viagra online legally, In 1998, I created an ad for Israel Policy Forum that appeared in the corner of the New York Times op-ed page. There was a photo of a nuclear-tipped missile, Colorado CO Colo. . The headline read something like "The U.S. New Hampshire NH N.H. , and Israel are trying to develop a new anti-ballistic missile system. Cheap viagra, It's called peace." The copy was a reprise of Rabin's periphery theory, and it was all about the dire threats that Iraq and Iran posed to Israel and the U.S. People told me it was pretty clever.
I still think the argument is sound, købe viagra online. But, Buy viagra without prescription, if I understood Parsi correctly, calling Iran an arch enemy and hammering away at the idea that it was an existential threat to Israel only served to alarm and anger Iran's ruling elite. It was among the many factors that helped to encourage Iranian weapons development, kjøpe billig viagra. Ouch, I thought, cheap viagra. Did I, Bestill viagra online, a very very tiny cog in the pro-peace machine, do that.
In the Q&A, viagra prices, I remarked that they had given a frightening illustration of the law of unintended consequences. Oklahoma OK Okla. , I mentioned another: when it was time for Rabin to sell the Oslo process in the U.S., one of his first moves was to try to get AIPAC off his back. So he gave them the Iran portfolio, viagra no prescription, which they eagerly embraced, Ordering viagra no rx, to put it mildly. Cheap viagra, They were actively involved in drafting and pushing the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act and, in a variety of ways, have helped to escalate the tensions that exist today. Mearsheimer and Walt were wrong about the role of AIPAC in the Iraq War, Parsi told me before lunch, buy viagra, but, αγοράσετε viagra, by and large, they were right about AIPAC and America's Iran policies. Had there been no Oslo process, købe viagra, perhaps AIPAC would not have poured as much energy into their Iran-related shenanigans. Order viagra no prescription, My question to the panelists was related to another, possible producer of unintended consequences: America's own "periphery theory," as articulated by the Baker-Hamilton Commission and many other reasonable people, cheapest viagra in the world. The Baker-Hamilton gang -like Dan Fleshler- has asserted that getting more engaged in pushing for peace between Israelis and Palestinians will help America deal with Iran and the mess in Iraq. It would do so by making it easier to establish a coalition of moderate Sunni states, cheap viagra. Buy viagra without prescription, But would an energized peace process also ratchet up tensions with Iran and somehow add fuel to the smoldering fire. (My actual question was less articulate).
Neither answered the question --one of many that were posed to them-- directly, Arkansas AR Ark. . But Daniel did say that, of course, certain players had a vested interest in disrupting an Israeli-Palestinian peace process, and he included Iran on the list. Cheap viagra, So I was left to my own devices, which are not adequate to this task. I will make a shocking confession that will distinguish me from just about every other pontificater on the Middle East in the blogosphere: I don't know enough about Iran to predict the consequences of any action, any diplomatic proposals, anything.
No one who spoke yesterday implied that the U.S. should hesitate to encourage the enduring peace settlement that Israelis and Palestinians clearly and desparately need. Of course it should. Parsi and Levy clearly endorse that as ardently as I do. But they remind us that when we make even a small step in a certain direction in the Middle East, we are playing with forces that could have unexpected effects, with objects that may well collide with each other in unforseen ways.
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Thursday, November 8th, 2007Ordering viagra from mexico, Apologies for the recent lack of blogging activity. Too many work and family obligations, not enough hours in the day.
Last week, Buy viagra online without prescription, there was a dyspeptic attack on Americans for Peace Now by my friend Philip Weiss on his blog, MondoWeiss. (Check it out at http://www.philipweiss.org/mondoweiss/2007/11/foreign-affairs.html). It deserves a belated response.
In taking on a critique of Walt and Mearsheimer by Walter Russell Mead in Foreign Affairs, Weiss cites the following quote from Mead:
If everyone from AIPAC to Americans for Peace Now is part of the lobby, what, exactly, is the political agenda the lobby supports?...What is the relationship between the internal dynamics of this divided lobby and the politics and policies of both Israel and wider American society, ordering viagra from mexico."When it comes down to it, comprar en línea viagra, Mearsheimer and Walt do not seem to know who, exactly, belongs to this amoebic, Tennessee TN Tenn. , engulfing blob they call the lobby and who does not. Take their own case. They describe themselves as pro-Israel, in that they believe in the state's right to exist..."
Then Weiss responds:
I myself have faulted Mearsheimer and Walt for not being more precise about the lobby's borders. But how easy is it to be precise in such uncharted territory, order viagra online. Ordering viagra from mexico, It's not. Mead himself makes a fascinating mistake in his indictment. He crows that W&M have included "everyone from AIPAC to Americans for Peace Now". In fact, Connecticut CT Conn. , APN is part of AIPAC. APN is a member of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, and all the members of the Conference of Presidents are on the AIPAC executive committee.This is one of the marvels of the Israel lobby: it is a loose coalition, ordering viagra from mexico. When I learned as much earlier this year, I wondered why APN doesn't resign from AIPAC to protest AIPAC's role in the Iraq war, Rabatt kaufen viagra, or in the Syria Accountability Act, or in defending the settlements, or in supporting the Lebanon War. Purchase viagra, But APN doesn't resign. And no one starts an alternative lobby (and when George Soros notions it, the lobby suggests he was a collaborationist in Hungary during the Holocaust and Soros bows out).
This is modern Jewish history. Ordering viagra from mexico, My sense is that Jewish organizations, fearful for Israel's existence, tend to close rank when it comes to speaking to the U.S. government--and thereby allow the rightwing hardliners to be the court Jews, viagra kopen. This cultural/political/institutional mystery is not fully understood by Walt and Mearsheimer, no, but they have done a wonderful job under the circumstances."
So, Acheter viagra discount, is APN part of the cabal. Is it part of the problem. I'm on the APN Board. Am I part of the problem, ordering viagra from mexico. Weiss' argument echoes familiar accusations from the far left against slightly less radical Dems who attend their Party's convention and try to play a role in the drafting of platforms. The same argument is made against anyone who insists on a seat at the power table and then stays there even when they disagree with most of the people at the table, where to buy viagra. Given this country's disastrous Middle East policies, this is an understandable sentiment.
But, Cheap viagra no prescription, like his heroes Walt and Mearsheimer, Weiss is a relatively young student of the American Jewish community, its organizational structures, and its mechanisms of influence. Ordering viagra from mexico, In this case, he doesn’t have the faintest idea of what he is talking about.
Having a seat in the back of the room in AIPAC has not prevented APN from criticizing Congress or the White House, order viagra online legally, or addressing the White House directly. The reason why APN exists is to ensure that the hardliners whom Weiss glibly calls “court Jews” are NOT the only voices. When the Israeli government expands settlements or refuses to remove settlement outposts or takes other steps that make matters worse, Kjøp Discount viagra, APN speaks out publicly as well privately to the State Dept.
Weiss wants American Jews to rise up and speak out to prevent the Bush Administration from launching a military attack on Iran. So do I, ordering viagra from mexico. APN agrees with me and has publicly broken with much of the American Jewish community by calling for engagement with Iran, with a combination of carrots and sticks. Check out all of APN’s statements over the years, pharmacy viagra. Much of the organization’s work has been devoted to counter-acting ideas and people Weiss does not like. But because it is somehow formally connected with AIPAC, he wants no part of it. Ordering viagra from mexico, This is short-sighted. Alaska AK , Weiss does not understand what AIPAC’s “Executive Board” is. Calling APN a “member” of the Executive Board makes it seem like the group is part of a very important decision-making body. That is not accurate. What follows may seem like a pedantic riff on AIPAC’s structure, but the devil is in these details:
Every group in the 50-member Presidents Conference has a seat on the Executive Board, Maryland MD Md. , as Weiss notes. Besides APN, other dovish groups at that table include Ameinu, the Religious Action Center and the Union of Reform Judaism, ordering viagra from mexico.
That sounds impressive, since in most not-for-profit groups, Ordering viagra online without prescription, the “Executive Board” is a small, decision-making body, the people who oversee the staff. The "Board of Directors" is generally much larger and has less influence. But the reverse is true in AIPAC’s case: the “Board of Directors” is much smaller and, generic viagra, along with the staff, has the real power.
It didn’t used to be that way. Ordering viagra from mexico, In the 1980s, AIPAC became much more of an autonomous entity that didn’t answer to the American Jewish community. Köpa viagra, Its leaders wanted AIPAC to answer to AIPAC. As a result, the clout of AIPAC's Executive Board –and the Jewish organizations on that board--was gradually and deliberately diminished. This was accomplished by expanding the Executive Board to include large numbers of individual, major donors to AIPAC, cheap viagra overnight delivery. They now make up the majority of the Executive Board, not the Jewish groups.
The main function of the AIPAC Executive Board is to vote on general policy prescriptions during their policy conferences, ordering viagra from mexico. Those broad policies sometimes do help to nudge AIPAC in one direction or another, Kaufen viagra, but their impact is minimal on the day-to-day operations. Members of the Board also get briefings (at least twice a year, I believe) in Washington on AIPAC’s lobbying strategies and priorities.
So APN, as a group, District of Columbia DC D.C. , has little say in what AIPAC does. But even if APN sits at only a few of the power tables, that at least gives it the opportunity to speak truth to power, Viagra generic, and to know what our ideological adversaries are up to. Ordering viagra from mexico, Think of it as the Zionist equivalent of Log Cabin Republicans.
As Mearsheimer and Walt note, when AIPAC has pushed for legislation meant to impose Draconian restrictions on aid to the Palestinian Authority, APN and a few other groups have fought and sometimes succeeded in eliminating at least some of the most odious provisions. For that to happen, Delaware DE Del. , an organization needs to be plugged in. Membership on the Exec. Board does help in that regard. There are many other examples, ordering viagra from mexico. Generic viagra, The only way for APN to “resign” from AIPAC’s Exec. Board is to leave the Conference of Presidents. There may come a time when it makes sense to leave both. That time has not come. There are a lot of reasons for maintaining at least some connections with the Jewish communal establishment.
In fact, Mearsheimer and Walt offer a few different prescriptions towards the end of their book. One of them is “Convincing groups within the lobby to support a different agenda…In practice, this development could involve strengthening more moderate forces that already exist –such as Israel Policy Forum or Americans for Peace Now—or by creating new pro-Israel groups that support different policies.” Either way, little is going to be accomplished unless the liberal wing of the organized Jewish community is mobilized. And nothing is going to be accomplished by taking cheap shots at groups like APN.
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Friday, October 26th, 2007Buy viagra online, Mearsheimer and Walt write that AIPAC is a "de facto agent of the Israeli government." In various parts of their book, they provide examples of the "Israel lobby's" ability to promote Israel's agenda in the halls of power. Kjøpe viagra online, But they do not seem to grasp a far more interesting, subtle point about AIPAC: it answers to AIPAC and supports AIPAC's agenda, Ohio OH , Cheap viagra pills, which does not always align with Israel's. An article in this week's Forward, cheap viagra from canada, For viagra online, Contradictory Signals From Israel and its Supporters on Saudi Arms Deal gives the latest example of conflicting legislative priorities:
As the Bush administration’s $20 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia heads for congressional debate, lawmakers are receiving contradictory signals from Israel and its supporters in the United States, Missouri MO Mo. . Viagra prices, Israel’s defense minister, Ehud Barak, Louisiana LA , Buy viagra no rx, told Congress last week that Israel does not oppose the deal and will not take a stand against it. At the same time, Illinois IL Ill. , Cheapest viagra prices, a letter backed by the pro-Israel lobby began circulating in the House of Representatives, demanding that the administration impose strict condition on how the Saudis will be allowed to use special bomb-guidance systems that are part of the sales deal, Kentucky KY Ky. ....While the chief Israeli defense official was telling members of Congress that he sees no problem with the deal, Israel’s supporters in the House of Representatives began gathering signatures on a letter to the president, asking him to put restrictions and limitations on the Saudi arms deal, buy viagra online. Order viagra online cheap, The letter, which is being endorsed by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, South Carolina SC S.C. , Comprar viagra, focuses on the potential threat posed by the Joint Direct Attack Munitions, which is part of the deal, viagra no prescription. Viagra pedido en línea, (emphasis added)
AIPAC, in other words, Minnesota MN Minn. , Oklahoma OK Okla. , is opposing an Israeli policy. This has happened many times in the past, comprar en línea viagra. Order viagra online legally, In Yossi Beilin's book, "My Brother's Keeper, cheapest viagra prices, Tennessee TN Tenn. , " he describes AIPAC officials as acting like "frightened deer" when they were asked to support aid to the Palestinian authority in the 1990s. Buy viagra online, Several, more recent bills for Palestinian aid put much more stringent conditions on the financial assistance than the Sharon and Olmert governments wanted. In 1995, osta alennus viagra, Comprare viagra sconto, AIPAC worked closely with Bob Dole to push the Jerusalem Embassy Act, which embarassed Rabin at a time of delicate negotiations on the implementation of the Oslo accords.
AIPAC does do what Israel wants, much of the time. But it is hardly an "agent" of a foreign government. It's more like a staunch coalition ally which sometimes goes its own way. It supports an IDEA of Israel, a set of premises about Israel, and when the Israeli government disagrees, AIPAC will do what AIPAC wants to do, buy viagra online.
Some of that divergence has to do with the organization's hawkish tilt. But it is also due to something deeper, something about the culture of Washington and the kinds of people who want to --and need to--spend their professional lives nudging the American government to do one thing or another.
An ex-staff member of AIPAC has told me that some of his former colleagues don't really care very much about Israel, they never vacation there, they are consummate political players who could just as easily ply their trade on behalf of the textile industry or big Pharma. It's the win that counts, not the cause. I think that is unfair and exaggerated, but it does help to support a related claim that Washington insiders sometimes make: AIPAC is interested in getting political victories as a means of sustaining its own power and perpetuating itself. That is priority #1, not Israel.
Larry Cohler-Esses, a veteran reporter for Jewish weeklies, once said, "The early Zionists learned that they could help Israel by winning the Washington game. In the 1970s and '80s, the AIPAC people learned that they could win the Washington game by helping Israel."
That should be food for thought for the dual-loyalty theorists...
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