Israel’s most notorious anti-Arab politician and provocateur, Avigdor Lieberman, spoke at Brookings’ Saban Center Forum in Washington, DC this past weekend. It will probably come as a surprise to most Americans that such a man could rise to the position of Israel’s deputy prime minister and the minister for strategic affairs. He is Israel’s David Duke and yet he was feted in New York and Washington during his visit here.
Initial reporting indicated that Henry Kissinger would chair Lieberman’s session. No surprise there. Both men are advocates of a “land swap” between Israelis and Palestinians, a euphemism for the ethnic cleansing of Arabs from Israel. Kissinger’s office, however, claims to have sent its regrets to the exclusive gathering.
Lieberman far outstrips Kissinger in the force of his rhetoric with his calls to drown Palestinian prisoners in the Dead Sea, as reported in Ha’aretz, and his declaration that 90 percent of Arabs have no place in Israel but should “take their packages and go to hell.” Clearly, or so one would think, it is racist to strip a minority population of citizenship without that being the wish of the affected group. Indeed, there is no indication Arabs desire to leave Israel for a rump Palestinian state consigned to continual subjugation by Israel.
ان جي باوجود، ڪسنجر 3 ڊسمبر 2004 جي واشنگٽن پوسٽ ۾ عربن کي اسرائيل مان ٻاهر ڪڍڻ جو ڪيس داخل ڪيو. اولهه ڪناري جي ”ڪجهه 5 کان 8 سيڪڙو“ جي بدلي ۾، ”اسرائيل پنهنجي موجوده علائقي مان ڪجهه فلسطينين کي منتقل ڪندو. رياست.” هن کي منتقل ڪرڻ جي صلاح ڏني وئي آهي "اسرائيل جي اتر واري حصي مان اهم عرب آبادي وارو علائقو. اهڙي منتقلي علامتي طور تي وڌيڪ اهم هوندي، پر ڊيموگرافڪ مسئلي کي به آسان بڻائي سگهندي. ٻين لفظن ۾، عربن کي اسرائيل مان ٻاهر ڪڍو ۽ 1948 ۾ اسرائيل طرفان شروع ڪيل نسلي صفائي کي مڪمل ڪريو جڏهن اٽڪل 700,000 فلسطينين کي بي دخل ڪيو ويو.
The deputy prime minister is no longer an obscure politician, but the second most popular politician in Israel behind Binyamin Netanyahu. His party, Yisrael Beiteinu, holds nearly 10 percent of the seats in Israel’s Knesset. And his demagogic language has a real appeal in Israel, while evidently not being so vile as to frighten off the Saban Center or the Clintons who were to speak shortly before and after Lieberman. The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations welcomed him in New York on Dec. 12.
Such organizations may claim that hosting him does not constitute endorsement, but it does provide him with legitimacy, particularly if he is not publicly and frequently confronted on his unapologetic displays of bigotry.
Sen. Hillary Clinton has certainly never shown qualms in rubbing elbows with Israel’s backers of ethnic cleansing. In 2002 she met with Benny Elon of the Moledet party, which openly calls for the “transfer” of Palestinians.
هوءَ واحد ڊيموڪريٽڪ نه آهي جيڪا بي صبريءَ سان سبان سينٽر فورم تائين پهتي آهي جيڪا لائبرمين لاءِ هڪ پليٽ فارم پيش ڪري ٿي ته هو پنهنجي تعصبي خيالن کي شيئر ڪري. نمائندي جين هارمن دعويٰ ڪري ٿو، "جڏهن سبان سينٽر ڳالهائيندو آهي، مان ٻڌندو آهيان." هڪ مدعو ٿيل اسپيڪر، هن وٽ ”موقع“ هو ته هو واشنگٽن ڪمپني ۾ نسلي صفائي جي حمايت ڪندڙ کي ٻڌڻ لاءِ. ڇا هوءَ يا ڪنهن مدعو ٿيل مهمان کيس ان تي سڏيو هو؟ اهو شڪ آهي ۽ نقل اڃا تائين دستياب ناهي. ترقي پسند ڪاڪس ۽ ڪانگريسي بليڪ ڪاڪس، تعصب جي مسئلن تي متوقع اڳواڻن، هن نفرت ڪندڙ کي پاسو ڏنو آهي.
ڪيپيٽول هيل تي اسرائيلي-فلسطيني تڪرار جو خاص طول و عرض اهو آهي ته ڪو به حقيقي بحث ناهي. ڊيموڪريٽس ۽ ريپبلڪن تقريبن عالمي طور تي تيار آهن ته اسرائيلي انساني حقن جي ڀڃڪڙين تي اکيون بند ڪن. يقيناً اهو معاملو هن اونهاري ۾ هو جڏهن ڪانگريس جي ميمبرن ان خيال جي واکاڻ ڪئي ته اسرائيل لبناني شهرين جي حفاظت لاءِ ان وقت وٺي رهيو هو جڏهن اهو انهن سوين ماڻهن کي ماري رهيو هو.
Lieberman’s visit exemplifies American officials’ silence as members of Congress have refused to show moral leadership regarding this bigot from an allied nation. Sen. Joe Lieberman, Rep. Tom Lantos, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with him yet offered no indications that they had directly challenged him on his racism. We would be foolish to think that people in the Middle East are unaware of our shortcomings and double standards.
President Jimmy Carter recently has made some extraordinary comments on our failure in this country to grapple with Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian territory. “There’s never been any debate on this issue of any significance. And the news media are acquiescent, members of the Congress are acquiescent, where the rest of the world debates this intensely, particularly in Israel.” The Washington Post and New York Times completely ignored Lieberman’s visit.
Professors Mearsheimer and Walt opened the door to debate this spring and President Carter has demonstrated enormous courage this fall in calling Israel’s actions in occupied Palestinian territory “apartheid.” Now it is time for a full-fledged debate in the U.S. Congress over the wisdom of permitting and even aiding Israel in what President Carter openly regards as “colonizing the West Bank.”
(Boston-based CAMERA, a member organization of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, resorted earlier this month to revolting rhetoric to rival Lieberman’s when it suggested that Carter was “losing his mind” or perhaps showing signs of “senility.” CAMERA’s words, now deleted from its website, merited public censure from the Conference. It did not happen. Such a rebuke was necessary if that body intended to retain some shred of decency at the very moment it was hosting Israel’s leading racist.)
Presumably, if exposed to the facts, Americans would say that while they care for Israel they do not want to assist Israel – and an attention-seeking racist such as Lieberman – in perpetually dominating the Palestinians. It is time for Congress to take this up with substantive debate.
مائيڪل ايف براون فلسطيني مرڪز ۾ هڪ ساٿي آهي. هن جا خيال هن جا پنهنجا آهن ۽ لازمي طور تي مرڪز جي انهن جي عڪاسي نٿا ڪن. ان کان اڳ هو پارٽنرز فار پيس جو ايگزيڪيوٽو ڊائريڪٽر ۽ مڊل ايسٽ انٽرنيشنل لاءِ واشنگٽن جو نمائندو هو. هو انٽرفيٿ پيس بلڊرز جي بورڊ تي آهي.
ZNetwork صرف پنهنجي پڙهندڙن جي سخاوت جي ذريعي فنڊ آهي.
موڪليندڙ