Predictable: America's First Muslim Congressman Ellison opposes aid to Israel

[Yala]

Keith Ellison: Why foreign aid to Israel?

In this age of Barack Obama transparency, we need an open, wide-ranging public debate on U.S. Middle East foreign policy. John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt point out the hypocrisy of aid to Israel in their book "The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy."

Israel has more professors per capita then any other country in the world. It is a modern industrial power with a personal income rivaling Great Britain's and a health care system that covers all its citizens. So why are we giving Israel aid?

"As of 2005, direct U.S. economic and military assistance to Israel amounted to nearly $154 billion (in 2005 dollars), the bulk of it comprising direct grants rather than loans ... the actual total is significantly higher ...." page 24 of The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy

In January 2008, in the middle of a financial meltdown with millions of American families facing the loss of their homes, President George W. Bush went to the Middle East and gave Israel's prime minister $30 billion, which America had to borrow to give Israel. BBC News reported Israel wanted the money to buy two missile-firing submarines.

While the U.S. objects to Israel building on Palestinian land, we have for decades been making loan guarantees for the unlawful housing being built in the Jewish state. In 1992, President George H.W. Bush and his Secretary of State James Baker put pressure on U.S. loan guarantees for Israeli housing. James Baker got so tired of being greeted with a new settlement on Palestinian land every time he went to Israel that after February in that year U.S. loan guarantees for housing in Israel would come with requirements. Baker said, "We would support a loan guarantee if there were a halt or an end to settlement activity." Jewish groups were outraged and threatened the president with reprisals.

President George H.W. Bush replied, "I'm not going to shift foreign policy of this country because of political expediency." During the Republican National Convention the pressure became so great Bush caved in and announced he would support the loan guarantees, and in the next 15 years the settlements' population more than doubled.

http://www.lacrossetribune.com/news/...cc4c002e0.html

Well I'm just SHOCKED.

I actually agree with this idiot and oppose US aid to Israel, but of course for very different reasons.

Notice how he quotes James Baker, and Walt & Mearsheimer. Ellison is a supposed left-wing Democrat. He and the others are at the apex where extreme right and left meet, and most of the time the only connection between these people is their hatred of Jews, and that's just enough for them to unite under a common cause.

[Yala]

Also predictable is if we dig a little deeper we find that the National Jewish Democratic Council urged Jews to vote for this Ellison. Here are some quotes from their website:

"Further, he supports the State of Israel and the continuation of U.S. aid to Israel."

"Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) is a close friend of the Jewish community"

http://njdc.typepad.com/njdcs_blog/2...r-wrong-o.html

[Aliyah1995]

http://www.lacrossetribune.com/news/...cc4c002e0.html

Well I'm just SHOCKED.

I actually agree with this idiot and oppose US aid to Israel, but of course for very different reasons.

Notice how he quotes James Baker, and Walt & Mearsheimer. Ellison is a supposed left-wing Democrat. He and the others are at the apex where extreme right and left meet, and most of the time the only connection between these people is their hatred of Jews, and that's just enough for them to unite under a common cause.

I also am in favor of US aid to Israel stopping. However, I would like to retain our strong relationship as allies. Unfortunately, Obama is putting a monkey wrench on that happening. Israel will just have to rough it out IMO. After all, "We are a nation that dwells alone...."

[Mediocrates]

I too, but it won't stop the haters. They'll just guess that super magical Jews control the world anyhow.

[GratefulFred]

I am in favor of keeping the aid going. Egypt gets it and so should we.

Tie it all into buying US goods for both our countries and in fact all US aid around the world should be set up in such a manner.

Even if the US cut off our aid, the hatred against us world wide would manifest itself in other areas. In fact I would suppose that for 10 years after the aid package ended they would still keep the propagnda videos going about how we take money.

Those in favor of cutting off the aid should look at the aid the US gives the Pals and through the UN instead.

The only reason any of you support ending the aid is that our enemies mention it thousands of times.

No one talks about the aid Egypt gets.

[Aliyah1995]

It has nothing to do with what our enemies say, but that when the American President tells our PM to jump he asks how high. More aid = less sovereignty. Simple as that. That being said, I am also in favor of Egypt's (as well as any other country hostile to American and/or Israel) aid being cut as well.

[Yala]

Exactly Aliyah. This money comes with too many strings attached. Also, Egypt is using all the money to build up their military.

[curlyg]

I think the aid should continue. Our budget deficit this year is at 5% of GDP even with it. Without it there would have to be substantial spending cuts either from the military budget or from other areas like education/health/other areas - none of which we can really afford to do given the deteriorating state of Israel's education, healthcare and other public services and our need to keep the military well-funded.

Of course, we could theoretically stop useless/wasteful/luxury spending. For example the dozen new "ministries" which the Netanyahu government decided to create serve no purpose other than wasting money. The entire "Ministry of Religious Affairs" (an abomination) should be abolished, I can think of about a million causes more worthy of the ridiculously large budget which it has been allocated. Funding to non-government schools (i.e. private schools and Yeshivas) should be progressively slashed over a period of several years. Some sort of effective mechanism for monitoring corruption in the public service needs to be established. I know of several instances of blatant corruption in the Israeli embassy in Australia, none of which were ever reported, investigated, or punished. Embassy staff also need to have reasonable limits on the budgets available to them. There is no reason why children of Israeli diplomats should be sent to the most prestigious private schools (incidentally, Catholic schools) at a cost of thousands of dollars per child, at the expense of the Israeli taxpayer. Nor should they be given a free hand in choosing a place of residence at just about any price. I know all of these things happen in Australia, and I've no doubt that they are widespread all over the world and similar wasteful practices are overlooked in other areas of the public service. Legislation should be passed placing limits on the number of ministers, deputy ministers, advisers available to ministers, etc. Child allowances should be gradually reduced and largely (though not entirely) replaced with some kind of child tax break scheme which will create incentives to be employed and thereby gradually raise more tax revenues.

None of this can happen, however, because of the Israeli political system. So long as tiny sectoral minority parties can exert completely disproportionate and undemocratic influence over the government, our dependence on the US will continue. Instead of having a government which advances our national interests we have a bizarre conglomerate of various political parties each advancing their own narrow sectoral interests, and a political system which lends itself to corruption and instability which prevents any government from pursuing long-term goals.

[Aliyah1995]

I would add to the above list all the employees of Israel Electric Company who get electricity for free on the rest of our backs. I could see maybe a 25% discount (like employees of Bezeq get on their phone service), but a free ride. What the ^&*(%$!!!! Also, the perks that members of Knesset get are exaggerated. This in addition to all you mentioned above would go a LONG way to reducing our national deficit. I hold that we should get off US financial aid ASAP. At the very least, it should be a national goal that we should be working towards with the utmost determination.

However, this not to be confused with our RELATIONSHIP with America. I think we should remain great allies, but not in the financial sense.

[Yala]

\None of this can happen, however, because of the Israeli political system. So long as tiny sectoral minority parties can exert completely disproportionate and undemocratic influence over the government, our dependence on the US will continue. Instead of having a government which advances our national interests we have a bizarre conglomerate of various political parties each advancing their own narrow sectoral interests, and a political system which lends itself to corruption and instability which prevents any government from pursuing long-term goals.

There's no doubt the Israeli political system needs to be reformed, but they won't do anything until the territories are cut off and Israel can focus on itself rather than the Palestinians.

[Mediocrates]

They need electoral wards or voting districts. Period.