The extremists now heading the Israeli government have made no secret of their plans to move even more forcefully against the Palestinians. It was and is a powder keg that has now exploded.
By Ray McGovern
Ray McGovern.com
I was nine years old (1948) when there was HUGE celebration in the Bronx at the founding of the state of Israel. No one told me that Arabs had lived on that land for centuries and were displaced by force, tens of thousands of them crammed into postage-stamp-size Gaza, now host to two million Palestinians.
The Religious ‘Justification’: Zionist Jews, like the ones now in power in Israel, claim God gave them the land they now occupy. They cite Deuteronomy. But given the way they treat Arabs, they ignore the fact that, according to Deuteronomy, it was a two-part ‘deal’. By their oppression of the Arab population, Israel’s leaders push aside the condition God is said to have imposed on their “inheritance”. It was an “only if”.
Deuteronomy 15:4-5 New International Version:
“4 However, there need be no poor people among you, for in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you, 5 if only you fully obey the Lord your God and are careful to follow all these commands I am giving you today.”
Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, left, and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin acknowledge applause during joint session of Congress during which President Jimmy Carter announced the Camp David Accords, Sept. 18, 1978. (Warren Leffler via Wikimedia Commons)
In June 1967 Israel annexed the “West Bank” (of the Jordan) and Gaza by first attacking and destroying the Egyptian and Syrian armies in a surprise attack. Israeli leaders claimed Egypt was about to attack Israel, but former Israeli President Menachem later admitted publicly that this was a lie. In a speech he gave in Washington, DC, on August 8, 1982 he said:
“In June 1967, we again had a choice. The Egyptian Army concentrations in the Sinai approaches do not prove that Nasser was really about to attack us. We must be honest with ourselves. We decided to attack him.”
On Nov. 22, 1967, UN Resolution 242, adopted unanimously, called for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the “territories occupied in the recent conflict”. Israel withdrew from the Sinai after the Egypt-Israel peace treaty of 1979. It did not withdraw from other lands occupied in 1967 – the West Bank, Gaza, and the Golan Heights in Syria.
As for Gaza, it has been blockaded to the point that it is almost impossible to get in or out – as I experienced personally in 2011 with gutsy, justice-oriented folks like Alice Walker on the aborted voyage of the “U.S. Boat to Gaza.”
Getting Away With Murder: On June 8, 1967 Israel tried to sink the intelligence collection ship USS Liberty and leave no survivors – in full daylight in international waters off the Sinai coast during the 6-day Israeli-Arab war. Washington (including the U.S. Navy!) covered up the killing of 34 U.S. sailors and the wounding of 170 others. Thus, Israel learned that it could literally get away with murder – of U.S. servicemen, as well as Palestinians.
The extremists now heading the Israeli government have made no secret of their plans to move even more forcefully against the Palestinians. It was and is a powder keg that has now exploded.
Why Should We Care?
Hebron, West Bank, 2011. (Tali C., Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
It is, of course, a matter of justice. But if that does not resonate with most of our fellow citizens, malnourished as they are on the activities of Israeli “settlers”, I will appeal below to the enlightened self-interest of Americans.
(As for the “settlers”, I thank God Marine vets Matt Hoh and Mike Hanes were with me when armed settlers attacked a Veterans For Peace delegation in 2017 in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh, and later fired tear gas at us in Hebron! I was grateful that the welt on my left breast from a tear-gas cannister, fired at us in Hebron, was gone by the time I got home, so I did not have to tell family members who tend to worry – even when I go off with such sturdy companions.)
American self-interest. In a word, the mistreatment of Palestinians played a huge role in the terrorist attacks of 9/11. You can be forgiven for being unaware of that, if you take your information from the likes of The New York Times or academia, both of which – like the U.S. government – shy away from telling the full story. They press the ‘delete’ button, sometimes literally – as I demonstrated in a Nov. 15, 2009 article in Consortium News that I called “Shining Light on Roots of Terrorism.”
Here are short excerpts:
I cited the words of the ‘mastermind’ of 9/11, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, as to his motivation. He is quoted on page 147 of the 9/11 Commission Report published on July 22, 2004, as follows:
“By his own account, KSM’s animus toward the United States stemmed … from his violent disagreement with U.S. foreign policy favoring Israel.”
My article continued:
“A more convincing swing at this issue was taken in an unclassified study published by the Pentagon-appointed U.S. Defense Science Board on Sept. 23, 2004, just two months later. The board stated:
‘Muslims do not ‘hate our freedom,’ but rather, they hate our policies. The overwhelming majority voice their objections to what they see as one-sided support in favor of Israel and against Palestinian rights, and the longstanding, even increasing support for what Muslims collectively see as tyrannies, most notably Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Pakistan, and the Gulf States.
‘Closer to home, by further identifying itself with – and justifying – Israeli repression of the Palestinians, the United States helps breed more Khalid Sheikh Mohammeds and Ramzi Yousefs, more young terrorists determined to make Washington and the American people pay a price.’”
Nothing has changed. If Americans are kept in blissful ignorance of this, and Washington continues to give knee-jerk support to Zionist Israel, terrorism cannot be kept from our shores.
I gave this short talk on “Is Israel a U.S. Ally?” at the National Press Club on March 7, 2014.
Ray McGovern works with Tell the Word, a publishing arm of the ecumenical Church of the Saviour in inner-city Washington. His 27 years as a C.I.A. analyst included leading the Soviet Foreign Policy Branch and conducting the morning briefings of the President’s Daily Brief. In retirement he co-founded Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS).
The views expressed are solely those of the author and may or may not reflect those of Consortium News.
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“Rachel Corrie was a US citizens as well. The recent murder of Shireen Abu Akleh, renowned journalist and US citizen, is a case in point.”
Don’t forget Furkan Dogan, US citizen murdered, shot in the head by idf on the Mavi Marmara, in the Gaza flotilla raid. USA is legally occupied by Israel, Hollywood, Wall St, and DC, plus 99% of the media (plus much much more). Until the illegal occupation ends this is the bed that the zionists made and have to sleep in.
It is very convenient that the zionists can now justify mass genocide of the Palestinians, Nakba2, and concurrently have the war drums beat in time for Iran. A little too coincidental. Jabotinsky, Herzl, Begin, Weizman, and the current zionist administration have for the public record stated the removal of the Arab population (from the Nile to the Euphrates) is the objective. No secret. And now a double shot: war with Iran front and center – employing American blood and treasure of course.
BTW, Mr. McGovern does an outstanding job on judging freedom with Judge Napolitano too (YouTube it).
Thank you, Ray McGovern. As always, I am grateful for the truth telling that I can count on at CN. Thanks, Joe Lauria!
The only way to stop this slow genocide of Palestinians is by Hizbollah entering the war properly, and, the subsequent chain of events that would follow that would eventually result in new governments and peace plans.
Someone needs to stop the slaughter long term, and it isn’t going to be the racist west that do it.
In a wider war, there would be no guaranteed outcome, meaning that it could go badly for anyone and everyone. Better the US pulls in the reins on Israel early and hard. I can dream, can’t I?
The Plan has always been ‘Greater Israel’, this fits perfectly with the USA’s agenda for the middle east and ensures there will never be peace while the USA and Israel hold control.
The fact is that only Russia and China can control these mad dogs.
The Israelis have formed a unified government. They’ve made it official. There is no partner for peace in Israel.
Please listen and see what the former British diplomat, Alastair Crooke is explaining as to *how* this upheaval started. He’s lived in the Middle East for decades and knows a few things or two about the current problems.
Rumble: Dimitri Symies and Alastair Crooke. Scott Ritter has posted that interview on his Twitter feed.
We found this interview very insightful and knowledgeable. We highly recommend this.
Part of the problem is that the Israel Government is fractured by liberal Jewish politicians vs the hardcore element headed by PM Netanyahu.
Guess that whole ‘pivot to Asia’ thing is cancelled now?
Maybe pushing Asia to the brink of war wasn’t such a good idea?
How many wars can the USA fight at one time? So far, it ain’t doing so good with one. Can it juggle two plates?
Oh, in case nobody noticed, this morning before dawn, the Russians launched a rocket barrage announcing their fall counter-offensive to try to take a key town outside of Donetz. The area has been used to shell Donetz for the last 10 years. The Russians seem determined.
I’d love to see the Yankee supply lines in Europe right now. First, everything is packed and scheduled to go to Ukraine. The trains are running on time. Then suddenly the phone rings, and its time to unpack everything and redirect it to Israel. Not just one shipment, but planes, trains and trucks across Europe. Now, its Kiev calling, sounding a bit urgent. If anyone takes any vids of a Ukrainian supply sergeant fighting an Israeli supply sergeant over the last crate of missiles on a NATO base, please post it online.
In honor of these times, I could go old testament … ye shall reap what ye shall sow.
Or, perhaps I’d stay closer to home, and just say … Karma.
Israel offers the USA the perfect opportunity to escape from Ukraine, ‘Mission Accomplished’.
Help in the genocide of a few million Arabs and then onto Taiwan. How are those shares in the MIC doing ?
Justice is the side of this whole debate that the corporate hydra is constantly ignoring. I recall watching Bibi tell Charlie Rose that the Bible justified Israel’s existence and practices.
But Ray is right. The Bible story has no unconditional & forever gift as the Zionists claim. And if they were driven from that land (as they claim), could we not infer that they had lost their god’s protection, and therefore had broken the deal? If so, that deal would be long gone.
There’s another relevant difference between then and now. God specifically told Moses that the other people were being displaced because they worshiped other gods. But in 1948 Palestine was inhabited by people who worshiped the SAME god – Jews, Christians, and Muslims. The New Testament and the Quran both specifically say they are worshiping the same god as Moses.
Yitzak Rabin was ready to give up the Bible claim and forego future land grabs to settle on a peace. That is, be a normal human being instead of a religious extremist. For that he was assassinated by a Jewish extremist. The Zionist analysis of the Bible’s land story is a scam.
It’s a situation ripe for milking by well-qualified war profiteers. Or the war profiteering tentacle of a corporate hydra. Garden variety criminals with a delusional excuse.
The hammer of American Zionism is really coming down hard right now here domestically — big U.S. financial firms (dominated by Israeli partisans) have announced a future employment blacklist against Ivy League college students who are pro-Palestinian/anti-Israeli imposed apartheid.
This is scary. Who the heck gave these Zionist punks this authority?
“Who the heck gave these Zionist punks this authority?”
Hazard a guess – the banks?
But, the bloody brits have decided it’s not a criminal offence to display Palestinian flags.
And Israel has this morning bombed and incapacitated the airport runways of Damascus and Allepo. (I guess the Iranian foreign minister who was to visit tomorrow will have to go by train.)
More scary
Valerie.
What you have to realise is that a lot of british people do not support the Israeli genocide and support real peace in the middle east.
The problem is that our government has been taken over by Israel in a silent coup which has seen Israel providing funds to british zionists and using Mossad agents to directly interfere in UK elections. The brazen take over of the UK is demonstrated by this article:
hxxps://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/world-landmarks-support-israel-flag-downing-street-eiffel-tower-brandenburg-gate-b1112466.html
We can go back to the Balfour Declaration and the Mandate for British govt. responsibility for Israel, the subsequent Nakba and all of the crimes and atrocities since then. The British Empire had no right to give away land that did not belong to them in the first place.
If it were not for the UK/US, the State of Israel would likely have never been established. Israel is “an unsinkable aircraft carrier in the ME” for the neo-imperialists.
Thanks for that Steve. I am as enamoured with the Standard as i am with the daily mail, the sun, the mirror etc. But it did reveal the extent of the “takeover”. Someone on another article here posted a utube video of pro Palestinian supporters. The comments from the brits on that was anything but support for them. “A lot of british people” do not a majority make. They are influenced by the MSM and follow blindly whatever rhetoric is being proffered.
The UK is going the same way as the US; their foreign policy is a mirror image. Much like the rest of europe. I wonder how many Palestinian refugees will be offered accommodation in british homes, as were the Ukrainians. That support died a death, as i knew it would. See many Palestinian flags festooned around? At least the supporters are not being fired at with tear gas/water cannons like the French. (Yet.)
Thank you for your unwavering integrity Ray. It’s no wonder the establishment gatekeepers fear your presence at public events. Can’t let the masses hear the truth.
[…” covered up the killing of 34 U.S. sailors and the wounding of 170 others. Thus, Israel learned that it could literally get away with murder – of U.S. servicemen, as well as Palestinians…”]
Rachel Corrie was a US citizens as well. The recent murder of Shireen Abu Akleh, renowned journalist and US citizen, is a case in point. If the Israeli military can assassinate a famous journalist and a US citizen in broad daylight, on video, with impunity, they can basically murder anyone they want and get away with it. Israel’s attitude is: “F You, and F the law, we can do whatever we want”. They can murder US servicemen if need be, with the cooperation of the US govt. What does that tell us about “American Democracy”?
The family of Shireen Akleh have taken the case to the ICC. I don’t know how that is going, but as you say, it appears they can murder anyone they want. So now they intend to starve, bomb, terrorize a whole nation and probably get away with it. What does that tell us about humanity?