Besides money and fear, especially of being labeled anti-Semitic, here are more reasons why U.S. politicians support Israel so strongly:
1. It's the path of least resistance.
2. For some, support of Israel is tied up with evangelicalism and other forms of Judeo-Christian faith.
3. They want to cash in after they leave office, and being construed as not entirely pro-Israel may be detrimental to that.
4. Sympathy for Israel (and Jews) as victims of the Holocaust.
5. Discomfort or antipathy toward Muslims, e.g. they seem more "alien" or less Western than Israelis and Jewish people in general.
6. The IDF and its intelligence services are intertwined with the CIA and various other U.S. intelligence agencies. In other words, fear of reprisals, because, let's face it, most politicians have a lot of skeletons in various closets, and even if they don't, skeletons can be "found."
7. The U.S. mainstream media is almost entirely uncritical of Israel. Strong criticism of Israel will lead to negative coverage. Support of Israel produces positive coverage.
8. Being treated as an outcast among your peers. Most politicians relish being part of the club and basking in applause. You're in the club and applauded when you support Israel. The opposite is true if you don't.
I read the site "The Conversation" and often send a message to the author of an essay that I find there. All the authors are academics writing from their field of expertise. The response rate is about 2%. I was very pleased today to receive a response from a prof at USC to my email about the Israel situation with word that he supports the demonstrators on his campus. So there is a bit of courage breaking out. We are seeing the complete collapse of what the Israelis call hasbara - propaganda for Israel - that has bewitched Americans for decades. Social media has popped the balloon and it cannot be re-inflated, but that won't stop Congress from going after Tik-Tok, the go-to place for 170 million Americans. 170 million!!!
While Congressional support is nothing new - didn't Pat Buchanan call Capitol Hill "Israeli occupied territory" 40 or so years ago?
But it seems it's gotten worse, worse than ever imagined. Senators wrapping themselves in the Israeli flag; Representatives wearing their Israeli army uniforms into the House; cheering for the Israeli PM who addresses a joint session of Congress in defiance of a US President (Obama).
Money, obviously, has a great deal to do with it. Blackmail is involved to a large degree with Jeffrey Epstein and his activities. Israel has also engaged with the US evangelicals - including the Speaker of the House - with narratives that support the latter's eschatology. The nihilist "terrorist" narrative has long worked.
My only real question is how far the Israeli-owned Congressional Representatives and Senators would go in selling out the US - if told to by an Israeli PM, even if it meant the immediate destruction or collapse of the US. I fear I know the answer.
I was being hyperbolic to make a point. There doesn't seem to be a limit to what Israel wants and Israel gets from Congress and in most cases the White House.
But to speculate a bit - nuclear confrontation with Russia over an Israeli attack with tactical nukes on Iran. And then Israel saying it needs help from its "friend".
Ahhh, hyperbolia. Got it. And that's an interesting speculation.
i'm just having a hard time imagining why Israel would tactically nuke Iran. As in: What would precipitate that? And then i have a hard time imagining Iran doing something that would precipitate a Tactical Nuke Strike.
But then, now that i honestly think about it, when this whole operation got started on October 7, i had absolutely No idea that Israel would be inflicting this much of this type of Nation-State Terrorism.
But the first question i had on 7 Oct was: From all initial reports, Israel was totally and completely surprised by the Hamas attack. i had a very hard time believing that then, and now, i think it's a Lie.
For their own national interests, Israel and the United States Wanted and Needed this War. And on 7 Oct, Hamas gave them the perfect excuse to have it.
I think Israel was surprised at the scope of the 10-7 attack, but not surprised that there was an attack. And I think the plans to "reduce" (as in destroy) Gaza were already well developed and ready to implement given the "right" moment and rationale.
Bill: We're talking about Israel's Intelligence Service and System, touted as one of ~ if not The ~ best intel systems and services on the Planet.
i have a very hard time believing that they were surprised by anything that happened that day. Including the scope. It would be interesting to know the 7 Oct Alert Status of IDF Units adjacent to Gaza and in southern Israel..
And my guess is that plans for "reducing" Gaza were made some time ago. Like back in 2021, following the Israel-Hamas skirmish that year. [Gotta love that synonym for "destroy."]
It would also be interesting to see the Operations Plan for this campaign, and what the initial guess was as to how long it would take to clear Gaza of Hamas.
In any event, and like i said: Israel and America both wanted and needed this war. And Hamas made sure they got it. For Israel, it postpones until further notice legal action against Netanyahu; and for the US, it's another Cash Cow for the MICC.
Jeff, I've heard that the IDF and the Mossad have a smugness and superiority complex much like the U.S. military did vis-a-vis Vietnam. It's possible, even plausible, that they underestimated what Hamas & Co. were capable of, as well as overestimating their own intel "brilliance."
That said, I believe they were more than happy to activate plans to destroy Gaza, and indeed the "success" of the 10-7 attacks gave them the all the excuse they needed to go into full-blown genocide mode.
In Haaretz today is a story, an investigation by the newspaper with this title: "Distain, Denial, Neglect: The Roots of Israel's Intelligence Failure on HAMAS and Oct 7"
jg, Iran is the last significant deterrent to complete Israeli domination of the region. Iraq under Saddam was as well and we know how that threat was eliminated. Netanyahu has railed against and called for war with Iran for many years.
When you consider what we see now - that Israel cannot conceive of anything it does as not righteous ("forces of light vs forces of darkness") and the deeply held idea that Israel is the phoenix risen from the holocaust and vigilant against another one, what could be more proper than those who were slaughtered in the holocaust being properly placed as rulers over any threat?
Iran is, like the Palestinians, a bone in the throat of Israel that it dreams of removing. As with all who have ever contemplated war, Israel sees the possibility of being done with half measures and setting things straight as they should be.
Israel's view of itself as the oppressed victim while at the same time righteous beyond any other in history, I see that combination as allowing it to view use of a nuke as fully justified, no matter the number of Iranians killed or the outrage of the rest of the world, that Israel views as against it anyway. This on a smaller scale is what we are seeing in Gaza now.
Most if not all men and women in power are either border line sociopaths or clinical sociopaths. For proof read independant news outlets not behodlden to AIPAC or MIC money or sorcophants to both.
We surfs to their system pay and pay with our childrens blood and our hard earned sweat of labor. Time to storm the bastille and tear this house down. Vote them all out. All of them. We need a reboot.
There's one more coming from the LP, probably who I'm voting for unless they go for a known politician (again). Already the signs aren't good since Trump, Ramaswamy, and RFK Jr are scheduled to speak at the convention. I imagine Trump will be roundly dismissed.
"Of course, I’m not suggesting money and intimidation are the only reasons these men support Israel, but they are compelling ones."
I would suggest that money and/or intimidation are the only reasons why "these men" (a term that here extends to women)—and many others, like most media figures and most members of the U.S. Congress—support (or oppose) ANYTHING.
Agreed, Mr. Astore. That's why I said "most members of the U.S. Congress", which implies "not all". It's not I who used the terms "craven and unprincipled", although I don't object to them. It's often difficult to discern the ones who are not craven and unprincipled, however. For instance, I was conned into thinking that of Bernie Sanders, who turned out, in the end to be clearly craven and very incompletely principled.
Right. Gotcha. In the case of Sanders, I've heard they threatened to go after his wife, who got into trouble as a college president. She could easily have been prosecuted. It's possible Bernie became more tractable and less combative in exchange for his wife's quasi-immunity from further investigations and possible prosecution (fines and/or jail time.)
I have no proof, of course, but this scenario seems plausible.
The Occupation of the American Mind (2016) does an excellent job of telling the story of pro-Israel propaganda. It needs to be "required viewing" for US citizens.
Add another excellent movie, Israelism, that outlines the indoctrination US kids enrolled in Jewish religious schools get about Israel as told by a young woman who went through it. Simply put the curriculum is all Israel, all the time with visits by Israelis including members of the IDF.
I think there are two other major factors. One may be found in Epstein’s black book if we ever get to see it. And the documentary film Israelism aptly depicts the other.
Every country does what is best for them, Israel is doing what is best for them, the problem is that Joe Biden does what is best for him to get re-elected whatever it takes and Israel is the most generous contributor. Joe Biden has received more money from Israel than any politician in the history of the USA. Google it. Israel doesn’t want the USA destruction, they just have a great deal for a few millions in buying politicians, these politicians in exchange send them billions. That is great for Israel but who does it for the USA? Which country we can buy their politicians and get billions in return? The problem is the direction of the money is only in one direction, we don’t get anything in return. The same with Ukraine and every other stupid conflict we waste billions of taxpayers money, or better taxpayers future debt,we give money we don’t have.
As a political operative once told me, politicians are like dogs. They don't have souls and you can't witness to them. They only respond to pleasure (power, money, votes) and pain (anything that curtails their power and dries up contributions and votes). Know those levers and you can control most politicians.
Besides money and fear, especially of being labeled anti-Semitic, here are more reasons why U.S. politicians support Israel so strongly:
1. It's the path of least resistance.
2. For some, support of Israel is tied up with evangelicalism and other forms of Judeo-Christian faith.
3. They want to cash in after they leave office, and being construed as not entirely pro-Israel may be detrimental to that.
4. Sympathy for Israel (and Jews) as victims of the Holocaust.
5. Discomfort or antipathy toward Muslims, e.g. they seem more "alien" or less Western than Israelis and Jewish people in general.
6. The IDF and its intelligence services are intertwined with the CIA and various other U.S. intelligence agencies. In other words, fear of reprisals, because, let's face it, most politicians have a lot of skeletons in various closets, and even if they don't, skeletons can be "found."
7. The U.S. mainstream media is almost entirely uncritical of Israel. Strong criticism of Israel will lead to negative coverage. Support of Israel produces positive coverage.
8. Being treated as an outcast among your peers. Most politicians relish being part of the club and basking in applause. You're in the club and applauded when you support Israel. The opposite is true if you don't.
Any others, readers?
i'm sure there are others, Bill. Let me ponder that a bit.
And Thank You for this. i hope it gets the Very widest distribution. And it will be interesting to see what kind of feedback it generates.
How about: Have significant investments in the "I" branch of the MICC.
I read the site "The Conversation" and often send a message to the author of an essay that I find there. All the authors are academics writing from their field of expertise. The response rate is about 2%. I was very pleased today to receive a response from a prof at USC to my email about the Israel situation with word that he supports the demonstrators on his campus. So there is a bit of courage breaking out. We are seeing the complete collapse of what the Israelis call hasbara - propaganda for Israel - that has bewitched Americans for decades. Social media has popped the balloon and it cannot be re-inflated, but that won't stop Congress from going after Tik-Tok, the go-to place for 170 million Americans. 170 million!!!
Yes. TikTok is the problem. Not mass murder. We must ban TikTok!
While Congressional support is nothing new - didn't Pat Buchanan call Capitol Hill "Israeli occupied territory" 40 or so years ago?
But it seems it's gotten worse, worse than ever imagined. Senators wrapping themselves in the Israeli flag; Representatives wearing their Israeli army uniforms into the House; cheering for the Israeli PM who addresses a joint session of Congress in defiance of a US President (Obama).
Money, obviously, has a great deal to do with it. Blackmail is involved to a large degree with Jeffrey Epstein and his activities. Israel has also engaged with the US evangelicals - including the Speaker of the House - with narratives that support the latter's eschatology. The nihilist "terrorist" narrative has long worked.
My only real question is how far the Israeli-owned Congressional Representatives and Senators would go in selling out the US - if told to by an Israeli PM, even if it meant the immediate destruction or collapse of the US. I fear I know the answer.
Heh. i missed that by Buchanan,
But i gotta ask: Why would Israel want to see the US destroyed or collapsed?
I was being hyperbolic to make a point. There doesn't seem to be a limit to what Israel wants and Israel gets from Congress and in most cases the White House.
But to speculate a bit - nuclear confrontation with Russia over an Israeli attack with tactical nukes on Iran. And then Israel saying it needs help from its "friend".
I recall the Buchanan quote but I couldn't find the actual reference. That's the problem with remembering things from decades ago. :-)
Even if he didn't actually say it, he was right then; and apparently would still be today.
Ahhh, hyperbolia. Got it. And that's an interesting speculation.
i'm just having a hard time imagining why Israel would tactically nuke Iran. As in: What would precipitate that? And then i have a hard time imagining Iran doing something that would precipitate a Tactical Nuke Strike.
But then, now that i honestly think about it, when this whole operation got started on October 7, i had absolutely No idea that Israel would be inflicting this much of this type of Nation-State Terrorism.
But the first question i had on 7 Oct was: From all initial reports, Israel was totally and completely surprised by the Hamas attack. i had a very hard time believing that then, and now, i think it's a Lie.
For their own national interests, Israel and the United States Wanted and Needed this War. And on 7 Oct, Hamas gave them the perfect excuse to have it.
I think Israel was surprised at the scope of the 10-7 attack, but not surprised that there was an attack. And I think the plans to "reduce" (as in destroy) Gaza were already well developed and ready to implement given the "right" moment and rationale.
Bill: We're talking about Israel's Intelligence Service and System, touted as one of ~ if not The ~ best intel systems and services on the Planet.
i have a very hard time believing that they were surprised by anything that happened that day. Including the scope. It would be interesting to know the 7 Oct Alert Status of IDF Units adjacent to Gaza and in southern Israel..
And my guess is that plans for "reducing" Gaza were made some time ago. Like back in 2021, following the Israel-Hamas skirmish that year. [Gotta love that synonym for "destroy."]
It would also be interesting to see the Operations Plan for this campaign, and what the initial guess was as to how long it would take to clear Gaza of Hamas.
In any event, and like i said: Israel and America both wanted and needed this war. And Hamas made sure they got it. For Israel, it postpones until further notice legal action against Netanyahu; and for the US, it's another Cash Cow for the MICC.
Jeff, I've heard that the IDF and the Mossad have a smugness and superiority complex much like the U.S. military did vis-a-vis Vietnam. It's possible, even plausible, that they underestimated what Hamas & Co. were capable of, as well as overestimating their own intel "brilliance."
That said, I believe they were more than happy to activate plans to destroy Gaza, and indeed the "success" of the 10-7 attacks gave them the all the excuse they needed to go into full-blown genocide mode.
In Haaretz today is a story, an investigation by the newspaper with this title: "Distain, Denial, Neglect: The Roots of Israel's Intelligence Failure on HAMAS and Oct 7"
jg, Iran is the last significant deterrent to complete Israeli domination of the region. Iraq under Saddam was as well and we know how that threat was eliminated. Netanyahu has railed against and called for war with Iran for many years.
When you consider what we see now - that Israel cannot conceive of anything it does as not righteous ("forces of light vs forces of darkness") and the deeply held idea that Israel is the phoenix risen from the holocaust and vigilant against another one, what could be more proper than those who were slaughtered in the holocaust being properly placed as rulers over any threat?
Iran is, like the Palestinians, a bone in the throat of Israel that it dreams of removing. As with all who have ever contemplated war, Israel sees the possibility of being done with half measures and setting things straight as they should be.
Israel's view of itself as the oppressed victim while at the same time righteous beyond any other in history, I see that combination as allowing it to view use of a nuke as fully justified, no matter the number of Iranians killed or the outrage of the rest of the world, that Israel views as against it anyway. This on a smaller scale is what we are seeing in Gaza now.
Money, power, blackmail?, and service to Lucifer.
Most if not all men and women in power are either border line sociopaths or clinical sociopaths. For proof read independant news outlets not behodlden to AIPAC or MIC money or sorcophants to both.
We surfs to their system pay and pay with our childrens blood and our hard earned sweat of labor. Time to storm the bastille and tear this house down. Vote them all out. All of them. We need a reboot.
Be careful who you replace them with.
I can't imagine that any set of randos could possibly be worse than what we collectively have right now.
:heck out Jill Stein. She's human she's flawed but she is for:
people
planet
peace
af the 4 POTUS candidates she is the less flawed imho
There's one more coming from the LP, probably who I'm voting for unless they go for a known politician (again). Already the signs aren't good since Trump, Ramaswamy, and RFK Jr are scheduled to speak at the convention. I imagine Trump will be roundly dismissed.
"Of course, I’m not suggesting money and intimidation are the only reasons these men support Israel, but they are compelling ones."
I would suggest that money and/or intimidation are the only reasons why "these men" (a term that here extends to women)—and many others, like most media figures and most members of the U.S. Congress—support (or oppose) ANYTHING.
Yes, many (most?) politicians are craven. Most are not profiles in courage. But I don't think every politician is entirely craven and unprincipled.
If they are, Dante's words come to mind: Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.
Agreed, Mr. Astore. That's why I said "most members of the U.S. Congress", which implies "not all". It's not I who used the terms "craven and unprincipled", although I don't object to them. It's often difficult to discern the ones who are not craven and unprincipled, however. For instance, I was conned into thinking that of Bernie Sanders, who turned out, in the end to be clearly craven and very incompletely principled.
Right. Gotcha. In the case of Sanders, I've heard they threatened to go after his wife, who got into trouble as a college president. She could easily have been prosecuted. It's possible Bernie became more tractable and less combative in exchange for his wife's quasi-immunity from further investigations and possible prosecution (fines and/or jail time.)
I have no proof, of course, but this scenario seems plausible.
The Occupation of the American Mind (2016) does an excellent job of telling the story of pro-Israel propaganda. It needs to be "required viewing" for US citizens.
Add another excellent movie, Israelism, that outlines the indoctrination US kids enrolled in Jewish religious schools get about Israel as told by a young woman who went through it. Simply put the curriculum is all Israel, all the time with visits by Israelis including members of the IDF.
I Will check it out. Thanks, Cliff.
I think there are two other major factors. One may be found in Epstein’s black book if we ever get to see it. And the documentary film Israelism aptly depicts the other.
Every country does what is best for them, Israel is doing what is best for them, the problem is that Joe Biden does what is best for him to get re-elected whatever it takes and Israel is the most generous contributor. Joe Biden has received more money from Israel than any politician in the history of the USA. Google it. Israel doesn’t want the USA destruction, they just have a great deal for a few millions in buying politicians, these politicians in exchange send them billions. That is great for Israel but who does it for the USA? Which country we can buy their politicians and get billions in return? The problem is the direction of the money is only in one direction, we don’t get anything in return. The same with Ukraine and every other stupid conflict we waste billions of taxpayers money, or better taxpayers future debt,we give money we don’t have.
To paraphrase Shakespeare -
"A bribe by any other name would stink as bad."
As a political operative once told me, politicians are like dogs. They don't have souls and you can't witness to them. They only respond to pleasure (power, money, votes) and pain (anything that curtails their power and dries up contributions and votes). Know those levers and you can control most politicians.