ANOTHER DAYDREAM: How President Obama could earn his Nobel Peace Prize
Tonight, and because it is an underlying cause of Arab and other Muslim hurt, humiliation and anger. I want to focus on one particular aspect of our double standard - our support for Israel right or wrong, an Israel that regards itself as being above the law as it continues its oppression of the occupied Palestinians and expands its illegal settlement activity. Under its current leadership an acceptable amount of justice for the Palestinians is not on Israel’s agenda.
My fellow Americans, it is not, repeat NOT, in America’s own best interests to go on giving this Israel our unconditional support.
Starting tonight I am going to take the lead in securing a binding UN Security Council Resolution that will demand, in accordance with Resolution 242 of 22 November 1967, an end to Israel’s occupation in exchange for a comprehensive peace with the entire Arab and Muslim world including Iran. The resolution will say that if Israel does not make the necessary withdrawals for peace based on two states with Jerusalem an undivided, open city and the capital of both states, it will be isolated and sanctioned, with America taking the lead in the sanctioning process.
To avoid any misunderstanding I must tell you I am not suggesting that a peaceful resolution of the Israel-Palestine conflict will be some kind of magic wand. It will not solve all of our problems with the Arab and wider Muslim world, but it will make them much more manageable because, as I’ve already said, our support to date for Israel right or wrong, and all that means in terms of denying the Palestinians an acceptable amount of justice, is an underlying cause of Arab and other Muslim hurt, humiliation and anger. When by our actions we demonstrate we really mean that all nations including Israel must live and act in accordance with international law, America will again be respected by the vast majority of Arabs and other Muslims everywhere, and that in turn will make the task of isolating, containing and eventually defeating the forces of violent Islamic fundamentalism in all of its manifestations a mission possible.
For those in Congress who support Israel right or wrong and who will be mobilized to do battle with me, I have a question.
Are you Americans first or paid agents of a foreign power and its lobby in this country?
Now, my fellow Americans, to what I am asking you to do to give me the best possible chance of preventing Congress blocking the route to peace – peace on terms that will provide the Palestinians with an acceptable amount of justice and security for all.
I want you to lobby by all means those you elected to the House of Representatives and the Senate and tell them that if they continue to support Israel right or wrong you will not vote for them again.
The point I am really making was well summarised by British author Alan Hart in his epic book Zionism: The Real Enemy of the Jews. He wrote: “In order to use the leverage he has to require Israel to be serious about peace, an American president needs enough members of Congress to be more frightened of offending their voters than they are of offending the Zionist lobby.”
God Bless America and what we must do together to give our democracy some real substance and make it work for justice and peace.
UNQUOTE
As I was putting my daydream into words I recalled a comment made to me by former President Jimmy Carter when my wife and I had the pleasure of spending some time with him and Rosalyn. He said:
“Any American president has only two windows of opportunity to take on those in Congress who support Israel right or wrong – the first nine months of his first term (because after that the funding for the mid-term elections gets underway) and the last year of his second term if he has one.”
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