Latest | Recent Articles | Multimedia Page | TV | Search | Blog

Email this article | Print this article | Link to this Article

Darling of American Jewry

January 4, 2001

ABRAHAM OF ISRAEL

DARLING OF AMERICAN JEWRY

"Over the years, most of the strongest advocates of Israel have usually been people who are not Jewish....[I] look forward to working with him..." Malcolm Hoenlein One of top Israeli/Jewish lobby officials

The U.S. Arabs -- in their organized context -- are...well...so screwed up. They should be protesting the token appointment of an Israel-endorsed "Arab American" to the Bush Cabinet but instead they are applauding. When it comes to political sophistication the Arab Americans remain...well...primative. Indeed, Senator Abraham, soon to be Secretary of Energy in the George W Administration -- a department he by the way advocating terminating just two years ago -- should actually be considered something of embarrassment to Arab Americans. But then of course all the retarded Arab American "client organizations" are light years behind when it comes to being sufficiently powerful to be taken seriously by anyone other than themselves anyway.

For years Abraham has played both sides of the fence and no one has said boo. That self-appointed and much-hated "spokesman" for Arab Americans, Jim Zogby, has worked very closely with Abraham who helped establish the "Arab-American Institute" (AAI) and has served as one of its Chairman. On the other hand, and far more importantly, in his years in the Senate Abraham has had a very "solid pro-Israel voting record" according to representatives of the Israeli-Jewish lobby.

With guys like Zogby and Abraham representing them -- not to mention the lesser second-tier crowd in Washington including Maksoud, Sharabi, and Rahman -- it should be no wonder why the Arabs are always used, abused, laughed at, and disregarded. And of course all this translates into the serious tilt the U.S. always has toward the Israelis -- no matter how outrageous the Israelis behave. In the American context -- and of course Washington these days is in many ways the modern-day Rome, the capital of the world -- the six-million Arab Americans (now more numerous actually than Jewish Americans) are at least as badly represented as are the peoples of the Middle East itself who continue to have their wealth and heritage plundered and sullied by Kings and Tyrants who in most cases trace their origins and staying power back to London, Washington, and Paris.

JEWS WELCOME ABRAHAM APPOINTMENT
By Janine Zacharia

WASHINGTON - Jerusalem Post - 4 Jan: Jewish leaders yesterday welcomed the nomination of former Michigan senator Spencer Abraham as energy secretary, a key position when it comes to US interests in the Middle East, and said they are not concerned that president-elect George W. Bush wrapped up his cabinet selections without appointing any Jews.

Abraham, 48, who is of Lebanese heritage, had a solid pro-Israel voting record during his six years in the Senate before he was defeated by Democratic challenger Debbie Stabenow by a slim margin in the November election. He enjoys strong ties with the Jewish and Arab-American communities.

Among his strongest supporters in Michigan is the 92-year-old Max Fisher, one of the most well-known Republican Jewish leaders in the US. Fisher told The Jerusalem Post in September that he thinks "very highly" of Abraham, whom he has supported financially in his election bids.

In 1999, the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, which has provided essential lifesaving services to world Jewry, honored Abraham with an award for furtherance of peace and freedom.

"I think it is a testament to the special place that America is that the grandson of four Lebanese immigrants can have the opportunity to serve in the Cabinet of the president of the United States. I'm very proud to have been given this opportunity," Abraham said after Bush announced the nomination on Tuesday.

Sen. Carl Levin, a Jewish Democratic senator from Michigan, called Abraham's selection an "excellent nomination" and said he looked forward to working with him on energy issues.

"Sen. Abraham had a close relationship with the Jewish community and was generally supportive on Israel-related issues," said Ken Bricker, spokesman for the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee. Pro-Israel lobbyists said he was especially helpful on foreign aid, sanctions on Iraq, and initiatives aimed at limiting the spread of weapons of mass destruction to states unfriendly to Israel.

He parted from the pro-Israel line when he declined to sign on to a letter urging President Bill Clinton to relocate the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in compliance with the 1995 Jerusalem Embassy Act. He was also one of only two senators not to recently sign a letter to Clinton condemning Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat for not doing enough to curb the violence in Israel and the territories.

Malcolm Hoenlein, executive director of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, said the Jewish community "looks forward to working with him in the position."

"We have never judged people because of their race or ethnicity. He enjoyed support from the Jewish community even in his last race. I don't think you will find anyone in the community raising objections to the appointment," Hoenlein said.

Asked how he feels about no Jews being appointed to Bush's cabinet, Hoenlein said: "It's happened before... The fact is that over the years, most of the strongest advocates of Israel have usually been people who are not Jewish. It's a question of what kinds of policies they adopt, not who is adopting them."

Bush has nominated several Jews to positions in the White House, including Josh Bolten as deputy chief of staff and Ari Fleischer as press secretary.

Ira Forman, executive director of the National Jewish Democratic Council, a Democratic Jewish partisan group in Washington, believes the appointment signals environmental doom but acknowledged that on Israel Abraham has had an"adequate" record.

"I think that it reconfirms what Bush was saying in the campaign. His energy policy is going to be drilling in environmentally-sensitive areas," Forman said. Abraham consistency supported legislation that would allow oil and natural gas drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in order to help reduce US dependence on foreign oil, a cornerstone of Bush's campaign.

Forman, who is completing a book on Jews in American politics, says that Republican presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush did not have Jewish cabinet members either. "There's nothing evil about this. There just don't appear to be a lot of Jewish people in the [Dick] Cheney-Bush circle of close friends" from which Bush has drawn many of the appointments, Forman said.

One possible Jewish appointment could be Paul Wolfowitz, dean of Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Wolfowitz had hoped to be chosen for secretary of defense but was edged out by Donald Rumsfeld. He is still being considered for CIA director or US ambassador to the UN, both positions Bush is considering elevating to Cabinet level.

Also appointed Tuesday was Linda Chavez, president of the Center for Equal Opportunity, as labor secretary. Chavez, who is of Hispanic heritage, is married to Chris Gersten, who is Jewish, and worked as political director of AIPAC in the 1980s.

Overall, Bush's 14-member Cabinet is a wide mix, including six white men, two black men, three white women, one Asian-American man, a Hispanic man, and a Hispanic woman.


January 2001


Magazine






Leila Khalid - refugee from Haifa, fighter for Palestine
(January 31, 2001)
When Palestinian liberation fighter Leila Khaled hijacked her first plane in 1969, she became the international pin-up of armed struggle. Then she underwent cosmetic surgery so she could do it again. Thirty years on, she talks to Katharine Viner about being a woman at war.

The end of Israel?
(January 30, 2001)
At a time with rampant current events breaking daily, often hourly, there is much need to remember the importance of sometimes taking time for reflection, of sometimes stepping back to contemplate both the past and the future.

Sharon - the REAL legacy of Clinton and Barak
(January 30, 2001)
As the Barak era fades from view -- more short-lived than anyone predicted just a long year and a half ago -- his epitaph is already being written and Ariel Sharon's government and policies are already being debated.

Looming civil war in Palestine
(January 29, 2001)
Fears are growing in the international community that Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority (PA) is heading for collapse.

Arafat blasts, Peres maneuvers, Barak sinks
(January 29, 2001)
For all practical purposes Ehud Barak is gone and Yasser Arafat is now desperately trying to save his own skin.

Barak's 3 no's, and Bush's 7 minute call
(January 28, 2001)
The Americans leaked it, a 7-minute Saturday call from the new U.S. Pres to the sinking Israeli PM -- leaked its brevity that is.

The Bomb and Iraq
(January 28, 2001)
As war clouds gather in the Middle East public opinion is being prepared for a possible regional war that could likely include a combined Western/Israeli effort to take out the weapons of mass destruction in Syria, Iraq and Iran.

The "nuts" in the next room
(January 27, 2001)
In recent years Israel's most important and serious newspaper, Ha'aretz, has taken to not only reporting Palestinian affairs much more deeply but to interviewing major Palestinian personalities abroad.

Get ready for Prime Minister Sharon
(January 27, 2001)
The new Ma'ariv-Gallop poll questioned a particularly large sample of 1,100 people, putting special emphasis on the Arab population and new immigrants.

Panic in the Barak camp
(January 27, 2001)
All the tricks and lies of the Israeli Labor Party have now come back to haunt it. Barak, never a politician, bears the brunt of popular blame for all the political deceptions and tricks that have for so long accumulated.

War alert in Europe and Middle East
(January 27, 2001)
We've noted the "war fever" growing in the region for some months now. There's considerable anxiety about who may now strike first.

Israeli and Jewish soul-searching
(January 26, 2001)
The Intifada, coupled with Israeli brutality and recognition that the term "Apartheid Peace" is in fact applicable after all, are having an effect on at least some Israelis and some Jews; even while Ariel Sharon marches to the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem (and maybe because of this).

"Disastrous" American intervention
(January 26, 2001)
ou've got to wonder about these Palestinian "negotiators". What others saw decades ago those who have been most involved are apparently beginning to see only now.

Sharon marches on, Barak stumbles on
(January 25, 2001)
The 554,000 Arabs eligible to vote represent 12.3 percent of the electorate. The Arab turnout in 1999 was 76%, and 95% voted for Barak.

An alliance of the outcasts? Iran, Iraq and Syria
(January 24, 2001)
So the Israelis are going to elect war-criminal tough-guy General Ariel Sharon to be Prime Minister. This after the most top-heavy military-intelligence government in peacetime history for Israel -- that of General Ehud Barak.

General Powell says no to sanctions on behalf of Corporate America
(January 23, 2001)
Hamas has struck again and the "negotiations" are "suspended" again. Two Israelis were assassinated by masked men while eating at a restaurant in Tulkarm. Though this time it was Israelis who were killed it was another warning to Yasser Arafat. Last week similarly masked men in Gaza killed a close Arafat friend, the head of Palestinian TV in Gaza, just as it was rumored Arafat was about to sign some kind of new deal with the Israelis.

EyeWitness Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa
(January 23, 2001)
The depressing element of this entire struggle is that the Arafat regime survives and...will be the one to ultimately determine the fate of the Palestinian people.

War Fever - Israel and Syria
(January 23, 2001)
Tensions continue to grow in the Middle East region, armies continue to prepare, public opinion continues to be manipulated. Though Ehud Barak too is a militarist -- a former commando, General, and Chief of Staff of the Army -- Ariel Sharon brings with him historical baggage and war-criminal image which could easily contribute to a clash of armies sooner rather than later, even if not fully intended by either side.

EyeWitness Gaza
(January 22, 2001)
A year or so ago, I visited the Mouwasi area in Gaza. It was a green paradise, on top, and in the midst, of white sand dunes. I particularly remember this Guava grove, where the guavas hanging from the trees were the size of large oranges; I hadn't seen anything like that ever before.

Reaping what they have sown
(January 22, 2001)
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak abruptly cut short a radio interview on Sunday after being asked about his poor showing in opinion polls, prompting speculation he was buckling under pressure of a February 6 election.

Israel's president departs
(January 21, 2001)
There has never been, and there probably never will be, a president who had such fantastic relations with the State of Israel. It's unbelievable.

Ross officially join Israeli lobby
(January 19, 2001)
During the Lebanon War of 1982 -- some think of it as Sharon's war -- the Israelis and their American Jewish friends felt they had a difficult time when it came to public relations. And when the American Marines pulled out, symbolizing the failure of the Israelis to force Lebanon into the American-Israeli orbit and out of the Syrian-Arab one, the Israelis realized that they had much power in Washington on Capitol Hill, but not enough power with the media, intellectuals, and think-tanks.

War preparations in Israel
(January 19, 2001)
It's always called "The Peace Process" but more behind-the-scenes the whole Middle East region continues to be an arms bazaar with more weapons being sold to the countries in the area than ever before, most by American arms merchants and allies.

Palestinian TV Head killed
(January 17, 2001)
It may have been a warning to Arafat not to dare sign any new agreements, as has been rumored in the past few days he was planning to do tomorrow in fact. It may have been another Israeli assassination - though usually they don't take such risks and use such methods, strongly preferring instead to use high-technology and long-distance means.

Iraq, Saddam and the Gulf War
(January 17, 2001)
It was 10 years ago yesterday that the U.S. unleashed the power of the Empire against the country of Iraq after created the regional conditions that lead to the Iraq-Iran and then the Iraq-Kuwait-Saudi wars. In that period of time somewhere in the number of 1.5 million Iraqis have been killed, the history of the Middle East altered, the future of the region more uncertain and dangerous than ever.

Last night in Gaza ghetto
(January 16, 2001)
It's quite a game of international political brinkmanship. At the same time that Yasser Arafat is being tremendously pressured, and quite possibly further tricked, to sign some kind of "framework agreement" with Clinton and Barak before it is too late -- his regime is also being threatened with extinction both from within and without.

Generals Sharon and Barak as politicians
(January 16, 2001)
With Jan 20 (Clinton leaves office) and Feb 6 (Barak likely to be defeated by Sharon) fast approaching, desperation and near panic are evident in the traditional power centers, including various Arab capitals.

"Unilateral separation" one way or another
(January 15, 2001)
The separation plan would go into effect...in the event of one of the following three scenarios: as a response to a unilateral declaration of statehood on the part of the Palestinians; under a severe security threat; or as part of an agreement with the Palestinian Authority

Up in arms against Apartheid
(January 13, 2001)
At the end of the second millennium, three million Palestinians are imprisoned in ghettoes by the very man whom the Palestinian leadership hailed as the saviour of peace. Netanyahu had driven the peace ship off course. Barak scuttled it.

Locking in Oslo
(January 12, 2001)
The Americans and the Israelis continue to try to twist the screws. Their minimum goal now is to "lock in" the "Oslo Peace Process" approach to the conflict. It may be an "Apartheid Peace", and it may have resulted in considerable bloodshed, but even so it is leading to a form of "Palestinian Statehood" and "separation" that the Israelis strongly desire as the best alternative for themselves.

Sharon charges on
(January 12, 2001)
he long-serving (now recalled to Cairo) Egyptian Ambassador to Israel was quoted saying last week that if an Israeli-Palestinian agreement isn't reached in the next two weeks there won't be an agreement for the next two decades.

"Sharon leads to peace"
(January 11, 2001)
The last time the Israeli "Arab vote" was pushed toward Shimon Peres for Prime Minister -- back in 1996 -- there was much resistance. Then Peres was acting Prime Minister after the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, the Israeli Army had just committed the Qana massacre in Southern Lebanon, and Peres was busy trying to cover it up.

Grandfather Sharon
(January 10, 2001)
If the polls remain as disastrous as they now are for Ehud Barak, expect him to be pushed out and Shimon Peres substituted. Barak has no chance; Peres has some, especially with the "Arab vote".

The Dangerous weeks, months ahead
(January 10, 2001)
Guys like Commando-General-Prime Minster Ehud Barak don't go easily from the scene. Barak's daring-do was lavishly praised just a few years ago; now it has even the military types fretting. No telling just what Barak and friends might try in the next few weeks.

Assissination, siege and war crimes
(January 9, 2001)
The Israeli government, both as a group and as individuals, bears full responsibility for the crimes that were committed. We will do everything possible, including declaring members of this government war criminals who are eligible for trial by the world tribunal." Palestinian Authority "Minister"

Soul-searching Israelis
(January 9, 2001)
The "liberals" among them, the most cosmopolitan and internationally-oriented of the Israelis, are now getting extra nervous. Not only is Ariel Sharon coming to power, not only is regional war possible, not only are the cold treaties with Egypt and Jordan in jeopardy, but even Israel's future has come into question

Israel acts while Arafat talks
(January 8, 2001)
srael continues to take major steps designed to shrink, isolate and control the Palestinian areas forever. The policy is termed "unilateral separation" and it is linked to bringing about a so-called "Palestinian State" that serves Israeli interests, making everything worse than ever for the Palestinian "natives".

Clinton's Israel speech
(January 8, 2001)
On his way out the Presidential door Bill Clinton went to New York City to speak to his American Jewish supporters and further grease his way toward his future. This is the Bill Clinton that turned the U.S. government over to the Israeli/Jewish lobby in his years in office; of course pretending otherwise.

Specter of an "ugly future"
(January 5, 2001)
Lofty, humanitarian goals like 'peace and democracy'? No, America's primary interest in the Middle East is effective control of the world's most important energy reserves, Noam Chomsky tells Ha'aretz

Prime Minister Sharon
(January 5, 2001)
Did President Hindenburg and the German intelligentsia feel this way in 1930s when they saw that Adolf Hitler, and his brownshirt thugs, were about to be elected to power?

Barak and Sharon
(January 5, 2001)
While the Labor "Doves" are busy running ads in Arab papers showing dismembered corpses in Palestinian Refugee Camps -- with the caption "Sharon" -- the reality is that Generals Ehud Barak and Ariel Sharon are more two of a kind than anything else.

Arab nations add their voices to the chorus of despair
(January 4, 2001)
All chance of a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians in the near future is vanishing, destroyed by hardening opinions on both sides, continuing violence, the precarious position of the political leaders involved and disagreements over key issues.

Darling of American Jewry
(January 4, 2001)
Over the years, most of the strongest advocates of Israel have usually been people who are not Jewish....[I] look forward to working with him...

Barak publicly warns of regional war
(January 4, 2001)
Amid veiled threats from the Israelis to start targeting even more senior Arafat Regime persons, and even to bring the Arafat "Palestinian Authority" to an end, Ehud Barak has also started publicly talking about the possibility of regional war.

No deal for Arafat
(January 3, 2001)
In particular, the Palestinians are concerned that the proposed settlement would create Palestinian territorial islands separated from each other by Israeli territory and therefore not viable as a nation. They object to a proposed land swap that would allow some Israeli settlers to remain on the West Bank in exchange for land that the Palestinians claim is desert and a toxic waste dump.

Arafat rushes to Washington
(January 2, 2001)
Clinton and the Israelis have set the stage for the last act of their multi-year drama attempting to trap the Palestinians on controlled reservations and calling it "an end to the conflict". But like a modern-day computer game the users can interact and change the outcome to various scenarios.

Top Palestinian Leader in the Arafat Regime
(January 2, 2001)
The whole house of political quicksand built by Bill Clinton at the behest of the Israelis (and popularly known as the "Peace Process") is bubbling, steaming, and swallowing many of its key participants.

Arafat hangs up on threatening Clinton
(January 1, 2001)
The coming issue of TIME magazine reports that Arafat hung up the phone receiver on Clinton a few days ago, turning to an aide and saying: "He's threatening me!




© 2004 Mid-East Realities, All rights reserved