Letter: U.S. should support Palestinians; stop giving Israel money
Dear Honorable Citizens of Dubois County
Israel aggravates the other nations of the Middle East and the rest of the world by illegally building peace destroying “settlements” on occupied Palestinian lands because, with a true peace in the Middle East, Israel would find it much harder to get billions in free American aid.
Just a couple of months ago, the USA promised the State of Israel $38 billion dollars. It is the biggest pledge of aid in US history. The US has to borrow the money just to give it away, yet we Republicans complain about our tremendous deficit. Just not Republican logic.
The Israeli’s need billions of U.S. taxpayer’s assistance for them to continue to give free health care and free college education to their citizens, (the U.S. cannot afford for its citizens). What logic is there that justifies such stupidity on the part of Americans? The “swamp infested” corrupt Congressmen and Senators along with other bribed entities allow Israel to control US foreign policy which has cost the lives of so many good American Servicemen.
The United States is right to question Israel’s desire to disrupt the peace process when they deny the two-state peace solution agreed to by every President since Reagan.
If Americans truly believe in freedom, democracy and self-determination, the United States of America, as the world’s beacon of democracy, should support the Palestine people and their right of self-determination and desire for basic human rights.
We need to join the rest of the world in condemning Israel’s illegal enslavement and subjugation activities. Netanyahu’s ultra-right wing administration of Israel gets upset and demands that the U.S. go against the opinion of the whole world using its veto power to defend their illegal actions in Palestine.
Mr. Trump promised to drain the D.C. swamp. I reckon only time will tell if he was really honest with the American people or just a showman. Recent remarks make it appear that Mr. Trump is putting Israel’s selfish interests before that of Americas.
So far, it doesn’t look good. I hope for my country’s sake, I am wrong. I do pray Mr. Trump will be a good President.
Dan Barrett
Jasper, Ind.
It would be difficult to find anything remotely accurate in this unintentionally-hilarious, Orwellian rewriting of history masquerading as an editorial, but I will restrict myself to the following points:
The myth of Arab Muslim victimhood is cheap propaganda stemming from the failed Arab attempts to destroy Israel, and drive its Jewish population “into the sea.”
The anti-Israel left continues to pander to the irrational, bigoted demands of the Middle East’s Arab Muslim majority to suppress the region’s only non-Muslim state, in favor of yet another Arab Muslim country. That blatant disregard for the rights of anyone who is not an Arab Muslim is precisely the reason why the Jews of Israel had to fight for national independence.
The mere existence of Israel proclaims the national rights of the Jewish INDIGENOUS population of Israel; a country and a people that predate Arab colonialism and will outlive it as well.
Great job! You nailed it!
Poppycock! This land has always been Israels given to them by God Almighty Himself. The Arabs have never had land or a capital in that region ever! The Palestinians came from a group of terrorist in the 60 or 70’s and are still terrorist to this day. You do remember Arafat and his PLO don’t you? Case closed. We must support Israel or run afoul of God.
Case not quite closed, Tom. One is always dubious of anyone who claims to have a direct line to God Almighty Himself. Your religious pomposity is outdone only by your abysmal knowledge of Mideast history. The Palestinians came to exist as a result of the PLO? Really? Wow.
Let me guess. You believe that Israel must exist because the Book of Revelations says it must in order for Jesus to return at the end of the world. We better all agree to that lest we “run afoul of God.”
Clayton Miller you got it correct! It would appear the Dan Barret has been watching too much CNN. They lie. Tom, YOU nailed it too! Right on. Obama may start WWIII before he leaves office if he stays on his recent course change. He’s stirring the pot in ALL of his failed foreign policies! God help us!
Dan, the Palestinians are a terrorists ORGANIZATION! In the They shelled Israel AFTER agreeing to a peace agreement! They target civilians (women and children). How can you POSSIBLY say ANYONE should support them?
Sorry, one last item, the Palestinians still (to this day) have a bounty on every Jew’s head. Meaning, they will pay money to ANYONE who kills Jews. They want all Jews dead. Wow! This is WHY it has been so difficult to come to any peace agreement.
Not only to what has been offered in these spot-on replies, but Mr Barret is a bit confused: He states we promised 38B in aid to Israel, but doesn’t mention the 150B given to Iran for ransom and their nuke (bomb) program – let’s call it for what it was – to be ultimately used against us and Israel. He then complains about the US taxpayer’s money going to Israel for free health care and college education when we can’t afford it for our own citizens. We can’t afford it for our CITIZENS, Mr Barret because of supporting and subsidizing NON-citizens – illegal aliens – and for funding other entitlement welfare programs to SO many who won’t work because (why should they?) they can have a higher standard of living on the government. Free to them but WORKING CITIZENS at just about any level above poverty PAY through the nose for it. And while on this, we shouldn’t be making it free to ANYONE for that matter, and we shouldn’t be raising the minimum wage as if it were a living wage. It’s not a living wage and was never designed to be. We have a terribly broken, maligned and misguided system under politically correct terms such as disenfranchised (have-nots), fairness (never has been and never will be – life itself is not “fair”), and equal opportunity (flat-out reverse racism).
Mrs. Green,
It’s always discouraging to hear you and other self described working class people denigrate other citizens about whom you know nothing except what you conjure up in your fevered imaginations. Your paranoia drives you to believe that it is always the OTHERS who are getting the benefits that rightly belong to you. You have a very jaundiced view of our country. I’m afraid you and those who think like you are a selfish pathetic lot.
And let’s see if you can ever write anything without invoking political correctness. It’s becoming extremely tiresome.
Wow! Let’s see if you, Mr. Newton, can ever write anything without your condescending “name-calling” and insults? That’s becoming extremely tiresome too. If “We the People” can’t get along, how is the rest of the world supposed to? We are ALL Americans.
Tom, Mrs. Green, Silent Majority —
Carl Palondino, successful real estate developer and chairman of Donald Trump’s New York state campaign, needs our help. A few days ago he expressed his wish that Obama die of mad cow disease after having relations with a herford and that Michelle Obama be returned to a gorilla zoo in Zimbabwe. Carl admitted that his comments were not politically correct.
Still, the crooked liberal media picked up the story, and now the leftists/liberals are criticizing Carl for telling it like it is. Apparently they don’t know that under Trump/Pence political correctness is a thing of the past.
Please let us know what you can do to help Carl.
Dan the only solution to peace in Palestine is the one state solution. The two state solution gives Israel territory and the Palestinians territory. The problem is the Palestinians are a divided group of Sunni Arabs who are moderate and radicalized. During the Ottoman Empire Palestine was controlled by the Turks and the Palestinians sided with the British in the overthrow of the Ottoman empire at the end of World War I. By the time World War II rolled around the leadership of the Palestinians had turned on the British and supported the Nazi Axis. Most of the Arab world did not side with the Nazi’s but the Palestinian leadership did. Both had a mutual hatred for Jews. When the Allied Powers won WWII, the result was those that supported the Axis Powers were punished.
“There had been tension and conflict between the Arabs and the Jews, and between each of them and the British forces, ever since the 1917 Balfour Declaration and the 1920 creation of the British Mandate of Palestine. British policies dissatisfied both Arabs and Jews. The Arabs’ opposition developed into the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine, while the Jewish resistance developed into the Jewish insurgency in Palestine (1944–1947). In 1947 these ongoing tensions erupted into civil war, following the 29 November 1947 adoption of the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine which planned to divide Palestine into three areas: an Arab state, a Jewish state and the Special International Regime for the cities of Jerusalem and Bethlehem.” -Wikipedia
This leads us to a post World War II situation when the Allied Powers were dividing up the conquered world, the Jews were given part of Palestine (UN Resolution 181, Nov. 1947) for their support during the war (30,000 Jews fought with the British in WWII)
The leadership in Palestine and many of the people have gone to war over this decision ever since. The Arabs rose up in May of 1948 and were defeated by Israel. The 1967 war saw Israel’s Arab neighbors rise up again and were handily defeated in 6 days. 1973 saw two powerful neighbors, Egypt and Syria surprise attack Israel and caught them off guard. Other Arab nations sent support only to see Israel rally and win the war. Why should Israel have to follow the UN Mandate after soundly defeating and enemy that won’t follow the UN mandate?
The Two State Solution really died with the Oslo Accords. The Accords, brokered by President Clinton, gave Area C of the West Bank to Israel, Area A of the West Bank to the PLO and Area B joint authority by the PLO to control local government and security by Israel in the West Bank. Because of the Gerrymandering of the map, it is impossible for a two state solution. Though the PLO leadership has agreed to Israel’s right to exist, Hamas, who is part of the PLO in Gaza does not recognize Israel’s right to exist and still fires hundreds of Rockets into Israel each year.
Now Arabs on the West Bank are seeing the prosperity and security that Israel provides for their Arab citizens in Israel is becoming desirable for them in the West Bank. They see the One State solution as a viable option. http://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-palestinian-one-state-2016-story.html
Look for the One State solution evolving in the West Bank and Israel and then dealing harshly with Hamas over the Gaza Strip.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oslo_Accords
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Bank_Areas_in_the_Oslo_II_Accord
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relations_between_Nazi_Germany_and_the_Arab_world
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_bombing_of_Mandatory_Palestine_in_World_War_II
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amin_al-Husseini
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab%E2%80%93Israeli_conflict
You are all mislead….Listen to the Benjamin Freedman speech on YouTube, and listen to him speak about the Balfour declaration, and the treaty of Versailles…. He was a Jew….And he was there, AND he was in the ZIONIST circle of power at the time…. The Jews, Arabs and Christians got along fairly well before the “Khazar invasion” of 1948 began….and the real terrorists began their “manifest destiny”… Go read the book ” The General’s son” by the son of an IDF general…. You will hear from the horse’s mouth what REALLY went on in Israel after the imposters got their so called homeland back….. The narrative most Americans believe is from the ZIONIST owned media… Israel was in on 9/11…… Go look into the evidence…. Look into what ex congressman James Traficant had to say about Israel…. One of the FEW that had the balls to come out with the truth…. Listen to what Norman Finkelstein has to say…. I can guarantee that if you took a couple of years of your life and spent investigating as much as I have, you will come to my same conclusions… The USA gives money to Israel to prevent the Samson Option…… Look into it…
Apparently a lot of comments here are somewhat baseless and nonfactual. I’ve been to Israel and Palestine. I wonder how many commenters have. I’ve seen the problems, desires and hopes of many people and cultures living in the Middle East. Ask yourself how you would feel, if you wanted to walk a couple of blocks from your home, but had to pass an armed checkpoint that didn’t speak your native tongue. Searched each time you passed and asked for ID papers. If you approach the checkpoint and an Israeli Soldier yells something at you from 50 feet away that you don’t understand, you must fall on the ground and wait till approached and searched. If you don’t you are shot. Before I was deployed to Teheran, Iran in 1979, I was with a Department of Defense group touring the area to help understand the problems of Israelis and Palestinians. I personally witnessed a killing of a young Palestinian woman by an Israeli soldier. She was approaching the army check point and was caring something in her hand. She did not stop for some reason, maybe she didn’t understand, maybe she was deaf, but she was shot multiple times. Our Israeli accompaniment later told us she was assumed to be carrying a bomb or weapon of some sort (though she wasn’t) and the soldier could not take any chances. Just recently an Israeli soldier was charged and found guilty of “manslaughter” by the Israeli military. Very rare this happens. The proof was a video of the soldier shooting a bullet through the head of a passive Palestinian man laying wounded on the ground. Yes it was murder of a “lessor being”, he not being part of God’s “chosen people”. Prime Minister Netanyahu, has called for his full pardon. And yes the once secret “Simon Option” is a major concern of all American administrations…but do we Americans have to forever bribe the Israelis not to exercise it ???
Help, I can’t find Palestine anywhere!!!!!!