Pronouncing Blame on the Israel Lobby Authors By Timothy Stinson

Pronouncing Blame on the Israel Lobby Authors

By Timothy Stinson

Al-Jazeerah, August 31, 2006

As international criticism of Israel grows, its defenders have sprung into action using the weapons of character assassination and attacking news sources viewed hostile to Israel's image.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in the column written by Dana Milbank (" Pronouncing Blame on the Israel Lobby").

While Mr. Milbank accused John Mearsheimer of singling out of Jews his article, his decision to comment on Mr. Mearsheimer's portion of this two part lecture, displays some singling out of his own.

Mr. Mearsheimer presented documentation which could be substantiated however, Mr. Walt's portion helped listeners form a more complete picture of how Pro-Israel individuals and groups operate in the background.

Milbank's decision single out University of Chicago political scientist John Mearsheimer, while overlooking the fact that the event hosted both Stephen Walt and University of Chicago political scientist John Mearsheimer together, highlights the degree to which selective hearing pervades U.S media and stifles political discourse on Israel.

He avoided discussion of Stephen Walt's portion of the lecture which addressed the role of Pro-Israel groups such as AIPAC and others on U.S news coverage. During this portion of the discussion, Mr. Walt discussed the openly Pro-Israel stance taken by cable news broadcasts and the fact that other international news sources such as the Guardian and Independent have also voiced these same opinions.

What was most interesting about Mr. Milbank's decision to attack the credibility of a story concerning disclosure of the fact that Israel had been planning to strike at Hezbollah for months and that key Israelis had briefed the administration about their intentions.

This is story was originally broken by Seymour Hersh on a live CNN broadcast and judging by Wolf Blitzer's response, this was a story which was clearly unwelcomed by supporters of Israel.

Another article In a San Francisco Chronicle story on July 21 it was stated that Israel had briefed U.S. officials with details of the plans, including PowerPoint presentations. it also mentions that Political science professor Gerald Steinberg of Bar-Ilan University told the newspaper that of all of Israel's wars since 1948, this was the one for which Israel was best prepared and that the preparation began in May 2000, immediately after the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.

In a July 30th Jerusalem Post article, it was reported that President Bush pushed Israel to expand the war beyond Lebanon and attack Syria.

In an article dated 08/21/06 of Foreign Policy In Focus, it was stated that there was evidence that Israel instigated the war against Lebanon at the urging of the United States. It goes on further to say that the Bush administration was set on crippling Hezbollah.

In an article on BBC's website an article stating that the U.S 'knew of Israel's bombing plan and that Israel and the United States were in close contact about Israel's war on Hezbollah long before it began.

In addition, Mr. Milbank stated that the role of non-Jewish supporters of the Israeli lobby was left out of this discussion such as individuals like John Bolton, President Bush and Vice President Cheney.

Perhaps, because of his decision not to address Mr. Walt's portion of the lecture, he missed the fact that the roles of John Bolton and Christian organizations such as the Christian Friends of Israel and others, were discussed.

It is of equal interest that he chose not to challenge the credibility of Seymour Hersh or stories published by other international news sources.

Dana Milbank's article represents the divide, conquer and discredit strategy employed by supporters of this administration and Israel to silence dissenting views of both.

Timothy Stinson Miami Lakes, Florida

Pronouncing Blame on the Israel Lobby http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/28/AR2006082801178_pf.html

Earth, a planet hungry for peace

Apartheid Wall


The Israeli Land-Grab Apartheid Wall built inside the Palestinian territories, here separating Abu Dis from occupied East Jerusalem. (IPC, 7/4/04).

The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers in the West Bank, like a Python. (Alquds,10/25/03).

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