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Why Should We Care?
It is, of course, a matter of justice. But if that does not resonate with most of our fellow citizens, malnourished as they are on the activities of Israeli "settlers", I will appeal below to the enlightened self-interest of Americans.
(As for the "settlers", I thank God Marine vets Matt Hoh and Mike Hanes were with me when armed settlers attacked a Veterans For Peace delegation in 2017 in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh, and later fired tear gas at us in Hebron! I was grateful that the welt on my left breast from a tear-gas cannister, fired at us in Hebron, was gone by the time I got home, so I did not have to tell family members who tend to worry - even when I go off with such sturdy companions.)
American self-interest. In a word, the mistreatment of Palestinians played a huge role in the terrorist attacks of 9/11. You can be forgiven for being unaware of that, if you take your information from the likes of the NY Times or academia, both of which - like the US government - shy away from telling the full story. They press the 'delete' button, sometimes literally - as I demonstrated in a Nov. 15, 2009 article I called "Shining Light on Roots of Terrorism". (See:
Here are short excerpts:
I cited the words of the 'mastermind' of 9/11, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, as to his motivation. He is quoted on page 147 of the 9/11 Commission Report published on July 22, 2004, as follows:
By his own account, KSM's animus toward the United States stemmed " from his violent disagreement with U.S. foreign policy favoring Israel.
My article continued:
A more convincing swing at this issue was taken in an unclassified study published by the Pentagon-appointed U.S. Defense Science Board on Sept. 23, 2004, just two months later. The board stated:
"Muslims do not 'hate our freedom,' but rather, they hate our policies. The overwhelming majority voice their objections to what they see as one-sided support in favor of Israel and against Palestinian rights, and the longstanding, even increasing support for what Muslims collectively see as tyrannies, most notably Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Pakistan, and the Gulf States.
"Closer to home, by further identifying itself with - and justifying - Israeli repression of the Palestinians, the United States helps breed more Khalid Sheikh Mohammeds and Ramzi Yousefs, more young terrorists determined to make Washington and the American people pay a price."
Nothing has changed. If Americans are kept in blissful ignorance of this, and Washington continues to give kneejerk support to Zionist Israel, terrorism cannot be kept from our shores.
PS: I gave a short talk on "Is Israel a US Ally?" at the National Press Club on March 7, 2014. You may wish to view it:
"Is Israel a U.S. Ally?" Ray's assigned topic for a National Press Club speech at the National Summit to Reassess the U.S.-Israel "Special Relationship" .youtube.com/watch?v=-r97vxvl-MI March 7, 2014 (19 minutes) (from the archive but, alas, highly relevant still) Post Views: 1,794
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