The humanitarian group, Viva Palestina, under the leadership of British Parliamentarian, George Galloway, made a heroic attempt to bring medical supplies into Gaza, also facing grave difficulties from the governments of Egypt and Israel. You can read up-to-date details on Viva Palestina here.
Though American corporate media covered very little of the Gaza Freedom March and Viva Palestina, blogs, internet news sites and independent news outlets covered these events extensively - as did news services across the globe. Despite corporate media's suppression of these events, independent media and global news sources gave them ample visibility, advancing the irrelevance of corporate media and accentuating corporate media's attempt to control the truth.
As more and more Americans become aware of the realities in the Middle-East, their newly-formed perspective provides more impetus to elect candidates with a balanced Middle East policy, since such policy benefits America. Such revelatory thinking would be alarming to legislators like Lieberman, Harman and Waxman, whose legislative foreign policy has been predicated on what benefits Israel the most. In fact, Joe Lieberman and John McCain are in Jerusalem today, traveling on our tax dollars to bolster Israel. Since they're there on our 'dime,' shouldn't we taxpayers have the right to demand they visit Gaza and the West Bank? But of course they won't. Instead they'll continue their biased foreign policy, just like Waxman and Harman, to the detriment of the United States.
In November, 2009, the same month Congressman Waxman's all-Israel anti-Winograd letter was distributed, he, too, was in Israel where he participated in the installation of a monument dedicated to September 11th.
Waxman's dedication to Israel is legend. His daughter resides there and his office is adorned with Israeli memorabilia. As his letter to Winograd elucidates, policy that is critical of Israel is "repugnant" to him and to Harman, who place Israel's interests at the apex of their legislative and political agenda. As Waxman says appreciatively of Harman, "Jane's staunch leadership and commitment to Israel are internationally recognized." It's Harman and Waxman's staunch commitment to Israel that is the basis for their desperate attempt to silence Marcy Winograd, an American Jewish candidate seeking a humane (and enlightened) Middle East policy that serves both Arabs and Jews.
That Israel would be the driving force for Waxman and Harman's fund raising effort above more relevant issues like jobs and housing, shows just how out of touch they are with people's daily struggles. It also shows how fearful they are that the popular Winograd prevails on issues people really care about - jobs, health care, a sound and vibrant economy, the environment, ending war, and more.
In his letter, Waxman states:
To me, the notion that a Member of Congress could hold these views [on Israel] is alarming. Ms. Winograd is far, far outside the bipartisan mainstream of views that has long insisted that US policy be based upon rock-solid support for our only democratic ally in the Middle East.
One could rightly assume, considering Israel's near universally condemned human rights abuses, that Waxman and Harman's ideological views of Israel are the views that are the most alarming - not Winograd's. Their nationalism consistently leans more toward Israel than it does toward America. It's high time that Lieberman, Waxman and Harman, who've been elected to serve this nation, direct their passions toward the best interests of America, and not the interests of Israel. Only then can they facilitate a revitalized Middle-East policy that leads to peace and understanding.
Of course, there's an even better solution to ending their influence on American foreign policy, and that is to vote all three of them out of office. In the case of Harman, whose formidable opponent Winograd is gaining traction every day, a November eviction from Congress is a mere eleven months away.
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