marshall_8-10_Special Report 12/9/10 1:18 PM Page 8
U.S. Elections Mean a Big Win for the Israeli Right SpecialReport
AFP PHOTO/HAZEM BADER
By Rachelle Marshall
Israeli soldiers in Hebron’s occupied Old City stop a Palestinian family on its way to visit relatives for the Eid al-Adha holiday, Nov. 17, 2010. ot since 9/11 has an event in the U.S.
Ngiven Israel’s far-right leaders as
much to cheer about as did the 2010 midterm elections. The destruction of the World Trade Center by Muslim extremists in 2001 united former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and George W. Bush in a “war on terror” aimed as much at Hamas and Hezbollah as at violent religious extremists. It also gave the Bush administration an excuse to invade Iraq—Israel’s principal enemy at the time. Two days after the Republicans’ sweeping victory last November, Knesset member Danny Danon predicted it would result in greater resistance by Congress to White House pressure on Israel. “The huge influx of newly elected representatives and senators to Washington,” Danon said, “inRachelle Marshall is a free-lance editor living in Mill Valley, CA. A member of A Jewish Voice for Peace, she writes frequently on the Middle East. 8
cludes strong friends of Israel who will put the brakes on the consistently dubious, sometimes dangerous policies of President Obama these past two years.” Ari Fleischer, White House spokesman under George W. Bush, noted gleefully that “The takeover of the House by Republicans is great news for Israel and her supporters. The House leadership and almost every GOP member is rock-solid behind Israel.” Such news may not be good for America, however. In a November speech to the Jewish Federation of North America, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu urged the U.S. not to rule out military action if Iran fails to halt its nuclear activities, and implied that Israel would do so if international sanctions failed. An Israeli attack on Iran would be certain to have strong backing from the recently augmented pro-Israel wing of Congress, and as Israel’s chief arms supplier, the U.S. could find itself embroiled in war against yet a third Muslim country. THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
Right-wing zealots had even more reason to celebrate with the rise of Ileana RosLehtinen (R-FL) to head the powerful House Foreign Affairs Committee. RosLehtinen is a spokesperson for Israeli nationalists, and obsessive in her hostility to the Palestinians. Democrat Howard Berman, whom she is replacing, was a steadfast supporter of Israel but unlike Ros-Lehtinen he did not urge that all PLO representatives be expelled from the U.S., and all funding for the Palestinian Authority be cut off, until Palestinians agreed to recognize Israel as a Jewish state. Prime Minister Netanyahu wasted no time taking advantage of the election results. Within days of the Republican victory his government ordered the demolition of 88 more Palestinian homes in Arab East Jerusalem’s Silwan neighborhood, and announced plans to build 320 new units in the city’s Ramot section and 1,000 in Har Homa. All are in an area of the West Bank Israel captured from Jordan in 1967 and JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2011