Tag: Jeff Blankfort

Jeff Blankfort: Whither the Israel Lobby?

George Kenney interviews Jeff Blankfort on the Israel Lobby at Electric Politics. We’ve only slightly truncated the talk here which you can listen to in full at EP. Jeff is always worth a listen and also comments on the recent developments involving General Petraeus and his report to Admiral Mullen, with this proposition for bringing down the Lobby:

If, flanked by General Petraeus and Admiral Mike Mullen, Obama went before the American people, and told them in so many words what Petraeus told Mullen what Petraeus said in his testiomony – his prepared testimony — to the Senate Armed Services Committee, that the failure of israel to step up to the plate and withdraw from the Occupied [Palestinian] Territories and continue to build [illegal] settlements is against US national interests and is endangering our soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq. If he did that … the Lobby, if not collapse, it would be a major defeat for them … it would change American politics.

The Undue Influence of the Israel Lobby

by Jeffrey Blankfort

Despite the repeated humiliations suffered during his recent visit to Israel, US Vice President Joe Biden continued to grovel publicly to his Israeli hosts. Yet, according to Yediot Ahronoth, Israel’s most widely read newspaper, Biden had privately complained to the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel’s behavior was “starting to get dangerous for us.” “What you’re doing here,” he reportedly said, “undermines the security of our troops who are fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. That endangers us, and it endangers regional peace.” That Biden made such a statement has been denied by the White House, but it follows closely an earlier memorandum sent by General Petraeus to the Joint Chiefs of Staff and his testimony before a US Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday.

In his prepared statement, Petraeus depicted the Israeli-Arab conflict as the first “cross cutting challenge to security and stability” in the CENTCOM area of responsibility [AOR]. “The enduring hostilities between Israel and some of its neighbors present distinct challenges to our ability to advance our interests in the AOR.”

Treading in an area where few members of the US military have dared to go before, Petraeus observed that “The conflict foments anti-American sentiment, due to a perception of U.S. favoritism for Israel. Arab anger over the Palestinian question limits the strength and depth of U.S. partnerships with governments and peoples in the AOR and weakens the legitimacy of moderate regimes in the Arab world.” It should be noted that neither the New York Times’s Elizabeth Bumiller nor the Washington Post’s Anne Flaherty included any reference to these comments by Petraeus in their coverage of his testimony.

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Jeff Blankfort on AIPAC and Jinsa

jeffreyBlankfortJeff Blankfort on Flashpoints Radio examining the recent letter to Obama that exposed the hand of AIPAC, and the neocon Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA) essay calling for US military attacks on ‘partisan’ media.

Jeff Blankfort – Flashpoints Radio (18:25): MP3