Kevin Barrett

Yesterday we learned that three Israeli suspects have confessed to burning to death Palestinian teenager Mohammed Abu Khdair. The killers even re-enacted their grisly deed for police.

The Western media is treating this incident as an isolated outrage. It is not. During the past 14 years, Israelis have murdered one Palestinian child every four days, on average.

During the second half of June, while the Zionist-dominated global media relentlessly hyped the “three kidnapped Israeli teens” story, several Palestinians were shot to death by the IDF, including 15-year-old Mohammed Dudin, who was murdered in Dura on June 20th. Corporate media coverage of the killing of Mohammed Dudin was negligible. To the mainstream media, the lives of Israeli Jews are priceless, while those of Palestinians are worth little or nothing.

Statistics bear out this conclusion. A study by If Americans Knew found that the New York Times, America’s newspaper of record, reported Israeli children’s deaths at 6.8 times the rate of Palestinian children’s deaths.

In an exclusive interview with Truth Jihad Radio, Palestinian professor Mazin Qumsiyeh said: “We have a huge problem in the way American media portrays the situation. Between the year 2000, when an uprising started against the occupation, until today, there have been over 1,540 Palestinian children killed by Israeli soldiers and illegal settlers. These children are barely mentioned anywhere in Western media; whereas every time an Israeli is killed, rare as that may be compared to the number of Palestinian children and civilians killed, we hear everything in detail about these people.”

What explains the disparity? The New York Times, like much of the Western mainstream media, is owned and operated by Zionists. In an article entitled “Do Jews Dominate in American Media? And So What If We Do?” Jewish ex-New York Times journalist Philip Weiss notes that pro-Israel Jews do indeed dominate US corporate media. He adds: “The result is that Americans are not getting the full story re Israel/Palestine.”

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If Americans Knew

Israel has a population of approximately 7.7 million, or a million fewer than the state of New Jersey. It is among the world's most affluent nations, with a per capita income similar to that of the European Union.[1] Israel's unemployment rate of 6.3% is much better than America's 8.2%,[2] and Israel's net trade, earnings, and payments is ranked 146th in the world while the US sits at a dismal 193rd.[3]

Yet, Israel receives more of America’s foreign aid budget than any other nation.[4] The US has, in fact, given more aid to Israel than it has to all the countries of sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean combined—which have a total population of over a billion people.[5]

And foreign aid is just one component of the staggering cost of our alliance with Israel. Given the tremendous costs, it is critical to examine why we lavish so much aid on Israel, and whether it is worth Americans' hard-earned tax dollars. But first, let's take a look at what our alliance with Israel truly costs.

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Alison Weir

On January 13th the Atlanta Jewish Times featured a column by its owner-publisher suggesting that Israel might someday need to “order a hit” on the president of the United States.

In the column, publisher Andrew Adler describes a scenario in which Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu would need to “give the go-ahead for U.S. based Mossad agents to take out a president deemed unfriendly to Israel.”

The purpose? So that the vice president could then take office and dictate U.S. policies that would help the Jewish state “obliterate its enemies.”

Adler writes that it is highly likely that the idea “has been discussed in Israel’s most inner circles.”

Numerous Jewish leaders quickly condemned Adler, who has now apologized for the column, resigned, and there are some reports that he plans to put the newspaper up for sale. An Israeli columnist noted that the hatred being stirred up against Obama is similar to conditions in Israel that led to the murder of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin by a Jewish extremist.

Many of those criticizing Adler claim that he had defamed Israel by suggesting that it would ever do such a thing. Abe Foxman, head of the Jewish Anti-Defamation League (ADL) proclaimed: “There is absolutely no excuse, no justification, no rationalization for this kind of rhetoric. It doesn’t even belong in fiction.”

In reality, however, Adler’s expectation that Israel’s inner circles have explored such a course of action, and would be willing to undertake it, may be entirely accurate. The fact is that Israel has killed and plotted to assassinate people throughout the world; a number have been Americans. One alleged plot was chillingly similar to Adler’s suggestion.

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William T. Hathaway

From the book
RADICAL PEACE: People Refusing War
by William T. Hathaway

I first met the man we'll call Trucker in 1970 at a rally against the Vietnam War. Our demo was going to start on the Berkeley campus and continue with a march down Telegraph Avenue. This was shortly after the National Guard and police had murdered six demonstrators at Kent State and Jackson State, so the mood was extremely tense. The Berkeley city government had denied us a permit to march and called in police reinforcements from Oakland. The Oakland cops had a reputation for brutality (based on their treatment of the black population), and we were expecting an ugly and possibly violent confrontation. Out of fear, many people decided not to march, but others of us argued that marching was now more important than ever. We needed to defy the government's attempts to scare us into silence.

After speeches and music in front of Sproul Hall, we marched off the campus and were met by a wall of police sealing off Telegraph Avenue. Some of our hard-cores in front tried to break through the barrier but were clubbed down. Cops began firing what looked liked shotguns, and people started screaming and running in panic, but it turned out to be tear gas.

A demonstrator wearing a biker helmet, swim goggles, and a cloth around his face picked up a gas canister with gloved hands and hurled it back at the police -- a classic scene of a brave individual defying tyranny. Inspired, I pulled off my old green beret that I'd been wearing and used it to protect my hands as I scooped up a hot canister and threw it back where it came from. I thought about all the grenades I'd thrown in Vietnam and felt much better about this one.

The first line of cops, those who were firing, wore gas masks, but those behind didn't, and I felt a surge of triumph seeing them run from their own gas. But the ones in masks kept advancing and firing, looking like robots.

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Stephen Lendman

On January 23, Occupy AIPAC announced plans to confront the powerful Israeli Lobby in Washington from March 2 - 6. More on what's planned below.

Since last September, OWS inspired affiliate groups. Among others they include Occupy Together, Occupy Everything, Occupy Arrests, Occupy Police, Occupy Marines, Occupy Veterans, Occupy Writers, Occupy Filmakers, Occupy Schools, Occupy the World Wide Web, Occupy Freedom, Occupy NATO, Occupy Congress, Occupy the White House, and Occupy Your State Capital America.

Many communicate online through social networks like Facebook. They spread information globally and hopefully inspire others to join a worldwide movement for change.

From March 4 - 6, AIPAC will hold its annual Washington conference. Deferentially, politicians, presidents, their hangers-on, media scoundrels and others show up to pay homage to its influence and the government it represents.

AIPAC's an unregistered foreign agent. Calling itself "America's Pro-Israel Lobby," it's represented Israeli interests since founded in 1953. In 1963, it was incorporated as a division of the American Zionist Council (AZC), its precursor.

Virtually no one in Congress confronts it. Doing so is a career-ender. Notably, it has virtual veto power over war and peace, trade and investment, multi-billion dollar arms sales, enormous handouts to Israel, and all Middle East policies affecting the Jewish state under Democrat and Republican administrations alike.

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Stephen Lendman

America is unmatched globally. However, pound for pound, based on size, its policies, and regional threat, Israel stands out. Daily, its crimes against humanity continue.

On January 23, Jerusalem police arrested two Palestinian officials, Khaled Abu Arafeh and Mohammed Totah.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said both men were wanted for unspecified "Hamas activities" with no further comment.

Hamas, of course, is Palestine's legitimate government. Israel and America spuriously call it a terrorist organization. Hamas spokesman Mushir al-Masri said arresting both men was a "Zionist crime." Palestine's parliament hasn't functioned since Hamas and Fatah split in 2007.

Both men were arrested at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Sheikh Jarrah offices. For the past 18 months, they sought refuge there protesting Israel's illegal deportation orders after their ID cards were revoked.

Abu Arafah served as Hamas minister for Jerusalem affairs. Totah's a Hamas PLC representative. Months earlier, Hamas legislator Mahmoud Atoun was arrested. He also sought ICRC refuge.

Hamas parliamentarians are repeatedly targeted. Around two dozen remain imprisoned. Twenty are uncharged under administrative detention. At one time, 40 Hamas PLC members were lawlessly incarcerated for belonging to the wrong party, not any crimes they committed.

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Stephen Lendman

Photo: A Palestinian woman hangs her laundry on the roof of her house close to a concrete wall, part of the controversial Israeli security barrier which separates the West Bank town of Abu Dis from east-Jerusalem on June 30, 2004. (Reuters/Reinhard Krause)

Instead of peace, reconciliation, equity and justice, Israel plans settlement expansions and more Walls. More on them below.

At the same time, Abbas broke his pledge about no peace talks unless settlement expansions stop. Chief negotiators Saeb Erekat and Yitzhak Molcho are meeting in Amman, Jordan. They're joined by Quartet representatives.

Netanyahu's spokesman Mark Regev claims "talks are intended to move forward to negotiations."

PLO spokesman Xavier Abu Eid said, "We are just trying to create the right environment for talks." Chief negotiator Saeb Erekat sidestepped controversy, saying "I would not make a big deal out of it." According to Abbas:

The meeting "was a response to a noble initiative by the brothers in Jordan in an attempt to push forward the peace process and to bridge gaps."

"God willing, results of this meeting will be revealed in the coming two days, and based on that we will set the suitable grounds for resuming negotiations. This would be positive, and we hope Jordan will succeed."

In fact, Abbas and other PLO leaders know decades of peace talks proved fruitless. Israel doesn't negotiate. It demands. Settlement construction won't stop. Neither will Israel's Separation Wall and others on three borders - Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan. More on them below.

Claiming meeting in Amman doesn't begin new talks is duplicitous, even though what follows is uncertain. Hamas denounced them. Spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri wants them boycotted, saying they replicate a "failed policy."

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) calls them an affront, a clear setback, and "severe political mistake," benefitting Israel alone. The Palestinian Democratic Union (FIDA) opposes them while land theft, home demolitions, and settlement expansions continue.

They benefit Israel at the expense of Palestine. Notably, as talks began, Israel's Housing Ministry announced 300 new East Jerusalem housing units on stolen Palestinian land. They're part of 500 units announced in mid-December.

At the time, Housing Minister Ariel Atias said it's "clear that in any future agreement, these neighborhoods will stay under Israel's sovereignty," as well as others yet to be announced.

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Stephen Lendman

A Palestinian boy drinks water in the southern Gaza Strip
town of Rafah Oct. 21, 2009. Palestinians face dire water
shortage because of both bad management and Israeli
restrictions. (Xinhua/Khaled Omar)

Water is essential to life. Denying it is criminal. Water and sanitation are recognized as indispensable human rights.

In July 2010, the General Assembly's Resolution 64/292 affirmed it. It called on member states and international organizations to:

"provide financial resources, build capacity and transfer technology, particularly to development countries, in scaling up efforts to provide safe, clean, accessible and affordable drinking water and sanitation for all."

Dozens of countries incorporated water rights in their constitutional or statute laws. Most, however, haven't fulfilled promised goals.

In her 2002 book titled, "Water Wars: Privatization, Pollution, and Profit,” activist/ecologist Vandana Shiva called water rights natural and "usufructuary....water can be used but not owned."

It belongs to everyone as an essential "basis of all life. (U)nder customary laws, the right to water has been accepted as a natural, social fact."

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Stephen Lendman

Is Israel a rogue state?

Rogue states spurn international law, treaties, conventions, and in Israel's case its own laws and Supreme Court decisions.

Daily examples offer proof, including from Ahmed el-Helah and Mariam Itani's new book titled, "The Suffering of the Palestinian Child under the Israeli Occupation," saying:

Over a million Palestinian children "live and suffer every moment of their lives under the painful reality of occupation."

Growing numbers are killed, injured, maimed, handicapped, arrested, imprisoned, and tortured. Most are impoverished and many hungry.

● "What about those who have lost their parents, friends, brothers and sisters due to" continuous Israeli oppression?
● "What about the children who live in fear and who suffer distress or cannot sleep, who feel unprotected in the face of a ruthless and arrogant Israeli occupation?"
● They're Palestine's children, out of sight and mind to most people everywhere. Who outside Palestine understands their suffering?
● Who can imagine the indifference of world leaders, supporting a ruthless, racist occupier, disdainful of human and civil rights?
● Who understands enduring daily assaults, police state justice, and fear of being bombed, shot, or otherwise harmed? How do you comfort young children to hold up in the face of what adults can't tolerate?

From September 29, 2000 (the start of the second Intifada) through December 31, 2008, Palestinian children witnessed around 5,900 killings and another 35,000 Israeli caused injuries. [If Americans Knew]

During Israel's war on Gaza, another 1,400 died and thousands sustained injuries, many of them permanently disabling.

Children enduring Israeli atrocities "lose their childhood and innocence, just as they lose hope and joy in their lives."

The occupation's extreme harshness causes physical and emotional problems. It also "ignite(s) the spirit of resistance and deepen(s) hatred" against a rogue oppressor disdainful of their rights.

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Alison Weir

On 14 May 1948, one day before the British Mandate expired,
David Ben-Gurion unilaterally declared the establishment of the
State of Israel, referring to the decision of the UN General As-
sembly as a legal justification for the establishment of the state.

[Detailed citations for the information below are available at "The History of Israel-U.S. Relations, Part One."]

To better understand the Palestinian bid for membership in the United Nations, it is important to understand the original 1947 U.N. action on Israel-Palestine.

The common representation of Israel’s birth is that the U.N. created Israel, that the world was in favor of this move, and that the U.S. governmental establishment supported it. All these assumptions are demonstrably incorrect.

In reality, while the U.N. General Assembly recommended the creation of a Jewish state in part of Palestine, that recommendation was non-binding and never implemented by the Security Council.

Second, the General Assembly passed that recommendation only after Israel proponents threatened and bribed numerous countries in order to gain a required two-thirds of votes.

Third, the U.S. administration supported the recommendation out of domestic electoral considerations and took this position over the strenuous objections of the State Department, the CIA, and the Pentagon.

The passage of the General Assembly recommendation sparked increased violence in the region. Over the following months the armed wing of the pro-Israel movement, which had long been preparing for war, perpetrated a series of massacres and expulsions throughout Palestine, implementing a plan to clear the way for a majority-Jewish state.

It was this armed aggression, and the ethnic cleansing of at least three-quarters of a million indigenous Palestinians, that created the Jewish state on land that had been 95 percent non-Jewish prior to Zionist immigration and that even after years of immigration remained 70 percent non-Jewish. And despite the shallow patina of legality its partisans extracted from the General Assembly, Israel was born over the opposition of American experts and of governments around the world, who opposed it on both pragmatic and moral grounds. Let us look at the specifics.

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