A number of pro-Israel European MPs and Jewish businessmen formed a new lobby in Europe.
Several pro-Israel European Union parliament members who were recently joined by a number of Jewish businessmen sponsoring their activity have decided to institutionalize their endeavor in order to boost cooperation between pro-Israel parliamentarians throughout the continent and help in improving Israel’s image there.
Now, we Arabs whine and cry over the influence that pro-Israel entities have in the US as if they have committed a crime. That's what we're good at: whinning and crying without thinking how they managed to organize themselves so effectively within America's political arena. And we don't just do that in politics only.
*Sigh*
Can’t they understand that the Jooos make a more compelling argument than they do? The Joooos say “Let us have a little land, and some money, we will defend it ourselves and treat all our citizens well, and we will make the desert bloom!” And then, they do it, and say “Thank you”.
If the Arabs were to adopt a positive message, one that could be neatly summed up as “Give us a resource, and we will put it to good use,” they would see a big change in the attitude of others toward them.
Comment by valerie — September 6, 2006 @ 1:19 pm
If the israeli lobby was so effective, why are there so many people against israel?
something must have gotten wrong there
Comment by Suzanne — September 6, 2006 @ 3:45 pm
Europe Gets Its First Pro-Israel Lobby
Europe gets its AIPAC… A new organization named “European Friends of Israel” is expected to be inaugurated next week in Brussels with the aim of becoming an AIPAC-type pro-Israel lobby in Europe. Several pro-Israel European Union parliament members…
Trackback by Subzero Blue — September 6, 2006 @ 3:56 pm
Well, I hope that this effort does some good. The Jewish people have to do something to counteract the anti-semitism. Just defending against the hateful rants of the BBC is nearly a full-time job! Sadly, people are not just accepted as individuals; there is prejudice and intolerance in the world. I think that anti-semitism and racial/ethnic prejudice (and I mean toward any group, not just the Jewish people) is a form of severe mental disturbance. It’s frankly crazy,
Comment by lynne — September 7, 2006 @ 2:36 am
I think that most people are still against Israel because, effective as AIPAC is, it is not all that powerful.
Well, first of all, most people are against Israel in Europe because the Jews are relatively few in number and, though affluent for the most part, they have little political influence. The vast majority of opinionmakers in the media, academia, government, and so forth are unfriendly to Israel.
But AIPAC’s power is even exagerated in the USA. AIPAC may have influence in Congress, but it doesn’t control the media or academia or the State Department or the CIA. Or the US military or the immensely influential oil industry there. As for US presidents, sometimes they’ve been pro-Zionist (Truman, Johnson, Nixon, Reagan, Clinton, Bush fils) and sometimes not so pro (Roosevelt, Eisenhower, Carter, Bush pere)but they were or weren’t for their own reasons.
I have the impression that the Israel lobby in the USA is more powerful than its defenders say, but less powerful than its detractors say.
Also, the Arabs have their own compelling story that is well-received in the US, too: Palestine was Arab, but European Jewish immigrants took it over illegally…they were just European colonialists…returning the land to Arab control would be the last important victory against colonialism. Or having a two-state solution would be an incomplete but acceptable victory.
Oversimplified, maybe. But simplicity works, especially when it fits neatly into the New Left framework of viewing all international affairs in the last 50 years.
Comment by Joanne — September 13, 2006 @ 4:55 pm