Michael Pitkowsky http://www.jta.org/user/profile/68469 en-us zsilberman@washingtonjewishweek.com Copyright 2012 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 The report about Netanyahu agreeing to some sort of international involvement was reported on Israeli Channel 1 and 2 news this evening. Ships would be given the option of docking at either Ashdod or El-Arish and having their cargo examined there. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 According to J Street, "Any settlement expansion is a threat to Israel's future..." Do they mean no more apartments in French Hill and Ramot? 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 For Norman Podhoretz, what he understands as stronger Republican support for Israel should be the straw that breaks the camel's back. If everything else hasn't convinced you as a Jew to vote Republican, then this issue will. As Podhoretz himself said in the WSJ op-ed, "there were reasons" and "because of all this...". It is not one issue, but a number of issues, of which support for Israel should be the knockout punch. Wieseltier makes the same point. Support for Israel is Podhoretz's nuclear option, if nothing else has worked, this one should. Regarding Joe Klein's columns, he does not bring one citation from any neo-con that the primary reason that they supported the war in Iraq was because it was good for Israel. That it might have been one of the reasons, what's wrong with that. I guess that Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney are still trying to plot how they can lead the US to war on behalf of Israel. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Massing is also wrong when he said that "Until recently, the activities of pro-Israel lobbying groups like AIPAC were all but ignored by reporters fearful of being branded anti-Semitic or anti- Israel." I used my journalistic skills (lol) and did some searching on the internet for some articles which discuss the Israel lobby. My results, without even using any sophisticated databases, are the following articles which discuss AIPAC and the Israel Lobby: 1. Time Magazine,"Foreign Policy: American Jews and Israel," March 10, 1975 2. Time Magazine, "The Agony Over Israel" May 7, 1990. 3. Time Magazine, "Diplomacy Thou Shalt Not Build," Sept. 30, 1991 4. Newsweek, "Bush Vs. The Israel Lobby," Sept. 23, 1991 5. Newsweek, "The Coming Cutbacks in Military Money," March 18, 1991 6. Newsweek, "A Marriage on the Rocks," Sept. 30, 1991 7. Newsweek, "Sununu and the Jews," July 8, 1991 8. Newsweek, "Bush Bashes Israel," March 3, 1992 9. NY Times, "The Power of Washington's Israel Lobby," Nov. 8, 1981 10. NY Times, "Pro-Israel Lobby Readies for Fight," Sept. 15, 1991 11. NY Times, "Pro-Israel Lobby's Low Key Power," March 24, 1984 The list goes on and on. One thing that the internet definitely has made easier is finding out when people are making claims that are just plain untrue. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Speaking of Roger Cohen, the other day he was channeling Bibi Netanyahu. Bibi from his interview with Jeffrey Goldberg: “You don’t want a messianic apocalyptic cult controlling atomic bombs. When the wide-eyed believer gets hold of the reins of power and the weapons of mass death, then the entire world should start worrying, and that is what is happening in Iran.” Roger Cohen in a recent column: "The third is that a faction loyal to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, fiercely nationalistic and mystically religious, has made a power grab so bold that fissures in the establishment have become canyons." 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 So what happened to the all powerful Israel Lobby that determines US foreign policy? I guess that it may not be so powerful as W-M would like it to be. Congressional resolutions only go so far. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00