DECLARING INDEPENDENCE FROM ISRAEL

                                              

  
The rising bipartisan anger at Israel for Iran and the Gaza genocide offers a new hope for American independence and global freedom.

When America’s founders were considering whether to reject royal rule, the central question was “Are men good enough to rule themselves?” The answer depends on whether a People will support representatives who adopt policies that promote the common good. For much of our history, this has been the case.

Washington warned us to “beware the rise of factionalism.” Having ignored his counsel, we now find ourselves at the mercy of a two-party system dominated by an amoral Epstein class that pays for the elections of candidates who will maximize returns on their domestic and international investments.

Having a choice between two candidates supported by an economic elite cannot produce government of, by, and for the People. Ours represents those who profit most from its policies.  This is in no sense a “democracy,” representative or otherwise, yet the illusion persists.

Politicizing social issues creates hostility between those who consider themselves “conservative” or “liberal.”  American voters increasingly cling to their parties, however reluctantly, more out of fear of the other party than enthusiasm for their own.  Unless one party controls both Congress and the White House, this produces Congressional gridlock on social issues, while the two major parties remain united in supporting Wall Street war profiteers.

Until recently, the costs of Mideast wars have not been a factor in elections. That may change soon. The economic fallout of the Israeli-American attack on Iran has shown to average Americans that equating US interests with those of Israel comes at a cost.

If we recognized this attack as the direct consequence of American imperial policies it is, liberals and conservatives might unite in opposition to them. Instead of increasing the budget of the War Department to over $1 trillion, we could work together to slash it by eliminating overseas bases, investing the peace dividend in America.

Washington cautioned us to beware “foreign entanglements.” This bedrock principle of national security has been abandoned in the pursuit of imperial spoils.

The last president who seriously challenged Israel was Kennedy. Recently declassified documents from the JFK files reveal that while he was trying to rein in the CIA following the Bay of Pigs, he was also pushing Israel to allow inspection of the reactor at which it was developing nuclear weapons. Of note, Kennedy was also pushing to have AIPAC designated a foreign lobby until the day he was assassinated. During this time, CIA Chief of Counterintelligence James Angleton worked closely with Israel to undermine Kennedy’s efforts.

 

This is not to imply that Israel was complicit in the murder. The point is that Angleton, like the foreign policy establishment today, saw Israel as essential to the US imperial project. Four years later, LBJ took a fateful step in wedding US foreign policy to that of Israel when he covered up the Israeli attack on the USS Liberty in international waters on June 8, 1967. The pattern was set.

The desire to control global oil supplies and the rise of the neocons led to our unholy alliance with Israel. Growing bipartisan disgust with Israeli aggression could end it.

After decades of unquestioned US support for its apartheid and expansionist policies, Israel’s angry rejection of President Trump’s attempts to end the war with Iran presents an opportunity for liberals and conservatives to find common ground.

A People that supports genocide and wars across the globe for corporate profit is morally incapable of ruling itself. Let us now declare independence from Israel. Only when Americans unite to oppose war can we liberate ourselves and the victims of colonialism and imperialism. None of us are free until all of us are.