America & Israel

IT was inconceivable even a few years ago. Let us not forget that the United States is a country where African-Americans were denied basic civil rights well into the 1960s. Yet the US did itself proud last year when diverse liberal forces banded together in a rare show of unity to opt for change and elect Barack Obama as the country’s 44th president. Some touted his election as the rebirth of America, a nation that has historically been open to new ideas and new beginnings. The US is a country that has produced some of the ablest, most brilliant minds in the world. At the same time, however, America has wilfully chosen blindness over sight where Israel is concerned. Any meaningful discussion on Israel is simply not kosher in the United States and the mass media there consistently portrays only one side of the story. Will the election of the young, idealistic Barack Obama change this reality? Going by his statements so far, it is clear that he adheres to the popular perception in the US which is based largely on misinformation. So what we will get, more likely than not, is continued US patronage of a state that sponsors terrorism as a birthright. What will continue to be forgotten is the basic fact that any nation under foreign occupation has a right to resist.

A person need not be sympathetic to the Hamas cause to shed a tear for the Palestinian children killed by Israeli bombardment. It does not require the wisdom of a sage to realise that Hamas is trying to fight an enemy it cannot possibly defeat. What is required is peace. But peace will never break out so long as America keeps turning a blind eye to Israeli barbarity and refuses to assess the situation on the ground in the capacity of an honest broker. For the US, Israel can do no wrong whereas much of the world thinks otherwise. The distinction between the aggressor and the oppressed is clear even in European minds. What one finds in the European media is, relatively speaking, objective analysis. It is sometimes claimed in America that the European soft spot for Palestinians stems from prejudice rooted in the treatment of Jews in Europe. Nothing could be further from the truth. There are racists everywhere, and America is no exception. It’s just that in some parts of the world an ear is lent to both sides of the story. Not so in America.