Israel’s War Against Palestine: Documenting the Military Occupation of Palestinian and Arab Lands

Joe Klein: Israelophilia

19 November 2009

Dov Hikind is not only a U.S. citizen, but also a member of the NY state legislature… and he wants to buy property in an illegal Jewish settlement, in an East Jerusalem neighborhood that the U.S. government considers a disputed area where no additional construction should be taking place? Indeed, it is an area that would be the capital of Palestine, if and when we achieve a two-state solution.

IOA Editor: Irrespective of the warped comment on “the deal negotiated by Bill Clinton (and foolishly rejected by the Palestinians),” a view common in US media and among those not doing critical, careful fact-checking – including Klein, “a lifetime supporter of the Jewish state,” who feels the need to state it – this commentary shows the changes currently underway in how Israeli aggression is covered in the US.

For facts and myths on the Bill Clinton “deal,” see Gush Shalom’s presentation: Barak’s “Generous Offers”



By Joe Klein, Swampland / Time.com blog – 19 Nov 2009
http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2009/11/19/israelophilia/

Let me get this straight: Dov Hikind is not only a U.S. citizen, but also a member of the New York state legislature…and he wants to buy property in an illegal Jewish settlement, in an East Jerusalem neighborhood that the U.S. government considers a disputed area where no additional construction should be taking place? Indeed, it is an area that would be the capital of Palestine, if and when we achieve a two-state solution.

This U.S. policy is not new. It has stood through Republican and Democratic Presidents since the Israeli occupation of the West Bank in 1967. There is a reason for that: the United States believes that it is in our national interests that the Israeli occupation end. Since the presidency of George W. Bush, the official policy has been that the occupation end with a two-state solution. Even before Bush, in the deal negotiated by Bill Clinton (and foolishly rejected by the Palestinians), and in every negotiation since, the assumption is that Jerusalem would be the capital of both Israel and Palestine. The continuing illegal construction of Jewish colonies in East Jerusalem makes such a deal less likely, if not impossible.

Therefore, Dov Hikind is acting against the best interests of the United States, as defined by Presidents of both parties over the past 40 years. He has, of course, every right to disagree and campaign against those policies. But I wonder, as an American citizen, what it means when he acts against our national interests, by seeking to buy property in a Palestinian area. Is that legal? Just barely, I’d guess. Is it patriotic? You make the call.

It may not rise to the level of an American doing business with North Korea or Iran, in contravention of sanctions. But Hikind is flaunting a warped form of Israelophilia, putting Israel first, that is not in the best interests of the United States, the country where he continues to live and prosper. (Add: And it’s not, in my opinion, as a lifetime supporter of the Jewish state, in Israel’s best long-term interests, either.)

Back to Top

Readers are welcome to discuss IOA content on our Facebook page. To participate, please click HERE.

Please support the IOA so that we can continue covering the Israeli Occupation. To help, please click HERE.

Previous post:

Next post: