1. Michael Allen | 08.05.09

Following the “advice” of Paul Findley is absurd. Findley makes a living as a friend of the arab world. He regularly attends virulently anti-semitic conferences in the middle east and Africa, was known as a friend of Yassir Arafat, and has blamed the 9/11 attacks on US behavior and not militant Islam.

Applying sanctions to the only democratic ally we have in the middle east unlilaterally, without at least a semblance of balance by applying like painful sanctions on the arab nations that refuse to abide by UN 181 may please those who dislike Israel, but would likely galvanize Israelis into resistance of the one sided “diplomacy”.
Also, it should be noted that Israel does not receive aid, per se, only military assistance in the midst of region hostile to its existence. By law, nearly all that military “aid” must be spent on US products. Cutting off Israel would result in American jobs lost.

But overall, approaching Israel as an enemy while giving a free pass to surrounding countries that are not US friends would be a policy disaster with ramifications that would no doubt be detrimental to the US and any advancement of a real peace in the region.

2. Jack Shattuck | 08.05.09

It would be disasterous for US policy to be “even-handed” in the MidEast given Palestinian refusal to recognize Israel, which has been a member of the UN for 60 years. Nobody, including Abbas’ PA/PLO, will enter into negotiations with the Jewish State. Printing maps of Israel labeled “Palestine” is just one example. They constantly run anti-Semitic libels on Palestinian TV, publications and mosque sermons, and President Obama’s Cairo address shows how even the President ignores that Jews have lived in Israel for 3,300 years and have been a majority in Jerusalem since the 1840’s under Turkish rule. The League of Nations’ unanimous 51-0 vote in 1922 for a Jewish state in Palestine must be seen as a refutation of the lie that no one cared until the Holocaust. You cannot be even-handed when the truth is so imbalanced.

3. cdearman | 08.05.09

It’s unfortunate that the Israelis don’t see that it is going down the path of apartheid South Africa. Demographics will overtake Israel and the Jewish state it says it wants to be will evaporate, just as apartheid South Africa did. History is supposed to provide lessons from which we–humanity–can learn. Unfortunately, some of us seem to believe that the lessons of history do not apply to us.

Time is a hard taskmaster!

4. John | 08.05.09

I totally agree with cdearman. Israel is going down the path of apartheid South Africa and the way they are going the only solution will be a one state solution. They should grab the chance of peace now or never again it will be a Jewish majority state.

We should apply sanctions on Israel as we do with other countries.

5. Lyn | 08.05.09

Really, Israel is leaving the U.S. little choice but the use of economic sanctions. The only reason that Israel is the biggest kid on the block in the Middle East is because the U.S. has enabled its growth through extreme amounts of financial and military aid. Unfortunately, this big kid on the block has also become the biggest bully imaginable and the U.S. needs to be sanctioning Israel for the horror its created in Gaza recently and for the 60+years of continuous Occupation of Palestinian Christian and Muslim lands.

The Palestinians have recognized Israel’s right to exist–that’s not in question–but expecting them to agree to Israel being a Jewish state, that’s a bit much. Especially since Israel is a multi-religious, multi-ethnic society, and many of the Arabs who live in Israel are Christian, not only Muslim–they too would become even more marginalized than they already are in a “Jewish State”. I just hope that Obama has the backbone to put the Israeli government in its place and to stand up to AIPAC and its toxic influence here in the States.

6. irani | 08.05.09

if u want to know israel better see it`s enemies`s behavior with their own people

7. Quint Gaber | 08.05.09

Obama does not have the guts to stand up to Israel nor does he have the power stop the aid to Israel. The entire Congress is in the back pocket of Israel. One thing he can do is to stop badgering Iran. Everyone who knows anything about the facts knows that Iran does not have any nuclear weapons and has no nuclear weapons program (IAEA reports and the US 2007 NIE). So, just stop wasting all this energy on Iran. Iran is immovable, so why bother pushing it. It will eventually reform internally.

8. Joe | 08.05.09

Israel won’t listen until the dollars stop flowing, period. Bush Sr stopped aid and suddenly found Israel to be amenable to change. It is amazing how much Israel listens when the wallet snaps shut. Israel needs a US policy of “tough love”; that is, a policy that holds them to previous commitments and stops them from dragging their feet on implementation. If Israel wants to be recognized as a “Jewish state”, then it should declare Judaism to be the national religion. Israel has had far more than enough time to live up to its end of the agreements it signed… and let’s face it, Israel won’t even live up to Oslo, which was very heavily weighted in their favor. Stop the settlement expansion. There is no such thing as “natural growth”. Who ever promised the world’s people that they had a right to live as their parents’ neighbors? These things are well known, but Israel stubbornly holds on to what it has no right to hold, and will continue to do so until the US starts choking off the funds.

9. Zoya | 08.05.09

It is absurd to treat Palestinians and Israel equally. Palestinians openly proclaim their rejection of Israel’s right to exist, they don’t have a single politically significant figure who would oppose terrorism. Why not treat police and criminals equally by that same logic? I don’t know what could be more perverse than a country that suffered devastation of 9-11 siding with terrorists against their victim.

10. Christoph | 08.05.09

Yes, settlement activity has to stop and settlements have to be dismantled eventually. But has anybody addressed the problem of how and where to resettle the persons affected? There are close to 300′000 people living in the occupied territories and a majority will have to find a new home once the two-state solution is implemented. They must get credible assurances of help if they are to cooperate (people who left the Sinai or Gaza got inadequate resettlement help). That’s going to cost a lot of money!

11. Sheldon Greenberg | 08.05.09

The United States can apply all sorts of pressures and sanctions on Israel. The result would undoubtedly encourage the Arabs to be even more demanding of concessions from Israel. Their “end game” is the total disappearance of Israel and could even lead to another round of hostilities. The Jewish people have not survived all these thousands of years by agreeing to the demands of so called friend and/or enemies.

12. marat | 08.05.09

What a distorted and misleading article. The “aid” that Israel gets from the U.S. is predominantly in the form of the U.S. co-signing an agreement for other loans Israel undertakes. Israel is a high-tech nation, a leader in many areas of research, particularly bio-medical, solar and IT. Infamous for its IT finesse, virtually every major U.S. company has a research branch plant in Israel–Microsoft, Cisco, Intel, Motorola. The list of Israeli inventions is a mile long (the cell phone was developed by Israeli researchers at the Motorola branch, large parts of Windows XP at Microsoft). The other aspect of U.S. aid is that it also consists of JOINT U.S./Israel defense research projects. Israel is a major developer of anti-terrorism devices and defense weapons/equipment–the U.S. benefits in its own defense strength through this alliance. The “anti-Israeli” wave sweeping much of the EU is a testament to Islamic propaganda and an ignorance of Israel’s true democracy–the ONLY democracy in the entire area, which often rules in favor of the 20% Arab population. The poorest of the poor of Arabs get first-class medical treatment at Israeli hospitals. It is DISGUSTING that Israel is bashed by Obama’s “ideology” while Hamas’s very CHARTER calls for “the destruction of Israel.” And the PA’s Fatah recently said they would NEVER accept Israel’s “right to exist.” Gee…imagine if an entity in San Diego sent thousands of rockets into San Diego (with Iranian aid)…Here is the Truth: there will NEVER BE ANY PEACE UNTIL the Arab world’s agenda to Destroy Israel is ceased…and they verbally accept the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish state without terror attacks and the low level daily war promulgated by a slew of terror groups in the area. Some “occupier.” Israel doesn’t have a SINGLE soldier in Gaza…Hamas has turned the area into an Islamist hell hole–they just passed a law requiring women to wear Islamic coverings. They will REMAIN in poverty until, like an alcoholic, they “hit bottom” and begin to build rather than destroy. Meanwhile, Israel has thrived throughout the terror campaign unleashed way back under Arafat. As for “two states,” the Palestinians, drunk on Islam, can’t even manage their lives now–it is Hamas that has become their new MASTER. But THEY are responsible for having voted in this terrorist bunch of thugs…

13. sami | 08.05.09

well economic sanctions would work but as president Wilson said: You have to apply a boycott effectively. In theory it works to carry out economic sanction on any nation, but practically it is impossible: any country have other neighbors and other countries who would like to benefit from the situation. just c how sanctions failed to force saddam out of power and us where forced to interfere militarily in order to remove him, another example north Korea also the sanctions failed badly to remove or at least to convince the president there to stop nuclear development. And probably there are many other examples in history where economical sanctions never work.. I think todays politicians think that sanctions are just like a city seage..a tactic used in ancient times to force cities to surrender but still economical sanctions are abstract and city siege where carried out by a full army forces. Finally there is no way to remove iran fanatic regime or convince them to give up there nuclear dreams than by measures of military actions, and not any actions but to destroy all there army commands centers and secret service centers and even some of the infrastructures and if this not working then they have to occupy the country. Or they have to accept the fact of a growing islamic fundamentalist iran and sharing the world recourses with it.

14. hmpierson | 08.05.09

“But the United Arab Emirates (No.1) and China (No. 3) could be hard to sway”

How about getting China to sanction Sudan? Not important enough? Darfur is so much less of a problem?

Oh, I keep forgetting, there’s a different standard of “human rights” for Israel than any other country in the world. The fact that Israel’s “terrible security wall” has almost eliminated the suicide bombers that caused thousands of Israeli casualties doesn’t count with the single minded CSM bleeding hearts - after all, those are merely Jewish lives.

The aftermath of Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza illustrates what Israel could expect from withdrawing from the West Bank. Einstein is credited with the following definition of insanity: “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

What part of the Hamas charter do you not get? The part that calls for destruction of the the State of Israel, or the part that every inch of Palestine belongs to the Islamic waqf? Here are a few highlights, you can find the full text at http://www.mideastweb.org/hamas.htm

“Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it.” (The Martyr, Imam Hassan al-Banna, of blessed memory).

“The Islamic Resistance Movement believes that the land of Palestine is an Islamic Waqf consecrated for future Muslim generations until Judgement Day. It, or any part of it, should not be squandered: it, or any part of it, should not be given up. ”

“There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors.”

15. Concerned American | 08.05.09

The US interest and values are being stepped on by Israel continuously. They have no regard for the US safety or economic interest, all they care about is the US unconditional support which proved disasterous in promoting peace and freedom in the Middle East. Allowing Israel to continue its racist and discrimination policies while claiming to be a democracy is a joke. Shame on the US congress and the apologist of Israel in the United States for not insisting on prmoting American Values and American Interest. The only thing that Israel will understand and will force them to change their behavior is to show them that there is a limit to the American People’s tolerance and generousity. Buying politicians will no longer work when the American People know the truth about the distructive policies that the have been employed by the Israelis since their inception. It is time to tell Israel enough is enough; Not only they should freeze the settlement, but they must dismantle them, end occupation and oppression of the Palestinian people, and allow the displaced palestinian families to return to their homes, villages, cities, and farms. America must stand by its values, and stop allowing the Israeli right dictating its Middle East policies; which is proven to have been disasterous to the American interest thus far.

16. Edward Hague | 08.05.09

Right in the first sentence of this article is an example of pro-Israel bias. Why does the article omit the term “illegal” when referring to the Jewish settlements in the West Bank. These settlements are prohibited by UN resolutions and by the Geneva Conventions.
Later in the article, it states: “Iran is accused of funding terrorists and aiming to develop nuclear weapons.”, but fails to mention that Israel has also been accused of terrorism and Israel already has hundreds of nuclear weapons. Perhaps, Israel’s neighbors would be more willing to forgo their own nuclear weapons programs, if Israel were willing to get rid of its nuclear weapons and commit, along with its neighbors, to a nuclear weapons free middle-east.

IN response to some other responses:
Israel is not a democracy. Israel governs (and collects taxes from) the entire area from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River, and from the Golan Heights to the top of the Sinai Peninsula, including Gaza, yet about half of the adults Israel governs are not allowed to vote in Israeli elections. My fellow Americans, do you remember the saying “No Taxation, Without Representation”!

Perhaps the Israelis should read UN 181 too, as they are consistently the most egregious violators of it.

In 1840, the land of Palestine was inhabited by a multicultural population – approximately 86 percent Muslim, 10 percent Christian, and 4 percent Jewish. [4% is not a majority].

Maps have been labeled Palestine for several thousand years (many can be viewed online through university libraries).

Arabs are Semites too, so how can supporting one Semite over another Semite be anti-Semitic?

17. Steve Lieblich | 08.05.09

“to apply a boycott effectively” would mean stopping petroleum imports to Iran, and holding the Arab states accountable for almost a century of violent, anti-Semitic rejection of any co-existence with Jews.

Why are “settlements and obstacle to peace”? Why does the West Bank need to be ethnically cleansed of Jews for people to co-exist peacefully? 1.5 million Arabs live as fully-enfranchised citizens in Israel, and no-one suggets that they are “an obstacle to peace.”

The thesis of this article is just trite “moral equivalence” between criminal and his victim. It lacks moral, ethical judgement and substance.

18. Udo | 08.05.09

If United States will be stupid enough to apply economic sanctions on Israel it will be a beginning of the end for your beautiful country. Some Europeans will doubtless take advantage on this. Don’t be fooled by people like Lyn (post No. 5) and their cheap rhetoric though. Israel is our only hope in a global battle against barbarism and terrorism. They are in fact the only good guys in the neighborhood, and should be supported by Western nations without reservation. Otherwise, we all doomed.

19. John davis | 08.05.09

How would you like if your neighbor started to build on your property, you would be very upset, the Palestinians have a right to be upset , Israel is a bully and they had the backing of the USA for many years , but change has come , the bully time is running out .

20. Udo | 08.05.09

If United States will be stupid enough to apply economic sanctions on Israel it will be a beginning of the end for your beautiful country. Some Europeans will doubtless take advantage on this. Don’t be fooled by Israeli-haters and their cheap rhetoric. Israel is our only hope in a global battle against barbarism and terrorism. They are in fact the only good guys in the neighborhood, and should be supported by Western nations without reservation. Otherwise, we all doomed.

21. Decentralize | 08.05.09

The Jewish people have certainly endured their share of hardships for the last, well, since the inception of the faith, no doubt, however we’re talking about the State of Israel here, not the ethnic and religious group. Until Israel recognizes the rights of the Palestinian people to a secure, autonomous homeland of their own, with clearly defined and sovereign borders, there will never be a resolution to their conflict. Arguing that making concessions would ‘embolden the enemy’ is a hopelessly self-centered losing argument, ultimately ending only in increased bloodshed all around. A lasting peace will not be achieved through coercion and suppression of dissent, but through building upon the agreements that can be achieved with those that share a vision for a long-term peace. Until Israel can come to terms with the demands of that group of people, they’re being counter-productive to the goal of a lasting peace, and they drag the US’s international reputation down with them to that of the oppressor, simply by virtue of our continued support. This gives the US little option but to apply pressure to get them back on course.

22. Ben | 08.05.09

Israel exists only because the US sends massive sums of tax dollars in the form of direct aid, military aid, and advantaged trade status. They claim to be our “greatest ally,” but would an ally thumb their nose at us with contempt while we’re making their very existence possible? American support for Israel appears larger than it actually is because supporters take training in how to actively support the cause. It’s called hasbara, look it up on your favorite search engine, do it now. American citizens are promoting the cause of Israel over the interests of the United States and in some cases contrary to our well being. I forget, what is that called?

23. Noah Mann | 08.05.09

Israel is facing hostilities because legitimate Palestinian grievances have not been address
by Israel nor the world community. Unconditional US military aid allows Israel to rely on force
to and inhibits Israel from seeking a peaceful solution to the those grievances. A boycott
would be an effective peaceful means, in addition to others, that could spur Israel to seek out
ways to find peace. Cut diamonds are a major component of Israel’s exports. Is the
civilized would ready to give up diamonds for peace?

24. bbsnews | 08.05.09

It will take more than economic sanctions to force Israel to live by the rule of law and end its illegal occupations.

Israel has managed to fool some Americans into thinking that the Palestinians are all simply terrorists and that they have no business trying to get land from Israel.

The problem is, it is the Palestinians who have the land, and Israel is doing its level best to steal it (and all the natural resources) and if possible pull this off without having to take responsibility for the Palestinians.

President Obama has made clear that Israel’s illegal “settlements” are going to stop, UN Secretary Ban Ki-Mon has also made clear to a succession of Israeli ministers that ALL of the “settlements” are illegal.

Therefore those 300,000 illegal squatters are Israel’s problem and they can move them back into Israel proper where they should have been kept in the first place.

Far more than that were displaced by Hurricane Katrina. If Israel didn’t want to be responsible for uprooting all these squatters they never should have encouraged them to break the law and colonize land that was not there’s in the first place.

25. Crystala | 08.05.09

Does anyone remember who won Isreal’s last election for Prime Minister? Benjamin Netanyahu? No. It was Tzipi Livni, remember her? She lasted just long enough for Israel’s Machiavellian political machine to knock her out of the ring and replace her with Netanyahu. Do you remember the platform she ran on? She wasn’t just going to cease all Israeli settlement activity, she was going to drag all the so-called settler’s back from Palestine (oh, excuse me, “the territory on which Palestinians plan to build a new state” — let’s not forget our Orwellian New Speak) over to their side of the border kicking and screaming. And she won the election… yes she did. I would just like everyone to realize that this whole settlement shangamalanga is not the will of the Israeli people, it is the will of a super-charged minority imposing their will on the majority. Can you say faux-democracy?

26. ~jeff~ | 08.05.09

To exclaim that, “Arabs want to destroy/eliminate Israel,” is speaking truth, but not the whole truth. A more accurate statement would be that “some” Arabs (and Arab states) want to destroy/eliminate Israel. That is an important distinction b/c it recognizes that there is room to negotiate on both sides. Likewise, it is the reactionary brand of both these religions/ethnicities that consistently dismantle the peace process. I have read all of the other above listed comments for this article and I think that it’s important to say that, while many are against Israel’s expansion of settlements (natural growth included) no one is calling for it’s destruction. I think this emphasizes the majority of American’s opinion regarding this issue. Tough Love, baby….tough love.

27. Batholith | 08.06.09

While politics is politics and I don’t care to comment on that, what I don’t understand is why anyone should mind Jewish control of East Jerusalem. After all, it is their holy city and they regained it after millenia. As a Moslem, I know we’d not give up Mecca so why should Israel be forced to give up a united Jerusalem. Remember, too, it was not they who started the war that resulted in their capture of Jerusalem.

28. don shmidt | 08.06.09

the USA sgould stop ALL AID to ALL countries in
middle east including rgypt palestinians jordan lebanon etc
it better use these funds for jobs in the usa

some of above countries can well manage
without this aid

29. the facts | 08.06.09

in 1948 palestinians were kicked off their land.ever since then their struggle to reclaim their lands and homes has been called ‘terrorism’. that to me is mind boggling

30. David Bornstein | 08.06.09

Some of these replies cause me to come to one of two conclusions about some of the readers of this article. It’s either:

A. You have no idea what’s going on in the Middle East and are truly brainwashed

B. You’re letting your bias speak for you

First of all, the days of where Israel’s Arab neighbors harbor hostility towards the Jewish state is over. The entire GCC region has under the table business agreements with Israel. Jordan & Egypt have peace with Israel and are staunch supporters of the Jewish state. There is no hostility from the Arab governments towards Israel whatsoever.

The Arab countries that are non-democratic are so because of how it suits our American Government. There are puppets who are willing to do anything the US asks for them or then they will lose their position of power as leaders of the country that they rule. It’s not that democracy is not understood in the Arab world, it’s if democracy was allowed by the US and Israeli governments in the region, then half the policies being executed in the region would have never happened that lopsidedly support Israel and the US governments.

Israel - a democratic state? Please, how many true democratic states have third class citizens with limited rights. Israeli Arabs can’t even get proper jobs in Israel as soon as they find out that they are Arabs and are being evicted left right and center - and those are ISRAELI citizens.

Before there was ever a religion called Judaism, there were people living on this land called Caananites which are Palestinians. These people are the true owners of this land. Judaism originated in Mesopotamia. Palestinians happen to be Christian, Jewish, and Muslim. Please check your history before you come spew nonsense.

As for the sanctions, that will never happen. The day sanctions are applied correctly, is the day Israel may change their ethnic cleansing program.

Thanks and Shalom

Stop the ILLEGAL OCCUPATION

31. Norman | 08.06.09

It is time for an even handed policy in the middle east. Among other things I don’t think Israel should get our support if they disregard U.S. foreign policy issues. Israel should be brought into the Nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty of 1968 in addition to Iran not building nuclear weapons. As long as Israel has special treatment Iran and other middle eastern countries will want nuclear weapons too. Stopping both Israel and Iran from having nuclear WMD’s would be a fair step in the right direction.

For the record the reason many non- Israeli’s and Arabs don’t support “the Jewish State” concept is simply that 20 percent of the population of Israel is non- Jewish and having an ethnocentric state after 60 years of horrible ethnic cleansing isn’t a good idea and the U.S. shouldn’t support that type of state either.
This is a sophism constantly stated in the media but is a hollow argument.

32. Brett Borders | 08.06.09

Why should there be sanctions on Israel?

The idea that, Israel, if it somehow makes enough political concessions to the Arabs, will one day be accepted and lead to peace is absurd. The only concession that will please the Arabs is the complete ethnic eleansing of Jewish people from their homeland in the Middle East and a destruction of the state of Israel.

All kinds of discussions and negotiations are a flimsy pretext to that desired goal.

The Arabs have created the problem in the region, and created their own “nakba” by attacking Israel multiple times, and they have lost the wars they started. However Arabs cannot understand the consequences of their actions and face reality - it’s not part of their culture of shame and always blaming the external party.

Nor can any of the Arab dictatorships exist without demonizing the only demnocracy in the region and constantly having an “enemy” to bark at. There will never be peace in the Middle East until the Arabs stop blaming to aspiring to become part of an eternal problem - become civilized and join the 21st century.

33. Mareike E. | 08.06.09

I’m with Michael Allen on this: Paul Findley’s recommendation is clearly absurd. Israel is a liberal democracy in which all citizens equally enjoy civil rights. The Settlements are an issue, among others, which will be a matter of negotiations, and Israel already proved that it is willing to give up land in order to advance the peace process. On the other hand, Iran is a despotic theocracy, whose regime does not hesitate to beat up, torture and kill its own citizens, as we all could witness in the last few weeks. Its leaders call openly for the destruction of an entire country, and thus far they didn’t give us any reason why we shouldn’t take them seriously. Against this background, the perspective of Iran obtaining nuclear weapons is obviously threatening not only for Israel and the Middle East, but for the entire world. To avoid the horrifying scenario of a nuclear bomb in the hand of fanatics, the US, plus other important trading partners of Iran such as Germany and Iraly, is obligated to use any possible means, and economic sanctions seem to be the most effective (non-military!) ones. Particularly since the alternative - a military strike, with incalculable consequences - can hardly be in anyone’s interest.

34. John | 08.06.09

Let’s look at this from a spiritual view. The Jews are God’s chosen people and America and the world are interfering with God’s plan for the Jewish land. If America continues to pressure Israel in surrendering Jerusalem and more territory, than America will have to face the consequences. These consequences represent more natural disasters and earthquakes in America. America’s world power would be diminished. It is God’s plan to make Israel a magnet for attention and showcase in front of the whole world. It is best if America continues to be friends with Israel and not another enemy. Those who go against Israel will eventually fail.

35. Concerned… | 08.06.09

I think it’s foolhardy to blame Palestinians for behavior that is born out of decades of subjugation and abuse… 1948, Israel claims statehood, agrees to pre-1967 borders, then spends the next half of a century, “in defense”, killing, subjugating and stealing from its Arab neighbors with the assistance of the USA… anything and everything that comes out of Palestine in the form of resistance is completely justified… how can anyone have the audacity to say that Israel has a right to wmd, but that no one else in the Middle East can? How can Israel demand that Palestine forgo an active military, when Israel is the aggressor? It’s absurd and disturbing…

36. Lamar | 08.07.09

I think that international law and United States law would be sufficient in dealing with both Israel and Iran. Since the United States has signed on to treaties, then those treaties carry the weight of the United States Constitution and therefore, since the United States has signed onto the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, then we should follow that treaty to the letter of United States law. By doing so, we would recognize that Iran created it’s nuclear program in secret after Iran was the victim of a chemical weapons attack by Saddam Hussein and that when the United States went to war in the first gulf war, we warned Saddam Hussein that we would go “nuclear” if he attacked United States soldiers with chemical weapons. Therefore, when Iran was attacked by chemical weapons, they were justified to devolope their nuclear program in secret. We would also recognize that THE NPT GIVES IRAN THE RIGHT TO MANUFACTURE THEIR OWN NUCLEAR FUEL.

37. FBernadotte | 08.09.09

I just need to correct some false claims made by Marat (see above). He claims that:

“The ‘aid’ that Israel gets from the U.S. is predominantly in the form of the U.S. co-signing an agreement for other loans Israel undertakes.”

This is not true at all. The majority of the aid, not “aid”, that Israel gets from the US is in the form of outright cash grants from the US, most of which Israel uses to purchase military goods and services from the US. In 2007 the US decided to increase the amount of this military aid to Israel to 30 billion dollars over the coming decade. The US has provided loan guarantees to Israel, but these make up an insignificant portion of the total aid to Israel. In fact Israel has not even made use of the loan guarantees in nearly four years.

Marat next claims that:

“The other aspect of U.S. aid is that it also consists of JOINT U.S./Israel defense research projects. Israel is a major developer of anti-terrorism devices and defense weapons/equipment.”

Again, as a statement about the major components of US aid to Israel, this is simply false. While obviously an important part of the relationship between the US and Israel, the military defense cooperation is, to quote from the document below, “generally not considered a form of direct aid”.

For a good review of US aid to Israel as of 2008, see the Congressional Research Service’s document “US Aid to Israel”, prepared for Congress: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL33222.pdf

38. Jerry | 08.10.09

After all the discussion about Israel needing to make concessions and pressure needing to be applied “properly,” not one person in response to these ideas has given a thought to Plan B. What if Israel withdraws and the Arabs who want Israel destroyed continue to seek the fruition of that goal anyway and by all means - as with Hamas in Gaza?

As a sovereign nation, Israel has a right to exist within defensible borders - even in the face of Palestinian political aspirations.

39. IRmep | 08.11.09

Adjusted for inflation, the US deficit to Israel is about $71 billion.

The corrupt nature of the US Israel deal was the subject of a petition to cancel it. It costs the US about 100,000 jobs per year and has enabled rampant theft of intellectual property (not counted in the $71 billion figure).

There is no reciprocity with Israel, so the give-aways should now stop.