There is an article at the Mondoweiss website that is long and worth reading. It is not an easy read, but it is a necessary read: Israelizing the American Police, Palestinianizing the American People, by Jeff Halper*. The title says it all, actually. I encourage it as a "must read" article but it will not be easy. However, understanding the background it provides is vital for understanding what seems to be a collection of insurmountable obstacles plaguing our nation (pun not intended but it fits).
Although it may seem so, this is not an article that is putting all the blame for U.S.A. wrong-doing on Israel. But U.S.A. could not do what it does without Israel. Read on, and you will better understand.
As an American I was "Palestinized" in numerous ways many decades ago which is why I have been pushing back against the "Iraelizing" of our government, since. Of course it also woke me up to injustice in general, and my responsibility to understand how to prevent it in my own nation and elsewhere too, especially when our nation is causing it or supporting it. Standing up to injustice . . . and living - it is NOT a one man or one woman job, for damned sure!
The Israelizing of our nation has been very publicly showing up in the past several years (for those who were not paying attention to the Middle East until after 9/11). It seems most evident in the criminal behavior of some in our U.S.A. police forces who get themselves and their entire force in trouble. In earlier decades U.S.A. police were shipped to Israel to be trained. In more recent decades the training is done by Israel in U.S.A., also, or instead, sometimes locally, so an entire police force can be trained. Many may be unaware of that. Also most of the training is financed by U.S.A. military aid to Israel, from the funds promised in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) agreement between U.S.A. and Israel every 10 years, which provides for well over $40 Billion U.S.A. military aid to Israel every time the agreement is renewed.
We see some of the most obvious results of U.S.A. military aid to Israel showing up in the militarization of our own police forces, nationwide, which as Halper says is part of the process of creating "the American Security State" with Israel as the model. The MOU demands that a certain amount of those funds to Israel be invested in military related U.S.A. products and services. Two examples would be the purchasing of aircraft, and providing militarized training to U.S.A. police forces. The percentage of the MOU not required to be used on American products and services for Israel's military use, can be put to "military use" in Israel. But "military use" is interpreted differently in a militarized nation because defense forces, occupation forces, law enforcement, and the population, are all dedicated to the security of a militarized nation which Israel is and has been since 1948. So any use to which "military aid" is put in Israel is considered to be for "security" - which nine times out of 10 ends up harming Palestinian population in the occupied territories or building housing for immigrants to Israel in Palestinian territory which international law makes illegal. Both Israel and U.S.A. are signatory to agreeing to international law, yet Israel violates it and U.S.A. finances the violating. Something is very wrong with that picture, but it is fact, none the less.
Jeff Halper's long Mondoweiss article needs to be read. For those concerned about police officers who are committing criminal acts, and worse getting away with it, this article is background - the big picture of how that evolved. More precisely how that increased and became more wide-spread, as well as becoming public knowledge, particularly since the turn of the most recent century - which shows U.S.A. on the way to becoming a "security state". Divide and conquer is always how the game progresses, and "security" is the name of the game from which, together all the turmoil arises. Beware.
If you are not already familiar with any of the history in the Mondoweiss article then it will not be an easy read. It is not easy even for those who are already familiar with some or most of the aspects of the big picture that is presents.
However, the understanding provided can shine a light on the way forward, but it requires warrior souls, committed to non-violence. The collective well-orchestrated interrelated dilemmas with which we are all confronted - "the obstacle" - is a dangerous weapon that has gone undetected by too many for too long . . . and it is not painless to learn about it, though much less painful than loosing all of our freedoms if we do not choose to educate ourselves and be responsible citizens who use the rights properly with which we are empowered to "persuade" all aspects of government at all levels, to do right by us - the American people.
As the article makes clear, Israel can can not be blamed for U.S.A. wrong-doing. U.S.A. efforts to move towards dictatorship are responsible. Governments everywhere will try to do so unless the citizens are empowered by law to stop that from happening. And we, the people are responsible too, for not realizing that is something all governments eventually try to do, at first, in ways that are not noticeable. They only become emboldened when they succeed at the unnoticeable erosion of our legal rights. Some of the ways we miss what would otherwise be noticeable can be due to crises being magnified (whether manufactured or real) the intent being to redirect our attention away from government sleight-of-hand wrong-doing so that our attention is consumed with whatever crisis is looming that saturates the media 24/7, and in some cases the lives of most. This is not our first rodeo as a nation in that respect, but you wouldn't know it. "Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me", pertains. Be aware of government policies there are efforts to advance or roll-back when the nation is in crisis.
The way in which our Constitution was crafted informs us of the danger of government trying to move towards dictatorship, because of the protections and rights with which it empowers us. However, we are empowered IF and ONLY IF we, collectively, use our protections and rights as we are supposed to do to prevent government from becoming dictatorial. It's known as collective "self-government" and requires a lot more participation then only voting. We never know how vital self-governing is and how much responsibility for it belongs to each and every one of us, until there is danger that confronts everyone. That is a reason we want to elect Representatives and Senators who want to advocate for what their constituents need and want, rather than people who kow-tow to the highest bidder which is not always party politics but instead sometimes, illegally, the wishes of a foreign nation, any and all foreign nations, instead of we, the people People who do that really do not belong in office representing our wishes, which they do not do. There is a word for people who do that which some may know.
Israel does play a big part in the dilemma's of the U.S.A. because U.S.A. has empowered Israel to do so - a classic "vicious circle" situation. The U.S.A. empowering Israel's criminality, is returned in kind by Israel supporting U.S.A. efforts to move in the same direction of government control and abuse (by labeling it "security") as the Israeli government started out with in modern times when political zionist terrorist groups orchestrated attacks on Palestinian villages, massacring the Palestinian people who did not leave - then in 1948 declared all the land of the Palestinian people to be the nation of Israel. Perhaps the easiest way to truly understand the relationship is to consider that if U.S.A. and Israel were children in elementary school, we would keep them away from one another because they each influence one another to be increasingly naughty - daring one another toward dangerous collusive ends, type of naughty. Anyone who does not already understand the meaning of "Israelizing the American police" and "Palestinianizing the American people" will understand after reading the recent history presented by Jeff Halper in his Mondoweiss article which is vital, at this juncture, for all to know and understand.
*About the author.
Although it may seem so, this is not an article that is putting all the blame for U.S.A. wrong-doing on Israel. But U.S.A. could not do what it does without Israel. Read on, and you will better understand.
As an American I was "Palestinized" in numerous ways many decades ago which is why I have been pushing back against the "Iraelizing" of our government, since. Of course it also woke me up to injustice in general, and my responsibility to understand how to prevent it in my own nation and elsewhere too, especially when our nation is causing it or supporting it. Standing up to injustice . . . and living - it is NOT a one man or one woman job, for damned sure!
The Israelizing of our nation has been very publicly showing up in the past several years (for those who were not paying attention to the Middle East until after 9/11). It seems most evident in the criminal behavior of some in our U.S.A. police forces who get themselves and their entire force in trouble. In earlier decades U.S.A. police were shipped to Israel to be trained. In more recent decades the training is done by Israel in U.S.A., also, or instead, sometimes locally, so an entire police force can be trained. Many may be unaware of that. Also most of the training is financed by U.S.A. military aid to Israel, from the funds promised in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) agreement between U.S.A. and Israel every 10 years, which provides for well over $40 Billion U.S.A. military aid to Israel every time the agreement is renewed.
We see some of the most obvious results of U.S.A. military aid to Israel showing up in the militarization of our own police forces, nationwide, which as Halper says is part of the process of creating "the American Security State" with Israel as the model. The MOU demands that a certain amount of those funds to Israel be invested in military related U.S.A. products and services. Two examples would be the purchasing of aircraft, and providing militarized training to U.S.A. police forces. The percentage of the MOU not required to be used on American products and services for Israel's military use, can be put to "military use" in Israel. But "military use" is interpreted differently in a militarized nation because defense forces, occupation forces, law enforcement, and the population, are all dedicated to the security of a militarized nation which Israel is and has been since 1948. So any use to which "military aid" is put in Israel is considered to be for "security" - which nine times out of 10 ends up harming Palestinian population in the occupied territories or building housing for immigrants to Israel in Palestinian territory which international law makes illegal. Both Israel and U.S.A. are signatory to agreeing to international law, yet Israel violates it and U.S.A. finances the violating. Something is very wrong with that picture, but it is fact, none the less.
Jeff Halper's long Mondoweiss article needs to be read. For those concerned about police officers who are committing criminal acts, and worse getting away with it, this article is background - the big picture of how that evolved. More precisely how that increased and became more wide-spread, as well as becoming public knowledge, particularly since the turn of the most recent century - which shows U.S.A. on the way to becoming a "security state". Divide and conquer is always how the game progresses, and "security" is the name of the game from which, together all the turmoil arises. Beware.
If you are not already familiar with any of the history in the Mondoweiss article then it will not be an easy read. It is not easy even for those who are already familiar with some or most of the aspects of the big picture that is presents.
However, the understanding provided can shine a light on the way forward, but it requires warrior souls, committed to non-violence. The collective well-orchestrated interrelated dilemmas with which we are all confronted - "the obstacle" - is a dangerous weapon that has gone undetected by too many for too long . . . and it is not painless to learn about it, though much less painful than loosing all of our freedoms if we do not choose to educate ourselves and be responsible citizens who use the rights properly with which we are empowered to "persuade" all aspects of government at all levels, to do right by us - the American people.
As the article makes clear, Israel can can not be blamed for U.S.A. wrong-doing. U.S.A. efforts to move towards dictatorship are responsible. Governments everywhere will try to do so unless the citizens are empowered by law to stop that from happening. And we, the people are responsible too, for not realizing that is something all governments eventually try to do, at first, in ways that are not noticeable. They only become emboldened when they succeed at the unnoticeable erosion of our legal rights. Some of the ways we miss what would otherwise be noticeable can be due to crises being magnified (whether manufactured or real) the intent being to redirect our attention away from government sleight-of-hand wrong-doing so that our attention is consumed with whatever crisis is looming that saturates the media 24/7, and in some cases the lives of most. This is not our first rodeo as a nation in that respect, but you wouldn't know it. "Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me", pertains. Be aware of government policies there are efforts to advance or roll-back when the nation is in crisis.
The way in which our Constitution was crafted informs us of the danger of government trying to move towards dictatorship, because of the protections and rights with which it empowers us. However, we are empowered IF and ONLY IF we, collectively, use our protections and rights as we are supposed to do to prevent government from becoming dictatorial. It's known as collective "self-government" and requires a lot more participation then only voting. We never know how vital self-governing is and how much responsibility for it belongs to each and every one of us, until there is danger that confronts everyone. That is a reason we want to elect Representatives and Senators who want to advocate for what their constituents need and want, rather than people who kow-tow to the highest bidder which is not always party politics but instead sometimes, illegally, the wishes of a foreign nation, any and all foreign nations, instead of we, the people People who do that really do not belong in office representing our wishes, which they do not do. There is a word for people who do that which some may know.
Israel does play a big part in the dilemma's of the U.S.A. because U.S.A. has empowered Israel to do so - a classic "vicious circle" situation. The U.S.A. empowering Israel's criminality, is returned in kind by Israel supporting U.S.A. efforts to move in the same direction of government control and abuse (by labeling it "security") as the Israeli government started out with in modern times when political zionist terrorist groups orchestrated attacks on Palestinian villages, massacring the Palestinian people who did not leave - then in 1948 declared all the land of the Palestinian people to be the nation of Israel. Perhaps the easiest way to truly understand the relationship is to consider that if U.S.A. and Israel were children in elementary school, we would keep them away from one another because they each influence one another to be increasingly naughty - daring one another toward dangerous collusive ends, type of naughty. Anyone who does not already understand the meaning of "Israelizing the American police" and "Palestinianizing the American people" will understand after reading the recent history presented by Jeff Halper in his Mondoweiss article which is vital, at this juncture, for all to know and understand.
*About the author.
