Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Lobby: ‘Jewish presence in Congress to Shrink’

Jewish groups in the US and Israel have been complaining for decades that Jewish population around the world is shrinking each year due to born-Jews leaving their religion and the low birth rate (less than 1%) among the Jewish families. I dealt with that topic a few years ago. Read here I just read an article in Jewish daily Forward whining that ‘Jewish numbers in Congress set to plung’ even though Jews will still be “overrepresented in both Congress and Senate“, based on less than 2% population. I was surprised to notice the writer, Josh Nathan-Kazis, did not blame the 2.5% American Muslim population for the expected setback as was the case in the recent French election which resulted in the defeat of Israel Firster Nicolas Sarkozy at the hands of his Jewish opponent Francois Hollande. Anti-Islam American magazine FrontPagecalled Francois Hollande; the first Muslim-elected president of France Whatever the drop in Jewish congressmen means, it’s likely not a sign of a change in how Americans feel about Jews. It’s still the case that Jews will be statistically overrepresented to considerable degree“.There are 27 Jews serving in the current Congress (18%) and 12 in the Senate (11%). According to Forward’s prediction; 20 Jews will be elected to Congress and 10 to the Senate in the November 2012 elections. Which means the percentage of Jewish members in Congress and Senate will be lower than it had been in decades.Several Jews lawmakers hold dual citizenship and very sensitive psitions at the Congress and Senate, which dictate Washington’s pro-Israel and anti-Muslim foreign policy. Senators Joe Lieberman, Eric Cantor and Lindsey Graham and Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen are few of those ‘Israel-Firsters’. Let us not forget Jacob Lew, the current White House Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama. In March 2012, over two dozen American lawmakers and former military officials were charged for accepting bribe money from anti-Iran terrorist group MEK.Very few American lawmakers have shown the moral courage to expose the iron-grip of pro-Israel lobby groups over Congress, Senate and the White House. I can recall only three former Christian lawmakers who showed their moral courage as patriotic Americans; Paul Findley (born 1921), Afro-American Cynthia McKinney (born 1955) and Arab-American James George Abourezk (born 1931). All three of them were called “great enemy of Israel” by the AIPAC for claiming that the United states invaded Iraq for the benefit of Israel.In 2006, Senator James George Abourezk, wrote to American Jewish journalist Jeffrey Bankfort: “In the Congress, the support Israel has in that body is based completely on political fear – fear of defeat by anyone who does not do what Israel wants done. I can also tell you that very few members of Congress – at least when I served there – have any affection for Israel or for its Lobby. What they have is contempt, but it is silenced by fear of being found out exactly how they feel. I’ve heard too many cloakroom conversations in which members of the Senate will voice their bitter feelings about how they’re pushed around by the Lobby to think otherwise. In private one hears the dislike of Israel and the tactics of the Lobby, but not one of them is willing to risk the Lobby’s animosity by making their feelings public.”
I have made myself a rule. Whnever I hear a person speak in the name of ‘Jewish values’ or ‘as a Jew’, I immediately seek cover. I suggest you do the same,” Gilad Atzmon, Israeli-born Jewish writer, author, musician and blogger, September 14, 2012.
[ED NOTE:CLICK LINK FOR REST..

No comments:

Post a Comment