Israel’s fake Republican supporters

The Republican candidates continue to compete in licking Netanyahu’s boots believing that they are supporting Israel, but the realities are different for the Israelis; the Jewish people do not care for their rhetoric.

The GOP did not reflect the sentiments of the Americans in 2008 elections, nor have they represented our values for a whole decade including six years of the Bush administration.

The pretension is incredible, no matter how much they belittle President Obama to curry favors with Israel; they simply do not represent the values of Israeli Jewish people. Here is a new public opinion survey by the University of Maryland and Dahaf Institute, Israel with a margin of error of +/- 4.3%.

The survey reflects my thoughts expressed in Dallas Morning News.

Two decades ago, we had over a dozen regions of the world with active belligerent conflicts. Today, we are down to a few, including Israel and Palestine; it is indeed the mother of all conflicts. A sustainable solution will remove the multiplier effects of this conflict and will bring a positive change for the world.

Mahmoud Ahmedinejad and Bibi Netanyahu are no doubt elected by their people, but do they truly represent the will of their people? Are they delivering security to their people or bent on threatening each other and escalating the conflict?

The first question was, “There has been increased talk of a military strike by Israel against Iran’s nuclear facilities, even though the United States, the UK and Germany have advised against it. What do you think Israel should do?”

The response of Israeli Jews is something the conservative Republican candidates will never get; just 22% of Israelis want to strike Iran, while 34% said no, and another 42% said only if US Supports. That is an overwhelming 76% against the miniscule 22%.

The Israeli public is wise; unfortunately the Netanyahu Government is not in sync with them. The story is same with the right at home; 72% of Americans did not want the war with Iraq to continue, but Mr. Bush continued any way. I hope the GOP candidates commission further studies; the Israeli Jews do not want US to support the aggressive destructive war on Iran, and the following expresses their sentiment.

The next question on the survey was, “Given America’s recommendations that Israel not strike Iran, what do you believe the U.S. government’s reaction would be if Israel strikes anyway?”

Only 28% of Israeli Jews believe that US will support them, 37% do not expect military assistance while 16% oppose it, and 16% believes US will stay neutral. That is a miniscule 28% of Israelis who believe that America will support the destructive war, whereas the overwhelming majority does not expect and nor they want the war. They are as sick as Americans about the eagerness for a war, President Obama was right; it is a casual thing for them. Neither Netanyahu nor the Republican candidates get this. Let me be clear, it is not the Republican Party, but it is the right among us who are a mess and have hijacked our Grand Old Party.

Dialogue is the best option. Mother Teresa said if you want peace, go talk with your enemies, you don't make peace with your friends. A Chinese saying goes, “if you want the enemy gone for good, make friends with them, else the one-upmanship will continue threatening the innocent Israelis and Iranians for years to come.”

In the article, “Commitment to Israel-Palestine, Part 3,” I wrote, “Israelis and Palestinians don't need the duplicity from the Hagees, Gingrichs, Santorums, Perrys, Boltons, Ahmedinejads or Abudullahs, nor do they care for their hollow words. They need sincerity to deliver security to Israelis and justice to the Palestinians; one cannot happen without the other.”

Neither Israelis nor Americans favor bombing Iran. 74% of Israeli Jews believed that Hezbollah would join Iran in retaliation while only 23% believes Hezbollah will attack only if they are attacked. It was a response to the question, “If Israel strikes, what do you think Hezbollah would do?” As Americans, we don’t want another war. War will ruin every one, and most certainly it will bankrupt and weaken America.

We don't need any more of it. We need to aggressively pursue conflict mitigation more than we need these two men pushing for destruction. Our President needs to take a firm stand for the sake of peace and security for the region. That will stop us from draining ourselves and reflect the will of the people of Israel and America.

With the exception of Ron Paul, the Republican candidates compete in licking the boots of Netanyahu instead of the people of Israel, the Israelis care less about their duplicity. They would support someone who delivers durable peace, the likes of Egypt and Jordan. Israelis are willing to swallow the bitter pill for the sake of peace, Netanyahu and our war monger candidates need to listen to them.

Instead of cajoling and demanding that the conflicting parties sit together and negotiate peace, they want to equip them with arms to fight more and keep the conflict alive. That is really an anti-Israeli stance in the garb of fake support for Israel.

 

The survey is a good indicator, it asks the Israeli Jews, “If the Republican candidate (each name below) for the Presidency of the United States, whom would you like to see elected as the next American president?

Obama -32%; Romney -29%. The JTA has this to report, “Former Mossad chief Efraim Halevy said Mitt Romney's gibes at President Obama's Iran policy were irresponsible.”

Obama -34%; Santorum -21%. Yet out of touch Santorum tells AIPAC that “Obama turned his back on the People of Israel’

Obama – 31%; Gingrich -27% - Gingrich declared, “Within an hour of taking the oath of office, he would move the US embassy to Jerusalem”

Obama – 34%; Paul-24% - Paul gets better rating than Santorum from the Israelis. What does it say? It says that the Conservative right wing Republican candidates pose Paul as anti Israel, where as Israelis do not think that way.

There is big lesson for the Republicans here, straighten out or lose en masse to the Democrats in 2012, give up the arrogance and be true representatives of the people. At this time, they are not good for Israelis and not good for average Joe.

Mike Ghouse is committed to building a cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. He is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, civic affairs, Islam, India, and cohesive societies. www.ProfessionalSpeakerMikeGhouse.com and current articles at www.TheGhousediary.com

# # #

References:

Commitment to Israel-Palestine, Part 3 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/commitment-to-israelpalestine_b_1263803.html

TEXAS FAITH: Is the world getting better? http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2012/03/texas-faith-is-the-world-getti.html

Israeli Public Opinion Survey by Professor Shibley Telhami, Principal Investigator http://sadat.umd.edu/TelhamiIsraelPollFebruary2012%5B1%5D.pdf