No matter who is in our White House, Israel rules our country. Three hundred and twenty-nine members of our House of Representatives are supported by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) political action committee. In the last congressional elections, AIPAC spent millions of dollars to defeat candidates who would not do their bidding. A majority of our senators are funded by AIPAC, as well. If a congressman or senator is not supported by AIPAC, they are by J Street, the Republican Jewish Committee (RJC), Democratic Majority of Israel (DMFI), the U.S. Israel PAC, or NORPAC.
Is there any question then why Benjamin Netanyahu receives standing ovations when he speaks to our Congress? Does it surprise you that both houses of Congress voted to approve billions of dollars for weapons that leveled Gaza and killed tens of thousands of innocent Palestinian women and children? The deal is that AIPAC funds a majority of our congressional campaigns, and Congress funds Israeli wars.
When it comes to the White House, our presidents do the bidding of Bibi Netanyahu. If Bibi wants to level all of Gaza and drive all the Palestinians out, Joe Biden funds his desire. If Israel wants to cleanse Gaza of all Palestinians, Donald Trump proposes to move all Palestinians out of Gaza to Jordan and Egypt so Gaza can be developed into a seaside resort for the people. Which people?
It has always been Israel’s dream to cleanse Israel of the Palestinians. They have stated this openly since the late 1800s. Now under Donald Trump they may realize their dream.
In America, even criticizing Israel on college campuses or in the halls of government is considered antisemitic.
What about the Palestinians? The people who have lived in Palestine for hundreds of years. Do they have any rights? Donald Trump has said that after they leave Palestine, they have no right to return.
The current Israeli government paints Israelis as the victims. They use Oct. 7 as the justification for all the carnage they have caused in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, and Syria. Their real purpose is to annex lands in Syria, Gaza, and the West Bank to re-create an Israel that only existed in the scriptures long ago.
What about Americans? How do we view the carnage in Israel, Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria? Do we look at history and see how Zionists, who were initially welcomed by the Palestinians into their communities, have step by step taken Palestinian homes and land from their hosts? Do Americans realize that it is Israel that occupies Palestinian lands and annexes Palestinian territory? Are Americans moved to see Gaza leveled and tens of thousands of Palestinians killed in their own homes? Don’t Palestinians have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?
When we elected a new president, didn’t we hope for a peace in Israel based on the humanity shared by Israelis and Palestinians alike? Palestinians have lived through occupation and apartheid. Are they now to lose the land promised to them by the United Nations when Israel was created? Do America and Israel have the right to say to the Palestinians, “Get out of here and don’t come back?” Or, instead, don’t Israel and America have the responsibility to rebuild what they have torn down and make out of Gaza not a resort but a Palestinian home?
We broke it and it is our job to fix it.
Gale McNeeley
Santa Maria
This article appears in Feb 27 – Mar 9, 2025.