54 Members of Congress and J Street Seek to Mislead Obama

Last week, two members of Congress, Keith Ellison (who claims King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia is a visionary leader, notwithstanding the fact that his monarchy whips and imprisons women who are gang raped) and Jim McDermott, delivered a letter to President Obama, which asks for Israel to ease the "unabated suffering" of Gazan civilians. The letter was signed by a total of 54 members of Congress, including George Miller and Betty McCollum ("rockets are like a drug gang that uses drive by shootings as a tactic to terrify a neighborhood" and the solution is not "to lay waste to the neighborhood"), and was supported, inter alia, by J Street.

Although the letter seeks to strike a tone of balance by observing that Israeli civilians have also suffered from rocket attacks (Does this remind you of Goldstone?), the letter amounts to little more than a coarse attempt to pressure only Israel, and in order to achieve its goals, the Ellison/McDermott letter plays fast and loose with the facts.

Let's have a look at those facts:

The letter refers to a Hamas "coup" and tries to depict Gaza's civilians as the victims of the "coup".

Was there a "Hamas coup" in Gaza? No. If you ask Hamas, they will tell you that there was an attempted Fatah coup. Beyond question, there was a civil war, or Wakseh as it is known among Palestinians, beginning in late 2006 between Fatah and Hamas. Also beyond doubt, Hamas came to power in Gaza as a result of the January 2006 Palestinian elections, whereby Gaza's "civilians" supported an organization whose charter states:

"Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it."

"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."

"After Palestine, the Zionists aspire to expand from the Nile to the Euphrates. When they will have digested the region they overtook, they will aspire to further expansion, and so on. Their plan is embodied in the 'Protocols of the Elders of Zion', and their present conduct is the best proof of what we are saying."

"The Day of Judgement will not come about until Muslims fight the Jews (killing the Jews), when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say O Muslims, O Abdulla, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him."

Bottom line, Gaza's "civilians", who elected Hamas, cannot be held blameless for Hamas' terrorist actions, preordained by its charter, as the authors and signatories of this letter would have President Obama believe.

As noted earlier, the letter also states:

"We also sympathize deeply with the people of southern Israel who have suffered from abhorrent rocket and mortar attacks."

Excuse me, but aren't these congresswomen and congressmen, in their haste to appear unbiased, forgetting something?:

- No mention in this letter of the hundreds of Israeli civilians who lost their lives to Hamas suicide bombers, when the Gaza crossings were open, which is again being requested by Ellison & Co.

- No mention of Gilad Schalit, an Israeli soldier who was abducted by Hamas into Gaza in June 2006 and has never since seen the light of day or been visited by Red Cross officials.

- No mention that notwithstanding the fact that there have been fewer rocket and mortar attacks on southern Israel since Operation Cast Lead, the firing of missiles out of Gaza continues, i.e. attempts to kill Israeli civilians persist.

Ellison & Co. claim:

"lifting these [Israeli] restrictions will give civilians in Gaza a tangible sense that diplomacy can be an effective tool for bettering their conditions."

Oh, really. I always thought that diplomacy involves negotiations, which require both sides to make concessions. Here, the pressure is only being placed on Israel. Moreover, are Ellison & Co. really so naive as to believe that by providing, for example, free entry into and out of Gaza, Gaza's civilians will value the effectiveness of diplomacy, or, agree with Hamas that there was no need for concessions? Ellison & Co. obviously have no clue as to the workings of the Middle East mentality.

But before I take this to too great a length, let's suppose that Washington was under periodic rocket and mortar fire from Gaza and hundreds of Washingtonians had lost their lives to suicide bombers. Would these same members of Congress ask to provide Gaza Civilians with "plentiful and varied food", "access to fuel and spare parts", "prompt passage for commercial goods", and "easy movement for people into and out of Gaza"?

You know the answer. Ellison & Co. do, too.

J Street, Goldstone: Congressman George Miller Responds

Congressman George Miller of California responded to my e-mail message. Below is his answer, followed by my reply:

Thank you for writing me to share your concerns about H. Res. 867, the resolution condemning the "Goldstone Report." I was one of 36 members of the House of Representatives to vote against H. Res. 867. The organization J Street is just one of many organizations and prominent individuals who also opposed the resolution. My position on the resolution was based on my own views of the issue.

There are two goals that I strive to meet when Congress makes statements or sets policy concerning the Middle East. I support efforts to provide clarity, honesty and accuracy to the debate about issues that arise in any of the Israeli-Palestinian conflicts. More importantly, I look to aid the important effort of achieving a two-state solution to help end the ever-present violence and strife in the region, allowing both Israelis and Palestinians to have greater peace and security in their lives once and for all.

Unfortunately, H. Res. 867 did not achieve either of those goals. One problem is that H. Res. 867 implicitly criticizes the Goldstone Report because of the initial U.N. Human Rights Council resolution authorizing the report. This U.N. resolution wrongly singled out alleged Israeli abuses and ignored the harm caused by Hamas' rocket and mortar attacks on the Israeli people.

However, Justice Richard Goldstone, who oversaw the Goldstone Report, to his credit extended the original mandate for the Report of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict to include an evaluation of Hamas' rocket attacks on civilians in southern Israel, among other issues. This was pointed out in H. Res. 867. Judge Goldstone is a distinguished jurist with a long record of support for human rights. Most notably, Justice Goldstone was a prominent critic of the abhorrent apartheid regime in South Africa.

Regardless of one's ultimate evaluation of the report, it is important to recognize the changes that Justice Goldstone was able to make to it and evaluate his report on its own merits. Regrettably, the resolution condemning the Goldstone Report was never considered by the appropriate committee in the House and Judge Goldstone was never asked to testify before Congress about it. In the end, with no hearing and public testimony, I believe members of Congress lacked a sufficient basis on which to condemn the report.

I believe that, when Congress turns its attention to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, we should do so in a way that helps broker peace in the region. Unfortunately, this resolution did not do that, and in fact may have contributed to increasing tensions in the region.

For these reasons, I was unable to support H. Res. 867 when it was voted on in the House. I will continue, though, to work with my colleagues to try and secure a better way forward that leads to lasting peace and security for both Israelis and Palestinians.

Sincerely,

GEORGE MILLER
Member Of Congress, 7th District

My reply:

Dear Congressman Miller,

Let us begin by acknowledging that you never read the Goldstone Report in its entirety. I did.

Let's also begin by noting that your "distinguished" Goldstone stated in The New York Times that "I accepted [the mandate] because my fellow commissioners are professionals committed to an objective, fact-based investigation." In fact, there was not one person on his committee sympathetic to Israel, and Christine Chinkin had pronounced Israel guilty before seeing any evidence.

Your "distinguished" Goldstone himself was on the board of Human Rights Watch, which had already condemned Israel before he began the Commission.

Your "distinguished" Goldstone has consistently refused to answer questions or provide clarification about the substance of his mission's findings or his methodology.

You claim in your e-mail to me that "Congress lacked a sufficient basis on which to condemn the report", yet the Goldstone Committee was in all respects a "kangaroo court".

Should you wish to read more, I suggest you read Prof. Richard Landes' comprehensive articles concerning Goldstone and his Report in "The Augean Stables": http://www.theaugeanstables.com/category/goldstone-report/

I doubt that you will.

Query: Is it your intention to accept funds from J Street?

Thank you for your prompt reply.

Sincerely,
Jeffrey Grossman

Open Letter to U.S. Senator Russ Feingold

Dear Senator Feingold,

I live with my wife and children in Israel.

As you know, you are being endorsed by the J Street PAC, and, I understand, you will be offered contributions from this organization.

Perhaps you also know that J Street opposed House Resolution 867, calling on the President and the Secretary of State to reject unequivocally any endorsement or further consideration of the Goldstone Commission report on Operation Cast Lead.

I believe in a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine, which includes the return of lands, including land swaps, to the Palestinian Authority. I believe that the Palestinians should be granted self-governance and should enjoy all the benefits of freedom and prosperity associated with independence.

However, having read the Goldstone Report in its entirety and having familiarized myself with the platform and activities of J Street, I am deeply offended by the conduct of J Street, which I believe is inimical to Israel and the prospects for a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

I kindly request that you refuse funding from J Street. I also ask for your written response to this request, which I will publish in my blog.

Yours sincerely,
Jeffrey Grossman

[I have sent similar messages to Congressman Charles Boustany of Louisiana, Congressman Russ Carnahan of Missouri, Congressman Steve Cohen of Tennessee, Congresswoman Susan Davis of California, Congressman Barney Frank of Massachusetts, Congressman Charles Gonzales of Texas, Congressman Hank Johnson of Georgia, Congresswoman Betsy Markey of Colorado, Congressman George Miller of California, Congressman Jared Polis of Colorado, and Congressman John Yarmuth of Kentucky, and I will inform readers of their responses.]