Flabbergasted, I watched as Nikki Haley, during a visit to Israel, wrote “Finish them” on an IDF Israeli artillery shell and signed it, Nikki Haley; that only hours after the Rafah massacre. The horrific footage from Rafah severely clashed with Haley’s unethical and totally immoral gesture.
Nikki Haley, ex-South Carolina governor, the 29th US ambassador to the UN, and former Republican presidential nominee has made it very clear from the start that she is pro-Israeli. On numerous occasions during her tenure as the US ambassador at the United Nations, she unequivocally sided with Israel.
When Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, for example, Egypt put forward a draft UN resolution criticizing this move. Haley then issued a direct threat, warning delegates not to vote for the resolution. She also sent a letter to UN delegations saying that the president “will be watching the vote carefully” and that she would “report back on those who voted against us.”
All along, Haley proclaims her allegiance to Israel at meetings of the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and other pro-Israeli lobbies and in Israel during visits. And today her tweets expose her undeniable allegiance in support of Israel. Here is just a sample, ““I can hardly imagine a more foolish move than Joe Biden withholding weapons from one of our closest allies”; “I support cutting foreign aid. But sending weapons to Ukraine and Israel isn’t foreign aid. It’s an investment in a world in which authoritarian dictators cannot run roughshod over free countries”; and when asked where Gazans should go, her response was offensive as though Palestinians have no rights, “They should be going to the Rafah Crossing, and Egypt should take them.”
In all fairness though, Nikki Haley is no worse than the hundreds of Western lawmakers who support Israel blindly never faulting it and approving its aggressions. Staunch pro-Israeli defenders accept Israel’s wrongdoings, attribute the war in Gaza solely on Hamas ignoring the original causes that led to the war, and neglect to see the atrocities that Palestinians are living in.
From former United Kingdom’s prime minister Liz Truss who identified herself as a “huge Zionist” to the many lawmakers who associate themselves with Israel such as the current US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken who told Israelis, “I come before you as a Jew,” and President Biden who reiterated the same sentiment. “I got in trouble many times for saying you don’t have to be a Jew to be a Zionist, and I am a Zionist. I make no apologies for that. That’s a reality.”
Besides, all the latest US presidents, Bush, Obama, Clinton, and Trump, and many other Western leaders place the visit to the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem on their itineraries. They wear the kippah, the skull cap worn by religious Jews, and bend their heads in sorrow, respect, and meditation at the wall. For neutral or unaffiliated viewers, this alliance comes across as though it pays to side with Israel.
So, today we question the reasons behind this unwavering pro-Israeli following despite the heinous acts that ensue. What are the factors that drive the Western pro-Israeli position? Why have lawmakers in the West not condemned the international law violations and war crimes committed by Israel? Let’s decipher this bizarre dedication and understand why lawmakers, particularly in the US, are Israeli backers.
First, this allegiance is rooted in religion, and no one can deny that religion is an influential stance. Devout Christians believe in Zionism, and Christian Zionism is a political and religious ideology that embraces the return of the Jewish people to the Holy Land. To them the founding of Israel in 1948 was in accordance with the biblical prophecies, and that Palestine was the needed haven for Jews fleeing from Europe, not only that but that the “return” of Jews to the Middle East would hasten the second coming of Jesus. As religious adherence declines, the influence of Christian Zionism may have waned somewhat, though it is still a common train of thought amongst many.
Second, support for Israel has been based on the idea that it is a valuable Western military outpost that serves Western interests without necessarily having to be involved. Central to that support was the concept that Israel would serve Western interest. Lester Pearson, former Canadian prime minister, explained how “Israel may assume an important role in Western defence as the southern pivot of current plans for the defence.”
Though I personally find this rather far-fetched, Ermin Sinanovic in TRT World believes that Westerners are relieved or better yet content that Israel is doing the work for them. “Israel is doing to the Palestinians what many Western political elites want to do to Arabs and Muslims, but often cannot,” and he links the acceptance to the violence against Palestinians to the post-Sept. 11 normalization of violence against Arabs and Muslims.
But more importantly, the pro-Israeli lobby is one of the most organized and powerful entities in the US and elsewhere. No other religious or political lobby is as well-resourced or as coordinated. While it flaunts a unique and powerful strategy, the Israeli lobby plays the victim and, in the process, smears those in support Palestinian rights.
Consequently, the US Congress is brimming with Zionist supporters. The powerful Israeli lobby supports and sponsors only those who support Israel; it also works against non-supporters, creating a high-powered allegiance as it channels its support to those who become very powerful lawmakers.
According to The Forward, an American news media organization “AIPAC has raised $90 million since Oct. 7. Some of that money is already going towards the 2024 election.” And Nikki Haley did indeed receive $961,608 from Israeli lobbies; no wonder, she remains ever so grateful.
After the charges against Israeli leaders by the International Criminal Court (ICC), Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina went on a rampage saying, “the ICC can go to hell.” That is because Graham has already received over $1 million from pro-Israeli lobbies. And, according to the Forward, a US news media organisation, the Republican Jewish Coalition funnelled more money to Graham than any other group during the 2020 US elections.
Graham and Haley are not the only US lawmakers to receive support from pro-Israeli lobbies, as over 1,400 other Congress representatives were sponsored by such lobbies between 1990 and 2024, according to US non-profit organization Open Secrets.
The pro-Israeli lobbies are also backed by substantial wealth. Zionist families dip into their pockets to fund the many pro-Zionist organizations. Not only in the US but other Western countries, such as Canada, affluent Israelis provide billions of dollars in support of Israel.
David Azrieli, an Israeli Canadian tycoon worth more than $3 billion, had served in his youth in the Haganah group, the main Zionist paramilitary organization during the 1948 war. Canadian Gerald Schwartz and his wife Heather Reisman created the Heseg Foundation for Lone Soldiers, providing millions of dollars annually for non-Israelis who fight in the IDF. The foundation also provides money to cover tuition and living expenses for former "lone soldiers" who wish to remain in Israel to study after they've completed their military service.
As a result, the US Congress continues its support for Israel. It passed a resolution proclaiming “anti- Zionism is antisemitism,” which passed with a resounding 311-14 margin. In other words, almost all Congress representatives adhere to the notion that if you criticize Zionism, or find fault with Israel’s starvation policy in Gaza, you are being antisemitic.
Fewer than a handful of Congress representatives support Palestine and have called for a ceasefire. Sometimes they are called the “progressive squad,” and at other times, the “cohort of Black and Brown lawmakers”; but the overwhelming majority of Congress representatives are pro-Israeli. According to The Guardian, “Legislators categorized as supportive of Israel received about $125,000 on average during their last election, while those supportive of Palestine on average took about $18,000…The volume and breadth of the donors’ spending is considerable: over $58m went to current Congress members, and all but 33 received donations.”
This immediately translates to an avid pro-Israeli defence mechanism. Bottom line, money and support deprives these keen supporters of balanced perception and aims only to serve their upholders even if it entails watching the demise of 2.4 million Palestinians.
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