Jim Lobe
IPS
June 3, 2010
- A d v e r t i s e m e n t
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Faced with what the Wall Street Journal calls “one of Israel’s worst international relations disasters in years”, the right- wing leadership of the so-called “Israel Lobby” has been pulling out all the stops to defend the Jewish state against global outrage over its deadly seizure of a Gaza-bound vessel in international waters carrying humanitarian supplies early Monday morning.
Its biggest concern for now is to prevent the administration of President Barack Obama from distancing itself in any way – let alone joining in the almost universal condemnation – from the military operation in which at least nine civilian passengers of Turkish-flagged Mavi Marmara were killed by Israeli commandos.
“As the international community is engaged in a biased rush to judgment against Israel and a diplomatic lynching, now is the time for the United States to firmly stand with the Jewish state and its people,” said Abraham Foxman, director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Wednesday.
“The U.S. must show the world that it not only supports Israel’s right to defend its borders and citizens against terrorism, but that it supports Israel’s right to protect itself from people who pretend to be ‘peace activists,’ and parade under the guise of humanitarians while supporting Hamas and violently attacking Israeli military personnel,” he added.
Indeed, even after Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s spokesman publicly thanked Washington for its efforts to “water down” a statement by the president of the U.N. Security Council issued early Tuesday morning, hard- line neo-conservatives complained bitterly that Obama had betrayed its closest ally by not vetoing it.
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