Part of the ineffable reality of American democracy as Helen Thomas — American reporter, author, and longtime front row member of the White House press corps — once observed, is that “you cannot criticise Israel in this country and survive.”
Thomas was subsequently obliged to step down from her job as a columnist for Hearst News after a rabbi and independent filmmaker videotaped her outside the White House calling on Israelis to get “out of Palestine.” It is equally true that while the imposing United States Capitol Complex on the left is theoretically the seat of the U.S. government, it is in fact in the building on the right at 251 H St. NW — the soon to be dramatically expanded American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) headquarters — where much of America’s domestic and foreign policy is determined.
(http://www.countercurrents.org/hanna200814.htm)
This unmentionable reality was highlighted by a recently published article in The Duran, which reported that during an interview on The Late Show by host Stephen Colbert, Oliver Stone remarked that Israel had far more influence over U.S. elections than any of the surmised influence Russia may have had. When Stone referred to the alleged and yet to be substantiated Russian interference:
“Israel had far more involvement in the U.S. election than Russia, why don’t you ask me about that?”
Colbert — who also hypocritically sniped about Vladimir Putin’s alleged suppression of press freedom in Russia — abruptly ended that topic of conversation by saying:
“I will ask you about that when you make a documentary about Israel.”
Though Stone’s above assertion was valid and irrefutable, it was — in keeping with the best of the American media’s relentless quest for, and reporting of, the truth — nonetheless censored and omitted from the actual broadcast.
(http://theduran.com/oliver-stones-israel-remarks-censored-by-stephen-colberts-late-show/)
This was particularly hypocritical considering that since the issue of the Trump team’s connections to Russia — and that country’s alleged interference in the U.S presidential election — The Late Show and Colbert have enjoyed a surge in ratings by constantly harping on the issue of “Russian skulduggery” while as always failing to mention the subversive influence on America of the all-powerful and well funded pro-Israel lobby. Despite his undoubted talent and popularity, Colbert nonetheless failed during the interview to disguise the hypocrisy of his subservient silence — the hallmark of the “free” American press — with regards to Israel’s subversive activities and violations of international law including crimes against humanity with arrogant impunity.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6XQOD-7VhA&t=3s)
In the meantime, while an endless saga including the Russian “threat” to an American democracy that is a sham; the firing of former FBI Director James Comey; and the appointment of a special council is dominating the news, the pro-Israel lobby’s undemocratic efforts to influence U.S. lawmakers at federal, state and local levels —with generous financial incentives, political intimidation, and expense-paid trips to Israel — have continued unmentioned and unabated.
Such tactics have resulted in the Israeli government reportedly committing 100 million shekels (about $26 million) to fight BDS on as many fronts as possible with emphasis on the targeting of academic institutions and legislative bodies at the national, state and local levels; Congressional rejection of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334, which declared that “the establishment by Israel of settlements in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, has no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation of international law . . . ”; and a proliferation of laws, bills and non-binding resolutions — particularly in U.S., Canada, and the UK — against the global Boycott, Divest, Sanction (BDS) movement which according to numerous international academics and legal experts is “lawful exercise of freedom of expression.”
Israel’s ability to control the media dialogue with an endless stream of propaganda lies — otherwise known as Hasbara and meaning “explanation” — has been successful only because the U.S. corporate media has simply followed the example of the U.S government by also accepting without question or conscience the heinous propaganda from an Israel which has no qualms about stooping to any level in its rejection of Palestinian identity, history, and presence in Palestine as is evident from the following Israeli government video:
The apparently successful, illegal, and brutal occupation of Palestinian land by an Apartheid Jewish state has only been possible as a consequence of Israel’s total but unmentionable occupation of the American mind . . . The extent of that occupation is made evident in The Occupation of the American Mind documentary narrated by Roger Waters as outlined is this short video clip.
William Hanna is a freelance writer with published books the Hiramic Brotherhood of the Third Temple, The Tragedy of Palestine and its Children, and the forthcoming Hiramic Brotherhood: Ezekiel’s Temple Prophesy. Purchase information, sample chapters, other articles, and contact details at (http://www.hiramicbrotherhood.com/)
Featured image: William Hanna
