Think-Israel

THINK-ISRAEL

SUCKERED BY THE ARABS:
Are Jewish and Christian Pro-Israel Groups Being Suckered By The Arabs?

by Lee Kaplan

It's really become too much. The so-called "Road Map," which is really the Saudi Peace Plan from just a year ago, is obviously a joke and has already cost more Israeli lives. Even pro-Israel groups that object to the Road Map are still being suckered into enabling the Bush administration's sop to Saudi Arabia with their protests. Like the village of Chelm, the only world of shtetel dwellers, they spend most of their time and energy emailing to each other about what is going on, preaching to the choir. Emails do get sent to the President and the State Department, but nothing changes. And why should it? As long as these groups spend all their time wringing their hands and sending indignant emails, the Bush administration's key business associate, the Saudi Royal Family, can always be kept out of the direct conversation. This must change.

Let's face it. Jews and Christians in America who are concerned about Israel, who represent Israel actively, represent only part of the US population. On the other side you have Saudi-financed front groups like CAIR and the MPAC who pretend to be fighting discrimination against Muslims when their real goal is to influence American policy against Israel and for the "Arab point of view." Money flows into Washington just as it always has. And the Arabs have plenty of oil money. Not to feed their people or better their lives, but to conduct Jihad, to buy guns and to destroy the "Jewish entity."

The Arabs, and mainly the Saudis, have filled our universities with "professors" and "students" who have imported the Arab world's propaganda machine of demonizing Israel and Jews. The Saudi Money machine that financed Al Qaeda pays for lectures at our universities that blame America for 9/11. And colleges strapped for cash are more than happy to look the other way. Our State Department diplomats can be assured of lucrative "consulting" contracts from the Saudis when they leave public office. And the Saudis know how to shmear their way everywhere.

Meanwhile, they chartered planes and smuggled the Al Qaeda terrorists out of Afghanistan as fellow Muslims for the next round of terror against the US and Israel. Anyone who thinks American soldiers being killed a few at a time in Iraq today are not in some way the end result of Saudi involvement in worldwide Jihad is living in a pipedream.

Yet nobody really goes after the Saudis. Colin Powell plays racquetball with Prince Bandar. George W. Bush has yet to once even tell the Saudis to stop funding terrorists. In fact, he himself takes "donations" and gifts from the same Saudis who finance Hamas. Two weeks ago the news media announced Bin Laden's second-in-command, Zawahiri, had been captured in Saudi Arabia. Heard anything since? Of course not, because the Saudis will never turn him over to the US government. He's a Muslim. And they no doubt wish to cover their own involvement.

The Bush administration will NEVER go after the roots of terror financing because Saudi Wahabism is also the money that keeps the political and gratuity machine going in Washington. There's just too much to lose. The Saudi Peace Plan of last year was silly and an insult to anyone of intelligence. The Saudis in effect said if Israel withdrew to indefensible 1948 borders, the Arab world would recognize their right to exist. No mention of cessation of terror, and the offer was made because the Saudis knew Israel would have to be crazy to accept it. When Ariel Sharon cleverly took it as a "first step" and offered to visit Riyadh, the Saudis immediately backpedaled saying such a visit was "too soon." Then they adopted the Right of Return to flood Israel with Arabs knowing there was no way Israel would or could accept. And the Bush administration and news media here lauded it as a major peace proposal.

So then a year later, Prince Abdullah informs America "he won't do any more business" with it unless the Israel-Palestine question is settled. Hence the reworking to the Road Map and America's insistence Israel accept casualties as a road map to peace. Sure, it's hypocritical, the President plays both sides when fighting the War On Terror, but, hey, think of the financial rewards when leaving office. If the Saudi Royal Family stays in power there are personal fortunes to be made. Who cares if Israelis and even US GIs die here and there? The Saudis are "allies."

So how are US Jewish and Christian activist groups being suckered by the Arabs? By wasting our time in our own country constantly putting out forest fires instead of going after the arsonist. On our campuses there is currently a divestment campaign against Israel. Saudi money buys its way on every major campus to finance the people and campaign to implement this. And what do pro-Israel groups do? They email each other, they organize campaigns against the divestment petitions and ultimately they gather more signatures.

On one Arab website one of their pundits boasted they really doubted they could ever get Israel divested from enough to ruin the Jewish state. But the constant nitpicking at her would take its toll and it would drain resources. It's a good plan when you think about it: the average uninvolved American or the M-TV generation of college students can be persuaded by Madison Avenue style advertising to think they are helping the poor downtrodden Arabs by signing a petition to divest.

Throw in lies about "genocide," "apartheid," "collective punishment" ad nauseum and the unknowing fall for it.

The Arab propaganda plan in the US is to reeducate the unknowing mainstream American with false history and play on his or her emotions and to keep the pro-Israel elements constantly on the defensive. Throw enough false accusations and the other side in limited time can never answer them all in the time allowed by a news sound bite.

This is why DAFKA has originated a petition to the Regents of The University of California and the Governor to divest the University of California from Saudi money. The anti-Israel divestment petition began at Berkeley, so what better place to originate ours? Saudi money has bought its way into UC Berkeley at an alarming rate. DAFKA research uncovered that the bulk of funding for the UC Berkeley Center For Mideast Studies is financed by two Saudi sheiks who also fund Al Qaeda. But who knows this?

The average American who understands the Saudis involvement in the world of terror but doesn't know that much about the Israel's situation hears only about the anti-Israel divestment petition. But try to get Jewish and Christian pro-Israel groups to go on the offensive and mount a similar petition against the Saudis and the inaction is amazing.

If pro-Israel groups can muster enough signatures to counter anti-Israel divestment petitions (and they do), why not use their greater numbers to proactively go after the source of all this nonsense? It's called preemption. And it works.

But even more can be done. No doubt a ton of emails has reached Foggy Bottom against the Road Map. Yet it still goes forward. You want to know why? Because there is a perception that most come from Jews and Evangelical Christians. In a city where money talks, Saudi money will counter easily among politicians, including our President, over any "special narrow interest group." Even conservative talk shows will overlook the Bush administration's hypocrisy in the War On Terror vis-à-vis Israel's fighting terrorists if it is perceived as a narrow interest group's goals.

Instead of emailing each other, pro-Israel groups should be conducting demonstrations at Saudi consulates across the US demanding the US government close them down until the Saudis cease all funding of terrorism. Talk on camera of what the Saudis are really doing, their involvement in world terror and point out to the normally unconcerned American viewer in his living room what is going on and then watch the sparks fly in Washington. Those of us in the support Israel loop know more about Saudi involvement with terror and the Bush administration's hypocrisy than we realize.

Recently when DAFKA tried to organize a demonstration at the San Francisco Saudi consulate the local Jewish federation agency thought it was a bad idea and killed it. The logic was it would offend the Bush administration and maybe hurt Israel. Israel is already hurting. And this will continue until the Bush administration is embarrassed by its buddying up to the Saudis.

All the Americans that don't follow Middle East news closely need to be told that the same Saudis who helped produce the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11 are still attacking us. The amount of Saudi infiltration in our universities and media must be exposed. Until preemptive and proactive action is taken against the Saudi Royal Family and its hold over the Bush administration is exposed, there will only be more Israeli deaths and the loss of our own dear soldiers.

Please visit the Petitions section on the DAFKA menu - click here - and sign the petition. Disseminate it and keep us informed of gathered signatures.

Lee Kaplan is National Director of DAFKA (http://www.dafka.org). DAFKA is a Hebrew word that roughly means "in your face." DAFKA is rapidly becoming known for its accurate and in-your-face journalism.