Monday, January 2, 2017

Is United States' unswavering support for genocidal Saudi Arabia justified?




From December 30's New York Times:

In a statement that echoed Mr. Trump’s fierce criticism of the Obama administration, Mrs. May chided Mr. Kerry for, among other things, describing the Israeli government as the “most right-wing in Israeli history, with an agenda driven by the most extreme elements.”
Mrs. May does “not believe that it is appropriate to attack the composition of the democratically elected government of an ally,” a spokesman for the prime minister said, using the department’s customary anonymity.

Mr. Kerry’s speech was praised by other European nations, including France and Germany. So the British slap — especially after Mrs. May’s government voted last week for a United Nations Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlement construction — was something of a shock to Washington.
These questions arise from the Times account:


     1.  Is Kerry correct to describe Netanyahu's government as the "most right-wing in Israeli history, with an agenda driven by the most extreme elements"?

Access to work in Israeli territory worries me.


The settlements worry me.


Portugal joins number of EU countries warning their citizens against doing business with illegal Israeli settlements


So, was Kerry correct in his judgment?

     2.   Was Ms. May correct in her judgment that it is not  'appropriate to attack the composition of the democratically elected government of an ally'

I listened to Kerry's speech with care.  I have written, often, about the United States' unstinting support for the genocidal Saudi regime, and begrudgingly concede

  if Israel's survival depend on the good will of Arab countries and
  if Israel's survival is important to the United States,
 then sycophantic behavior is understandable, though not forgivable in so powerful a country ast the United States.

But two caveats:

         (a) Israel does not deny having as many as 250 Bombs; so who would dare attack it?

         (b) If Israel becomes an apartheid state, as Kerry implies, with less chance of modifying its behavior than South Africa had, what then of the United States' unwavering support for it?

         (c) . Consider these facts:

Group[8][9]PopulationProportion of totalGrowth rate
Jews:6,119,00075.0%1.7%
Non-Haredi5,499 00065.1%1.2%
Haredi750,0009.9%5.0%
Arabs1,688,60020.7%2.1%
Other349,7004.3%N/A
Total8,157,300100%1.9%






Is Israel headed toward an apartheid state?  If not, why not?


     3 . Finally, is Great Britain's Theresa Mary May going to join the axis of Putin, Erdoğan, and Netanyahu, all three nominally head of democracies?

France, Germany, Austria, the Low Countries, and Scandinavia remain committed to liberal democracy.  Trump is an unknown.  If Trump surprises us, as I think he might, he can become a good president.  If he surprises me he will surely disappoint some of my friends.  I hope he surprises us all, and we muddle through in our usual fashion.' unwavering support of gencidal Saudi Arabia justified'

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