51st: Visiting with Constituents UPDATE
“81 Members to Visit Israel: Over the three-week recess, 81 members — 55 Republicans and 26 Democrats — will take a trip to the Jewish state, the Jerusalem Post reported Monday. That breaks down to about 20 percent of the House who will spend a week of their August break in Israel….
“The American Israel Education Foundation, a charity group connected with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, is sponsoring the visits….
“In a statement, [Steny] Hoyer said he is “pleased members of Congress have this opportunity to study American interests in the Middle East and gain a deeper understanding of the issues involved in increasing stability in the region.”
Will they fit in visits to Egypt, Syria, and Yemen, I wonder? At Politico
For those still on duty: Stephen Walt offer his views of THE TRIP: The Greatest Elected Body that Money Can Buy.
You know that there are only two possible viewpoints on the Middle East; objective and anti-Semitic.
Apart from Middle East issues, there seems to be growing dissatisfaction with Bebe’s government.
It could be (finally) that change is in the air there.
Unfortunately, change in political perception here is probably as rigid as on other issues.
Will Egypt, Syria, and Yemen foot the bill?
“Will Egypt, Syria, and Yemen foot the bill?”
Hard to say. Does the US give them as much money as they do to Israel?
Does anyone think it is appropriate to subvent U.S. congress reps in order to lobby them to send Israel more money and to torpedo the Palestinian UN effort? Seems to me this is a bit like Gas/Oil companies paying Congress to visit PA and NY to see what a great job they’re doing fracking!!
Does anyone think it is appropriate to refer to the State of Israel, a parliamentary democracy, as “51st”?
What is Commonweal’s reason for the constant use of that disrespectful nickname?
What would Commonweal like to see happen to the country whose name it replaces with a number?
Hey Gerelyn, I am not Commonweal. I do this because I would like the State of Israel to survive as a healthy democracy. The United States’s unstinting support undermines that hope by allowing the Netanyahu government to behave as if it is the Master of the Universe in the Middle East. As the current protests in Tel Aviv show, this government favors the settlements, building infrastructure and housing in territory destined for a Palestinian State. As the protests show they do this at the expense of Israelis who live in Israel.
My goal is to call Your attention to our role in maintaining this situation. Pay attention!
Hi, Margaret.
I thought you, as a long-time editor of Commonweal, grateful recipient of SEVEN honorary degrees for your service to the magazine, had been named a Contributor because you are in agreement with the current editors’ views and policies.
I wonder if any of the Nordquistians will be among the group. Given how they hate to spend money, I would expect them to be against spending as much as we do on Israel. This could have some interesting foreign policy ramifications, though not necessarily benign ones. Hmm.
Hi Gerelyn… The editors can speak for themselves, probably in editorials…I don’t detect that Blog Contributors are always in line with the editors’ views and policies, but I won’t name names!
Have I met my goal in getting you (and others) to think about U.S. policy vis a vis Israel? That’s my plan!! If not, fifty years from now Americans will be guilty of having helped the whole country go down the rabbit hole…. and I’m not even sure rabbits are kosher.
AO: Ron Paul (R. TX) and Rand Paul (R. KY) both libertarians and critics of U.S. foreign policy have from time to time raised questions about U.S. policy in the ME.
(1. Heh. 2. Yes. 3. Tref.)
MOS —
I don’t think that Ron Paul is typical of the conservative freshmen representatives. As I see the Tea Partiers, so far they are a one issue constituency — they’re simply anti- taxes. While he too is fiscally ultra-conservative, he is also a libertarian across the board, and he apparently leans towards isolationism. I wonder whether they will eventually be inclined to align with him. Conservatism and libertarianism aren’t the same thing.
Wikipedia says that he is pro-Israel, thinks they should be allowed to make their own decisions. Hmm. Wonder if he’s visited there since Netanyahu and his cronies took office.