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Former speaker of the House and Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich is a staunch suppoter of Israel [EPA] |
The film "Mission Impossible 4" opened in US theatres in recent
weeks, starring BMW, Apple and Tom Cruise. A two-hour-long commercial on
steroids.
"I think that
we've had invented Palestinian people who are in fact Arabs, and who
were historically part of the Arab community.
And they had a
chance to go many places, and for a variety of political reasons we have
sustained this war against Israel now since the nineteen-forties, and
it’s tragic."
- Newt Gingrich, former speaker of the House and Republican presidential candidate
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If you are unfamiliar with it, Paid Product Placement (PPP) is a big thing in the movie industry.
This
is how it works: Hollywood places in its movies certain watches, cars
or a laptop brands; preferably worn by George Clooney, driven by
Angelina Jolie or placed in front of Meg Ryan. In "The Transformers",
for example, GM’s Cameros lead with Megan Fox.
PPP is indirect
marketing that targets oblivious movie viewers, gender notwithstanding,
Catherine Banning or Will Smith could be drinking Pepsi.
The spirit and soul of a movie are sometimes compromised when its
script and shooting are shaped by commercial, rather than artistic,
considerations.
PPP allows for extra budgets to produce costlier gimmicks that, in
turn, bring more profit. "Mission Impossible", for example, has reaped
$75m in the first 10 days at the box office.
The same logic seems to apply to politics. PPP is one way to
understand the sudden surge of Israel-schmoozing and Palestine abusing
ahead of the US election.
Israel placement
Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the House, and other
current Republican candidates are riding Israel like Tom Cruise rides
various BMW models in his "Mission Impossible" franchise.
Like action films, presidential elections are brilliantly staged and
terribly expensive with many gimmicks and little substance. Except that
one sells cars and gadgets, while the other sells security and special
interest.
To be a fictional action hero is one thing; to lead the word’s superpower requires a few doses of reality and credibility.
The in-your-face claim that the Palestinians are “invented people” by Gingrich was more blatant than a BMW placement.
When asked if he considered himself a Zionist, Gingrich didn't flinch: "I think that we’ve had invented Palestinian people who are in fact Arabs, and who were historically part of the Arab community.
And they had a chance to go many places, and for a variety of political
reasons we have sustained this war against Israel now since the
nineteen-forties, and it’s tragic."
"You can be sure that Gingrich did not care a whit for what Palestinians, here or in the US, would think.
The Palestinian vote will not decide swing states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, or, above all, Florida"
- David Remnick, New Yorker editor
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A prolific writer, Gingrich produces many books with little
intellectual substance. When it comes to the Middle East, the historian
is ahistorical; he peddles history at the service of politics.
Some jumped on him, others defended him. A few shot back, saying it
is the United States and Israel that are invented on the back of
others.
Palestinian spokespersons were furious. Some went as far as writing
their own personal stories to prove they did exist! As if Gingrich give a
damn about the facts of life in Palestine.
But as the New Yorker editor, David Remnick put it:
"You can be sure that Gingrich did not care a whit for what
Palestinians, here or in the US, would think. The Palestinian vote will
not decide swing states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, or, above all, Florida;
a considerable shift in the Jewish vote could."
Alas, there is no other point to this stupid statement. As Remnick
said, Gingrich is ready to go very far to promote himself such as
claiming that: "People like me are what stand between us and Auschwitz."
And yet, he has a lot of catching up to do with House Majority
Leader, Eric Cantor, an ardent Republican Jewish supporter of Israel who
reckons "the 2,000-year-old dream of a Jewish state is in jeopardy, the
Palestinian culture is infused with hatred and the international
community is replete with anti-Semitic vitriol".
He and the other Republican leaders and candidates speak of Israel as
if it is the only country in the Middle East; as the only reliable
ride in a sea of tyranny. As if nothing changed over the last year,
alas.
The Republicans have gone so far out, that Israel’s own friends and
supporters in the US, have been repulsed including the J street lobby.
The Lobby and the rest
"I sure hope
that Israel’s prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, understands that the
standing ovation he got in Congress this year was not for his politics.
That ovation was bought and paid for by the Israel lobby."
- Thomas Friedman, The New York Times columnist
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Behind Israel’s placement is the Israel
lobby that devises Israel’s black operations and "ghost protocols" in
the US. It stands behind much of the political promotion of Israel and
the degrading the Palestinians.
So fearsome, it is referred to simply as "The Lobby". It’s not
only what the Lobby can do to help, but more importantly what it could
do to destroy a politician.
The Lobby has been quite irresponsible in the way it throws its
weight in Washington in recent years. Back in 1992, then Prime Minister
Yitzhak Rabin, told the Lobby, for lack of better word, to shut up.
In recent days, the Lobby has alienated some of Israel’s own friends
among the US elite, including some in the organised American Jewish
community.
The New York Times widely-read columnist Thomas Friedman wrote:
"I
sure hope that Israel’s prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, understands
that the standing ovation he got in Congress this year was not for his
politics. That ovation was bought and paid for by the Israel lobby."
Friedman stated the obvious, but also touched a nerve.
He indirectly alluded to Jewish political influence and manipulation
through money, an impression those behind PPP-ing Israel want to avoid
at all cost.
The impression they want decimated is that Israel is America’s
trusted ally in a dangerous and unpredictable region, with which it
shares democratic values and strategic interests.
That is why there has been calls demanding apologies from the New York Times. Friedman retracted his choice of words, but not the thrust of his column.
Republican,
conservative and other groups that make up the wider sphere of the
Israel Lobby hire PR firms for millions of dollars to provide
politicians and candidates with savvy talking points and convincing
arguments in favour of Israel.
One mission too many
Generally speaking, the
pro-Israeli adage and sound-bites are the brainchild of Israel lobbyists
and Republican like Frank Luntz.
But even Luntz has warned: "Don’t pretend that Israel is without mistakes or fault. It’s not true and no one believes it".
In
his how-to-market-Israel guide, he adds, "We’re at a time in history
when Jews in general (and Israelis in particular) are no longer
perceived as the persecuted people. In fact, among American and European
audiences -sophisticated, educated, opinionated, non-Jewish audiences -
Israelis are often seen as the occupiers and the aggressors. With that
kind of baggage, it is critical that messages from the pro-Israel
spokespeople not come across as supercilious or condescending."
Tell that to the Republican candidates.
Defending the Israel right-wing coalition in the Western public
sphere is becoming "mission impossible" with "the thrills and fun are
quite few and far between".
This past week provided an excellent example. Hamas leader Khalid
Masha’al reconciles with President Mahmoud Abbas, accepts a Palestinian
state on the 1967 borders, and adopts popular non-violent resistance
while Israel’s military Chief of Staff Benny Gantz warned that Israel
will attack Hamas controlled Gaza 'sooner or later' while his government
announced the construction of new illegal settlements in the West Bank.
But those presidential candidates, desperate for the organizational,
media and financial support of the Israel Lobby, are not concerned with
any of any such developments. They will "love Israel to death",
literally the death of Palestinians or Israelis.
That starts with "increasing all strategic aid in all forms" to
"moving our embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem", moves through denying
Palestinian human and national rights, and ends with threats of bombing
Iran.
The comedy of "outloving" Israel was best captured by US comedian Jon
Stewart who graded Republican presidential candidates statements on
Israel according to a Yarmulkometer.
Marwan Bishara is Al Jazeera's senior political analyst
and a former professor of international relations at the American
University of Paris. His latest book, The Invisible Arab: The promise and peril of the Arab revolutions, hits bookstores in January.
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