Rice: Israeli influence

Gaza is often referred to as an “open-air prison” which has been subjected to Israel’s apartheid and intermittent bombing for years.

To many, the Oct. 7 tragedy was an organized prison revolt, a commando-style raid to obtain as many Israeli hostages as possible as quickly as possible to be traded for some of the 4,500 Palestinians (including 160 children) imprisoned by Israel. Of the 1,200 Israelis killed on Oct. 7, it has been reported 350 were Israeli soldiers and one was a young child. Some were reportedly killed by the Israeli soldiers themselves firing from tanks and American-supplied Apache helicopters.

Why is our government so supportive of Israel as it illegally levels a country slaughtering its population? Why do we keep giving Israel $3.5 billion-plus each year? The apparent reason is pro-Israel lobby groups such as AIPAC (American Israeli Political Action Committee) finance pro-Israel U.S. congressional (and presidential) campaigns, especially in swing states.

As evidence of how well the AIPAC-type donation system has worked for Israel, consider Prime Minister Netanyahu’s March 2, 2015, speech before a joint session of Congress. During his 43-minute speech, Netanyahu received over 20 standing ovations, mostly for each verbal attack against Iran, as the cameras slowly panned his audience.

Another example occurred many years earlier on Oct. 3, 2001, shortly after 9/11. In a reported acrimonious exchange during an Israeli cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon reportedly yelled at his Foreign Minister Shimon Peres “Don’t worry about American pressure, we, the Jewish people control America, and the Americans know it.”

The U.S. government funding of weapons and other support for Israel’s attack on Gaza and the West Bank makes us accomplices to the murder of over 8,000 Palestinian children — children. I hope people will keep all this in mind during the 2024 election year.

William Rice lives in Randolph Center.