Democratic Palestine : 31 (ص 50)
غرض
- عنوان
- Democratic Palestine : 31 (ص 50)
- المحتوى
-
.
" ,@ ;
iene “‘o %,
> ae &
“ a. : :
; sll i pe .-
ee.
Jesse Jackson - mass outreach
forum held by the Conference of
Presidents of Major American-Jewish
Organizations, Dukakis blamed the in-
transigence of Arab leaders for the
absence of peace in the region. But he
failed to explicitly rule out US support
for an independent Palestinian state,
and even opined that the final status of
Jerusalem should be «subject to
negotiations.» Subsequently, he
volunteered: «if Israel wants its capital
in Jerusalem then, as far as I’m con-
cerned, its capital is in Jerusalem.»
Finally, Dukakis would oppose arms
sales to Arab countries that are thought
to endanger Israeli security. He would
not sell advanced equipment to coun-
tries that refuse to take part in the US-
sponsored peace process. He would like
an international naval force in the Gulf.
For the record, he was opposed to the
US bombing of Libya in 1985.
In assessing Dukakis’ Middle East
50
policy, one could say that it is not better
than Bush’s. There are differences, but
these center on the details of how to
best support ‘Israel’ and promote US
interests in the region. Dukakis showed
himself more ready to meet certain
Israeli demands, such as on the status
of Jerusalem. Bush, for his part, shares
the militaristic approach of the Reagan
era which funded Israeli aggression at
an unprecedented level, as in the 1982
invasion of Lebanon, joint «Star
Wars» research and military coopera-
tion, etc.
CATERING FAILS
It had been widely assumed that
Dukakis had the so-called Jewish vote
locked up, as a liberal and devoted
friend of ‘Israel’. Yet, despite all the
above-mentioned facts and catering,
the Zionist lobby in the US expressed a
preference for Bush and not Dukakis,
for the following reasons: (1) Dukakis
opposes the SDI program which could
mean cancelling US-Israeli cooperation
in this field. (2) He declared South
Africa a terrorist and racist state; called
for a break in US-South Africa ties;
and warned all countries that have
dealings with the apartheid govern-
ment. (3) He belongs to the American
Civil Liberties Union whose lawyers
played a prominent role in the defense
of the Los Angeles 8(threatened with
deportation due to their work for the
Palestinian cause), and in confronting
the attempt to close the PLO’s UN
mission. (4) It was within the
Democratic Party that the issue of
Palestinian self-determination and
statehood was discussed. Thus, the
Zionist lobby demonstrated that its
priority is a militaristic and expan-
sionist ‘Israel’ at all costs, rather than - هو جزء من
- Democratic Palestine : 31
- تاريخ
- ديسمبر ١٩٨٨
- المنشئ
- الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين
Contribute
Not viewed