Settlements

Israel and the U.S. are at odds over two issues--how to deal with Iran's nuclear program and Israel's occupation of the West Bank.  Below are key events that every American should know in order to understand how we got here.  Of course, this list is incomplete--one could write a several hundred page book on these topics.  And Israel's defenders will no doubt come up with a list just as long defending Israel's actions and highlighting the evil deeds of Iranians and Palestinians.

Dear Secretary Kerry:

Israel has just announced that it is grabbing 988 acres of land from five Palestinian villages in the West Bank to build a new settlement named Gvaot.  They claim that this is in response to kidnapping and murder of three teenagers earlier this summer.  The U.S. government has responded by saying that this is counterproductive to negotiating a two-state solution and meekly urging Israel to reverse its decision.

Could the U.S. one day find itself called upon in desperation by Israel to help it put down an uprising in the illegally occupied West Bank? The question seems preposterous. Israel is a military juggernaut. Neither the First nor the Second Intifada posed a serious military threat to Israel. And Israel has crushed Gaza repeatedly. The Palestinians are weak, and no matter what they do, they will never pose a real military threat to Israel.

Finally, John Kerry blasts Israel for sabotaging the peace talks by its never-ending construction of settlements.  It's about time!

Read this article in Slate which describes how Israeli actions are pissing off the rest of the world.

Michael Goldstein voted for Obama in 2008.  He is featured in this Republican Jewish Coalition ad explaining why he will be voting for Romney in 2012.