Written on March 24th, 2011
Edited in April 2014
On
March 24th, 2011, Glenn Beck did a show about Libya, Israel, and oil.
For
those who would rather not watch the videos, the main thrust of the
episode was:
1.
Cass Sunstein (who holds a position which, for the sake of brevity,
can be dubbed the "Regulation Czar") wants to limit
American oil drilling in order to make the U.S. more dependent on
Middle Eastern oil sources, helping justify intervention in Libya.
2.
George Soros, the nation of Turkey, and Cass Sunstein's wife (Obama
foreign policy adviser and genocide scholar Samantha Power) want to
compel the United Nations to invade Israel in order to stop its
genocide against the Palestinians.
The
following is my criticism of the ideas presented in that episode.
I
disagree with Beck's claim that Egypt’s Mubarak is “pro-Israel”;
I think Mubarak is only pro-Israel to the extent to which America
paid him to pretend that the Egyptian people don’t desire that the
State of Israel disappear. Beck also failed to mention that Mubarak’s
Egypt and Netanyahu’s Israel have colluded to cut the Gaza Strip
off from the rest of the world. Beck appears to have no interest in
expressing concern for the welfare of the Gazan people, and does not
seem to want to take the time to point out that not all Muslim
peoples share the same political or religious ideology.
Even
though Beck admits that George Soros doesn’t actually like Qadhafi,
I think Beck is trying to make connections between Islamosocialism
and Western democratic socialism where they don’t necessarily
exist. He has been repeating for at least several weeks that they are
uniting against Israel and capitalism, and to undermine stability.
First
off, socialism and opposition to Israel do not always go
hand-in-hand. In fact, I’ve shown that - in my piece "A
Jewish and Democratic State" (http://aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2011/07/jewish-and-democratic-state.html) - Zionism itself, the establishment
of the State of Israel, and the subsequent half-century of Israeli
policy, were profoundly influenced by the socialism of Theodor Herzl
and David ben-Gurion, as well as by Leninism, Trotskyism, and, to a
lesser extent, Stalinism. This is not to ignore, however, the role
which capitalism played in Israel’s development; for example,
Jabotinsky, Weizmann, and Netanyahu are examples of Zionist figures
whom have not completely opposed right-wing economics.
But
I would be shocked if any American Democrat turned out to be an
anti-Zionist, rather than simply, at worst, a harsh critic of Israeli
policy. I would also be surprised if any Democrat, even one who
describes himself as a socialist, actually technically qualified as a
Marxist or even as a person who completely opposes free-market
capitalism.
I
feel like Beck is trying to characterize all Muslims as socialist,
anti-Israel, and pro-Caliphate. I’m not claiming that Beck
explicitly said that, but I feel like he is trying to imply it.
First
of all, not all Middle Eastern regimes oppose capitalism; Saudi
Arabia, Bahrain, and the U.A.E. come to mind. Second, not all Muslims
are anti-Israel, such as the Muslims who are members of the Israeli
parliament. Third, not all Muslims are pro-Caliphate; Qadhafi is a
Muslim (albeit not a traditional Muslim by any stretch of the
imagination), and as far as I know, he has never expressed interest
in bringing about a Caliphate. Qadhafi claims that supporters of
al-Qaeda and bin Laden are among his opponents, and they would be
more likely to want to bring about a Caliphate than would Qadhafi,
whom has expressed interest in being the leader of an African Union.
I
resent that Beck called a group of Palestinians who murdered an
Israeli family “terrorists”. They did not blow themselves up in a
crowded public Israeli area, nor did they launch missiles towards
Israelis. Thus, they are murderers, not “terrorists”. I also
resent Beck’s characterization that Samantha Power (whose last name
he didn’t even get right once) desires that the U.N. protect
Palestinians “against Israel”, rather than “from Israel”.
Beck also failed to mention that Cass Sunstein himself is Jewish.
Beck
rejected the idea that Israel’s policy against the Palestinians has
been one of ethnic cleansing which could lead to a holocaust, but
throughout the history of Israel, the rate of Arab-to-Jew deaths has
been about 2 1/2 - to - 1. In the most recent major conflict, the
strike on Gaza in early 2009, the ratio was at least 100-to-1.
Furthermore, there is rampant housing discrimination against Muslims
in Jerusalem, the West Bank has become an archipelago of communities
isolated from one another and from natural resources, and the Gaza
Strip has been repeatedly referred to as a concentration camp by
scholars worldwide.
If
what has been slowly happening in Israel throughout the last 65 years
can be rightfully labeled “ethnic cleansing”, this “atrocity”
is currently nowhere near as deadly as it has been at any time
throughout the last two years. I don’t think Turkey has enough
international clout to get the U.N. to invade Israel, and I don’t
think an America, whether run by Democrats or Republicans, would ever
consent to, or participate in, a U.N. “invasion” of Israel in
order to stop this “genocide”.
Additionally,
Beck said that Turkey has been arming Gaza, which I wouldn't doubt is
true, but he did not mention the role which Turkey has played in
negotiating a limited truce between Gazans and Israelis. Admittedly,
that happened just today, but I would be surprised if Beck mentions
it in his shows next week, because it doesn’t support his argument.
For
more entries on military, national defense, and foreign policy,
please
visit:
http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2010/10/american-sovereignty-restoration-act-of.html
http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2010/10/american-sovereignty-restoration-act-of.html
http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2014/05/foreign-occupation-and-declaration-of.html
For
more entries on Judaism, the State of Israel, and the Israeli-Arab
conflict, please visit:
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