My non-standard questions to flush out support for Israel
As I noted in my previous post, I have put together a list of questions that are designed to measure support for Israel that go beyond the usual litmus-test softball questions. I developed these questions for a congressional candidate who is working on them now, and I am going to send them to the Campbell campaign in California as well (and to the Fiorina and Devore campaigns if someone can put me in touch with a contact there).These are the questions I asked:
1. Do you believe that there is a solution to the dispute between Israel and the Palestinians, and if so what is it?If you have comments, please pipe up. My deal with the congressional candidate is that I can ask follow-up questions.
2. If you believe that solution is what is commonly referred to as the 'two-state solution,' why do you believe it hasn't happened to date? Do you anticipate any change in the circumstances that have prevented the two-state solution from happening and if so, what and when?
3. What do you think the United States ought to be doing to help Israel live in peace and security with its neighbors, and do you believe that the Obama administration is doing it? If not, what should they be doing differently?
4. Do you believe that the United States should be pressuring Israel not to build on the West Bank? In East Jerusalem?
5. What do you believe the United States ought to be doing about Iran?
6. Do you support sanctions against Iran? If so, what types of sanctions should the United States pursue? Should sanctions be imposed in cooperation with the United Nations? Would you support them being imposed unilaterally?
7. Would you support Israel taking military action to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons? Under what circumstances?
8. Would you support the United States taking military action to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons? Under what circumstances?
9. Would you be willing to work with the pro-Israel, pro-peace J Street lobby?
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 2:58 PM
6 Comments:
very good, i have just one remark:
why use term "west bank"? it's judea and samaria and has been for a few thousand years, untill 1970-ies.
Mudrac,
Because I want the people answering the questions to tell me where they really stand, and not just what they think I want to hear.
I have put together a list of questions that are designed to measure support for Israel that go beyond the usual litmus-test softball questions.
In a perfect "honest" world a question would be asked of a political candidate and the reply given would be taken as the said candidates word to be trusted and relied upon. That answer would give us information as to not only trust of that candidate but more importantly....a possible red flag! Therein lies the rub.
Now I ask, given past broken promises to garner the "Jewish vote" what guarantee do you have despite what questions you ask? What possible questions are proof enough that said person will support Israel?
Carl, you stated "I want the people answering the questions to tell me where they really stand not just what they want me to hear."
You like all of us wishing to live in a world where what a person promises can and should be taken as their word.
You think you have fool-proof questions but you do not! Truth be known, because of past history a candidate is elected to office and everything changes. This does not mean in their heart of hearts that said candidate is not pro-Israel but what it means is only by their actions will they be judged as a true friend or fraud.
George Bush won many votes simply because a vital campaign promise was made that in his first week of office he would sign the embassy act. That answer and promise elevated him in our minds to someone who can be taken at his word;someone we can trust! That promise gave us hope. This promise may have been a genuine one (only he knows this) but once he was elected everything changed. In 8 years how many chances did he squander to make good on that campaign promise? In contrast how many times did he renew the lease for the PLO office? (a campaign promise he never made to my knowledge)
As far as I am concerned that promise George Bush made was not a usual softball answer to usual softball rhetoric.
We are needy for friends, real friends. We must apply the same indisputable truth to politicians as to all people. The measure of a mans worth can not be simply judged by his words but but by his 'deeds.'
Two questions that I would add...
- What should Israel do regarding rockets landing on Israeli civilian areas for the last decade? (What would the U.S. do in a similar situation?) Is the candidate willing to say aloud vehemently that the persistent rocketfire landing on Israeli civilians is a war crime?
- Would the candidate make an effort to ascertain the intentions of the Iranian public regarding aggressive attacks on Iran's neighbors? The protesters, by convention, yell, "Death to...(whoever)!" What form would "Life to... (who?)!" take? Would the Iranian protesters' answer to this question influence the action taken? (i.e., would the Iranian protesters respond to help as help or would they unite against the interference, seeing it as an attack?)
Sunlight stated the following:
"What should Israel do regarding rockets landing on Israeli civilian areas for the last decade? (What would the U.S. do in a similar situation?)"
First of all there are few politicians in the free world who do not declare Israel should be secure. Yet we see every single thing Israel does to defend herself even placing their own military in harms way has been microscopically picked apart and questioned.
If Israel in fact has the right to defend herself, why has no president done one thing to stop Iran?
You will never find the answers you are looking for because of hypocrisy and for the most part inherent antisemitism embedded so integrally into the hearts and minds of most world leaders.
When the world saw the signs that Jews would soon be marched to slaughter not one world leader could not even bring themselves to stop it or at the least much latter when the smell of burning flesh filled the air, bomb the rail lines to Auschwitz. After the extermination it was not as simple as Jews boarding a boat bound for Palestine for even then the Britt's and others saw to disrupt it. There were even quotas for immigration to other countries. I could go on and on but I hope you get my point.
Believe me, we have not moved too far past where we were decades ago in the area of garnering support.
Devore ! I'll be back with a contact, there are a couple of brothers over on YouTube that are working with or for him.
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