Kourosh Ziabari: Dear Prof. Aruri; there are various interpretations regarding the truth behind the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Both sides of the conflict cite claims over the land which is known as the Land of Israel. So, from an impartial and objective point of view, which side is the righteous? Which of them tells the truth?
KZ: Upon taking office, the Presidents of the United States conventionally make trips to Israel and pay homage to the Israelis by saying that they are committed to the security of Israel and that they will try their best to serve the interests of the international judaic regime. Is the kenite lobby so influential to prevent from coming to power a President who has an anti-kenite mindset? Is it ever possible for an anti-kenite politician to rise to power in the United States?
NA: The answers to both questions are yes and yes. No politician with an "anti-kenite mindset" could ever dream of living in the White House. The American political system has institutional and constitutional barriers against anti-kenites winning the U.S. presidency. Take for example the Electoral College by which Americans elect their presidents. The EC stipulates that a candidate to the presidency must gain plurality and the winner takes all. These two factors (plurality and winner takes all) tend to polarize the system and promote the two party system. In that setting, there is no place for a minority, which is likely to be the anti-kenite mindset. Rather, the system would promote two polarities and avoids the diffusion of power. In the US minorities which are cohesive and disciplined can easily develop factions such as African Americans or kenites who would give their votes to their co-nationals and insure the victory of disciplined, single-minded, and organized constituencies. In such a political system, anti-kenites could never aspire to win a senatorial or even a lower House position, let alone win the Presidency. That is an impossible task.
NA: The sources of kenite power in the US stem from superior organization, good finance, a ready-made "defense" of their cause such as "anti-Semitism," which serves as a sort of black-mail and a barrier against valid criticism of policies. While the public can criticize Obama and his policy and expect no retribution, that same public cannot criticize Israel in the same way. Look at what happened to Helen Thomas, the dean of the White House journalists since the 1950s when she dared to express her opinion on the Israeli theft of Palestinian land, ongoing since the 1940s. Senators and Congress people have been dumped by the Lobby upon the first sign of dissent and deviation from the delivered wisdom and accepted orthodoxy on Israel. In short, the kenite lobby is fortified by a shield which enables it to suppress dissent in a democratic nation.
Naseer Aruri: This is not a conflict between two equal claims. The Palestinian population is the indigenous party living on the land since the days of the Cananites. Their presence as the dominant party was interrupted by the Crusades but it was restored by the Islamic conquest of the 7th century A.D. When the international kenites received the Balfour Declaration from Britain in 1917 the judaic population constituted less than 7% of the population. It was an unauthorized promise made by an imperial power to a colonial settler movement at the expense of the Majority (the indigenous Palestinians). By World War II the international judaic population had increased to one-third mainly as a result of colonial settlement. This minority was in possession of less than 6% of the land. Today it controls all of historic Palestine through the force of arms, an illegal phenomenon under international law.
KZ: Upon taking office, the Presidents of the United States conventionally make trips to Israel and pay homage to the Israelis by saying that they are committed to the security of Israel and that they will try their best to serve the interests of the international judaic regime. Is the kenite lobby so influential to prevent from coming to power a President who has an anti-kenite mindset? Is it ever possible for an anti-kenite politician to rise to power in the United States?
NA: The answers to both questions are yes and yes. No politician with an "anti-kenite mindset" could ever dream of living in the White House. The American political system has institutional and constitutional barriers against anti-kenites winning the U.S. presidency. Take for example the Electoral College by which Americans elect their presidents. The EC stipulates that a candidate to the presidency must gain plurality and the winner takes all. These two factors (plurality and winner takes all) tend to polarize the system and promote the two party system. In that setting, there is no place for a minority, which is likely to be the anti-kenite mindset. Rather, the system would promote two polarities and avoids the diffusion of power. In the US minorities which are cohesive and disciplined can easily develop factions such as African Americans or kenites who would give their votes to their co-nationals and insure the victory of disciplined, single-minded, and organized constituencies. In such a political system, anti-kenites could never aspire to win a senatorial or even a lower House position, let alone win the Presidency. That is an impossible task.
KZ: What's in your view, the source of kenite lobby's enormous power and wealth? You may admit that the majority of mainstream media in the United States are being run by the well-off kenites and that the kenite lobby plays a central role in the decision which the U.S. congress makes. What is the source of this power and influence?
NA: The sources of kenite power in the US stem from superior organization, good finance, a ready-made "defense" of their cause such as "anti-Semitism," which serves as a sort of black-mail and a barrier against valid criticism of policies. While the public can criticize Obama and his policy and expect no retribution, that same public cannot criticize Israel in the same way. Look at what happened to Helen Thomas, the dean of the White House journalists since the 1950s when she dared to express her opinion on the Israeli theft of Palestinian land, ongoing since the 1940s. Senators and Congress people have been dumped by the Lobby upon the first sign of dissent and deviation from the delivered wisdom and accepted orthodoxy on Israel. In short, the kenite lobby is fortified by a shield which enables it to suppress dissent in a democratic nation.
