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Riff McClavin's avatar

There's so much to dislike about America's relationship with Israel it's hard to know where to start or to limit my response to under 10,000 words, so I'll be necessarily brief.

Israel is a weapons exporter and is not Ethiopia. To have the American taxpayer foot the bill for Israeli weapons systems is ludicrous, more so when so many domestic needs are lacking.

Israel regularly violates human rights and international law. Iron dome and the UN veto assure Israel never faces any consequences for its lawlessness, which encourages their continuation.

Defenders of Israel too often smear critics with charges of antisemitism instead of honestly addressing the issues, thus cheapening cases of actual antisemitism.

Israel represents one of the most powerful lobbies on Capitol Hill, demanding that freshman congresspeople sign loyalty pledges or face challengers in the next election cycle. The dysfunction of having a foreign power making our representatives sign a loyalty pledge should be obvious

Israel's defenders promote censorship in the press, on our evening news, on our social media, in our political discourse, and on our college campuses.

I don't contribute to racist conservative politicians here in the States; why should I be made to do so elsewhere?

Israel's interests as a regional power encourages policies which do not serve the interests of the American people. For starters see PNAC.

Blindly supporting a self-proclaimed Jewish State is a perfect an example of a "foreign entanglement" that the Founders warned us against entering.

With both major parties firmly in Israel's pocket, paying taxes amounts to extortion that benefits both Israel and American weapons manufacturers.

Defenders of Israel pretend they want to be treated like any other country, but time and again they receive special treatment no other country enjoys.

Wikileaks revealed an internal NSA document that named Israel the greatest cyber threat to the United States. Yes, our "good friend" Israel, whose citizens and spies are regularly employed by our major tech firms.

Defending Israel makes our words about democracy and the rule of law comical. Of course, our actions do the same, but embracing Israel doesn't help.

Israel is a facet of the exact same Deep State rot that is making our government such a mess. Endless war, terror, dark money, corruption, corporate greed, unaccountable power, etc. Addressing our blind support for Israel pulls on the string that connects it all, and that's one reason the pushback is so severe.

The current situation is unsustainable. It's time for America's unconditional support of Zionism to end.

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Robert the Skeptic's avatar

This parable is a good analogy of power relations between Israel and the Palestinians. One saving grace is that in reality, the Iron Dome is full of holes, like many U.S. designed weapons systems. Just ask the Saudis about their experience with Houthi rockets and drones. Hezbollah already possesses weaponry that can penetrate and overwhelm Israel’s air defenses, and someday Hamas will as well. Then the playing field will tilt in a different direction.

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