Congress supports murder of Palestinian men, women, and children

I know this article has a provocative title, but Israel has fallen into the moral abyss and has taken our Congress with it. This is no time for niceties. People were being killed even as Mike Doyle joined with virtually the entire U.S. Congress in affirming Israel's right to use countless billions of dollars worth of armaments Congress has given them to defend themselves against the homemade weapons of the victims of their ethnic cleansing project. No matter that the use of these weapons is a violation of not just international law but U.S. laws as well. Mike Doyle, like the rest of Congress, feels that Israel should not be constrained by international law or U.S. law or morality or decency.

In late 2005 the Green Party asked me to run for Congress against Mike Doyle. I had never seen him before, so I decided to attend his speech before the Hillel House of the University of Pittsburgh on December 1, 2005. At that speech, Mike Doyle told his mostly Jewish audience that "no American government has the right to tell Israel how to defend itself." Excuse me, but doesn't the American government financially underwrite Israel's military? Don't the American people suffer the consequences of Israel's military atrocities in the form of hostility from the rest of the world?

When the two of us were interviewed together by the Pittsburgh Post Gazette editorial board in October 2006, one of the editors asked him whether there should be a ban on all-expenses paid trips provided to Congressmen from lobbyists. Mr. Doyle's answer was "no," and he proceeded to recount an all-expenses paid to Israel during which he was "educated" on Middle East issues. I dare say that his Israeli hosts neglected to take him to the Palestinian ghettos they have created for the people whom they expelled from the land they wanted for Jews.

Mr. Doyle prides himself on his position against ethnic cleansing in Darfour. Well, good for him, but this is hardly a brave stand. The United States has little influence in Darfour as it does not have significant economic dealings with Sudan. Therefore, Mr. Doyle's position does not ruffle the feathers of any vested interests in the United States. It is an easy position to take, and it produces no results. However, Israel's project of ethnic cleansing has been financed by U.S. taxpayer money appropriated by the U.S. Congress that Mike Doyle sits in. If Mike Doyle was capable of taking a courageous and principled stand against genocide, he would do so now in Gaza where the United States has real influence. It would show the rest of the world that his concern about Darfour is sincere and not just a way of distracting attention away from U.S.-backed atrocities. But Mr. Doyle won't do so because he is a coward. He, like virtually everyone else in Congress, is afraid that if he steps out of line the Israel lobby will finance a challenger to him in the next election. To Mike Doyle and the rest of Congress, if thousands of Arabs have to die in order for them to keep their nice salaries and perks as members of Congress, then the price is worth it.

Titus North, January 12, 2009