By Arthur Christopher Schaper ——Bio and Archives--April 30, 2014
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A two-state solution will be underscored as the only real alternative. Because a unitary state winds up either an apartheid state with second-class citizens or it ends up being a state that destroys the capacity of Israel to be a Jewish State.Kerry shared these comments before the Trilateral Commission. Not exactly a private meeting. As a public official representing this country abroad, the citizens of this country should expect the highest regard for official communiques among leaders.
Regardless of the apology, Kerry's remarks represent a significant departure, as senior US officials historically have avoided the word "apartheid" relating to Israeli policies. It is believed to be the first time a US official of Kerry's standing has used the contentious term in the context of Israel, even if only as a warning for the future.The Obama Doctrine has determined not only to diminish American military presence throughout the world, but to weaken military might as well as empower hostile countries to pursue their limited, disastrous, or violent agendas. On its surface, Obama's foreign policy is directed more toward scaling back the US rather than maintaining any sense of peace and security here or abroad. He directed a no-fly zone over Libya, yet did nothing when Israel-ally Hosni Mubarak was removed from power. His administration killed Osama bin Laden, yet Al-Qaeda satellites are springing up all over the Middle East and North Africa, including Benghazi, where terrorists attacked the American embassy and killed four people, despite repeated pleas from the staff for more security. John Kerry, US Senator, Presidential candidate, and now Secretary of State, knows better than to use such language. Sterling is a racist. Kerry is unfit for Secretary of State. Is he anti-Semitic too? The Weekly Standard's William Kristol blasted Kerry, whose comments differed with President Obama's at one time:
"On Friday secretary of state John Kerry raised the spectre of Israel as an 'apartheid state'. Even Barack Obama condemned the use of this term when running for president in 2008. It is no longer enough for the White House to clean up after the messes John Kerry has made. It is time for John Kerry to step down as secretary of state, or for President Obama to fire him."US Senator Ted Cruz took to the Senate floor and demanded that Kerry step down. Because the United States should stand tall with the state of Israel, and because of Kerry's remarks about a potential apartheid state, Cruz condemned the Secretary's reference to a systemically racist regime in South Africa.
There is no place for this word [apartheid] in the context of the state of Israel.And there is no place for John Kerry to remain Chief Diplomat of the United States. Even Democratic US Senator Barbara Boxer punched at the outrageous remark, without directly targeting Kerry:
Sen. Barbara BoxerVerified account@SenatorBoxer 21hCharles Krauthammer has also signaled the need for Kerry's resignation:Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East and any linkage between Israel and apartheid is nonsensical and ridiculous.
It's beyond nonsense. It's pernicious, and extremely harmful. What the Secretary of State of the United States has succeeded in doing in what he thought was a private comment is to echo and therefore legitimize the worst of the libelous calumnies against the Jewish State. If there is one minority in the Middle East who enjoys the rule of law and protection and democracy, it is Arabs in Israel. . .this is a resigning-type statement."So, Sterling's comments exposed him as a racist, and now he will have to sell off the Clippers and go away. At the minimum, John Kerry must step down as Secretary of State. President Obama has already condemned Sterling's comments about black people, which deserved condemnation Anything less for Kerry would send a message that anti-Semitic remarks are somehow acceptable (comments with global implications) or that racial slights from basketball owners must command more attention than the devastating remarks issued from a United States diplomat who has inadvertently exposed a latent agenda to delegitimize American-Israeli relations.
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Arthur Christopher Schaper is a teacher-turned-writer on topics both timeless and timely; political, cultural, and eternal. A life-long Southern California resident, Arthur currently lives in Torrance.
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