In an excellent, recent article in this paper, Neal AbuNab bared the true character of Republican gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos, Jr. ("Good riddance to Dick DeVos," 9/16/06). AbuNab explains why DeVos recently cancelled a long-anticipated appearance with the Arab American Public Affairs Council (AAPAC). Apparently, Detroit's local Jewish community did not take kindly to Osama Siblani's sympathetic descriptions of Hamas and Hizbullah as freedom fighters. They pressured DeVos to back out of his commitment to AAPAC, and, like a good little boy, he did.

As AbuNab points out, DeVos "stands with his boss, George Bush, squarely on the side of Israel." This is no surprise. The Republican Party has long been under the sway of the Israel Lobby. As far back as 1972, Nixon received more than 60% of his contributions from Jewish donors. The recent rise of the predominantly-Jewish "neo-conservatives" in the White House is only the latest manifestation of the Lobby's influence...

...There is ample proof that the Democrats are even more deeply indebted to the Israel Lobby than the Republicans. In Mearsheimer and Walt's groundbreaking paper "The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy," an aide to former President Jimmy Carter says, "Out of 125 members of the Democratic National Finance Council, over 70 are Jewish. In 1976, over 60 percent of the large donors to the Democratic Party were Jewish." In 1968, more than 70 percent of Hubert Humphrey's contributions came from Jewish Americans. And for decades, the massive AFL-CIO union has "provided millions of dollars for pro-Israel Democrats," according to Jeff Blankfort.

The Clinton years, 1992-2000, were marked by numerous concessions to the Lobby. Several of Clinton's top aides had close ties to Israel, including Martin Indyk, Dennis Ross and Aaron Miller. "Time Magazine" observed, "President Clinton appointed more Jews to his Cabinet than any of his predecessors." Three times Clinton vetoed U.N. Security Council resolutions that would have halted land annexation and new settlements in the Occupied Territories. At least a dozen times he voted, alone with Israel, against world opinion in the U.N. General Assembly.

And of course, there was the most dramatic sign: Al Gore's surprising selection of Joe Lieberman, a prominent Israel supporter, for running mate in 2000. Many believe that this action single-handedly cost Gore the election, putting Bush and the neo-cons in the White House...

...There is an alternative. The Green Party is running a slate of candidates who strongly oppose the war in Iraq, who oppose aid to Israel and who support the rights of Palestinians and other Arabs. In 2005 the national Greens passed Resolution 190, calling for immediate divestment and boycott of Israel. The Michigan Greens fully support this stand. There is only one anti-war party, and it is Green...