An American Citizen Is an American Citizen
First Published 2008-04-01
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=25140
It appears that Israel has its own view of US citizenship, seeing three classes: American Jews whom they see as having
‘birthright advantages’, other US citizens who are respected and protected, and then, finally, Arab Americans whose rights as
US citizens Israel does not fully recognize, says James Zogby.
For thirty years now, I have been demanding that my government, in Washington, protect and defend the rights of its citizens
of Arab descent when they travel to Israel and the Palestinian lands occupied since 1967.
I never felt that this was an unreasonable request to make, nor did I feel that it should have been difficult to fulfill.
It was not a sensitive or complicated policy matter, like the "thorny" issues of settlements, land confiscations, collective
punishments or other violations of international law. Even these the US has, at times, criticized, though been loathe to act more decisively to stop.
What I have asked of the last five administrations was, quite simply, to do what any government is required to do; and that is,
to protect and defend its own citizens and, in this case, require Israel to live up to its treaty obligations.
The US passport, the prized possession of any US traveler, says quite clearly on the opening page:
"The Secretary of State of the United States of America hereby requests all whom it may concern to permit the citizen/national
of the United States named herein to pass without delay or hindrance and in case of need to give all lawful aid and protection."
There is also the 1951 Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation, signed by the US and Israel, in which Israel agrees that US citizens
traveling there be permitted "to travel therein freely, to reside at places of their choice; to enjoy liberty of conscience...and to bury
their dead according to their customs." The Treaty also prohibits "unlawful molestations of every kind," and guarantees US citizens
"the most constant protection and security."
As many Arab Americans and most especially those of Palestinian descent will testify, this treaty has been "honored more in the
breach than in the observance." Over the many years that I have worked on this issue, we have recorded countless cases where
Arab Americans (even those with US diplomatic passports) were detained at entry and exit, treated harshly and in a humiliating manner,
and in some cases held for hours and subjected to long and often humiliating interrogation. Palestinian Americans, even those born in
the US, have been forced to surrender their US passports. Israel requires Palestinian Americans, even those born in the US,
to secure a Palestinian travel document upon entry and exit. Others have been denied entry when attempting to visit their families;
while still others have been denied the opportunity to remain with their families, bury their dead in ancestral plots, or conduct normal business on family-owned properties.
At times, past administrations have intervened in individual cases, some burials were allowed, some visas were given or extended.
Former National Security Sandy Berger, and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, and, more recently, Secretary of State Rice,
have raised this issue directly with the Israeli government, but the problem remains because the Israeli behavior persists.
It appears that Israel has its own view of US citizenship, seeing three classes: American Jews whom they see as having "birthright
advantages," other US citizens who are respected and protected, and then, finally, Arab Americans whose rights as US citizens Israel does not fully recognize.
In somewhat tacit acknowledgement of this shameful attitude, the US State Department has issued a travel advisory for US
citizens going to the West Bank and Gaza in which they state the following: "American citizens whom Israeli authorities judge
(based on their name or other indicators) may be of Palestinian origin are likely to face additional, and often time-consuming,
questioning by immigration and border authorities. ...persons judged by the Israeli authorities to have claim to a Palestinian
Authority ID are subject to Israeli law and regulations that apply to residents of the West Bank and Gaza, regardless of the
fact that they hold US citizenship. ...In addition, American citizens considered to have or to be eligible for a Palestinian
ID who entered Israel via Ben Gurion Airport might be required to depart via the Allenby Bridge to Jordan." (emphasis added)
In response to what can only be described as Apartheid treatment, the US government rather lamely adds in its advisory that,
"the US government seeks equal treatment for all American citizens regardless of national origin or ethnicity.
American citizens who encounter difficulties are encouraged to contact the US Embassy in Tel Aviv or the US Consulate General in Jerusalem...."
After my organization in Washington wrote to the Secretary of State (in a letter signed by 29 other Arab American organizations)
protesting this state of affairs, the department spokesperson, at a press briefing, responded more forcefully saying that,
"Our view,...is that an American citizen is an American citizen is an American citizen. There are no second classes. ...You
have a blue American passport, you should be treated like an American citizen. ...We expect all American citizens to be accorded
the rights that any other American citizen would be accorded." To that, I can only add, "Amen."
The question arises, however, what the US government would do when its expectations are not met. I have been waiting for an answer to that question for more than thirty years.
Dr. James Zogby is president of the Arab American Institute. For comments or information, contact James Zogby.
McCain's Spiritual Guide: Destroy Islam
http://www.motherjones.com/washington_dispatch/2008/03/john-mccain-rod-parsley-spiritual-guide.html
Washington Dispatch: Televangelist Rod Parsley, a key McCain ally in Ohio, has called for eradicating the "false religion." Will the GOP presidential candidate renounce him?
By David Corn
March 12, 2008
Senator John McCain hailed as a spiritual adviser an Ohio megachurch pastor who has called upon Christians to wage a "war"
against the "false religion" of Islam with the aim of destroying it.
On February 26, McCain appeared at a campaign rally in Cincinnati with the Reverend Rod Parsley of the World Harvest Church
of Columbus, a supersize Pentecostal institution that features a 5,200-seat sanctuary, a television studio (where Parsley tapes a weekly show),
and a 122,000-square-foot Ministry Activity Center. That day, a week before the Ohio primary, Parsley praised the Republican presidential
front-runner as a "strong, true, consistent conservative." The endorsement was important for McCain, who at the time was trying to put an end
to the lingering challenge from former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, a favorite among Christian evangelicals. A politically influential
figure in Ohio, Parsley could also play a key role in McCain's effort to win this bellwether state in the general election.
McCain, with Parsley by his side at the Cincinnati rally, called the evangelical minister a "spiritual guide."
The leader of a 12,000-member congregation, Parsley has written several books outlining his fundamentalist religious outlook,
including the 2005 Silent No More. In this work, Parsley decries the "spiritual desperation" of the United States, and he blasts
away at the usual suspects: activist judges, civil libertarians who advocate the separation of church and state, the homosexual
"culture" ("homosexuals are anything but happy and carefree"), the "abortion industry," and the crass and profane entertainment
industry. And Parsley targets another profound threat to the United States: the religion of Islam.
In a chapter titled "Islam: The Deception of Allah," Parsley warns there is a "war between Islam and Christian civilization." He continues:
I cannot tell you how important it is that we understand the true nature of Islam, that we see it for what it really is. In fact,
I will tell you this: I do not believe our country can truly fulfill its divine purpose until we understand our historical conflict with Islam.
I know that this statement sounds extreme, but I do not shrink from its implications. The fact is that America was founded, in part,
with the intention of seeing this false religion destroyed, and I believe September 11, 2001, was a generational call to arms that we can no longer ignore.
Parsley is not shy about his desire to obliterate Islam. In Silent No More, he notes—approvingly—that Christopher Columbus shared the
same goal: "It was to defeat Islam, among other dreams, that Christopher Columbus sailed to the New World in 1492…Columbus dreamed of
defeating the armies of Islam with the armies of Europe made mighty by the wealth of the New World. It was this dream that, in part,
began America." He urges his readers to realize that a confrontation between Christianity and Islam is unavoidable: "We find now we
have no choice. The time has come." And he has bad news: "We may already be losing the battle. As I scan the world, I find that Islam
is responsible for more pain, more bloodshed, and more devastation than nearly any other force on earth at this moment."
Parsley claims that Islam is an "anti-Christ religion" predicated on "deception." The Muslim prophet Muhammad, he writes, "received revelations
from demons and not from the true God." And he emphasizes this point: "Allah was a demon spirit." Parsley does not differentiate between violent
Islamic extremists and other followers of the religion:
There are some, of course, who will say that the violence I cite is the exception and not the rule. I beg to differ. I will counter, respectfully,
that what some call "extremists" are instead mainstream believers who are drawing from the well at the very heart of Islam.
The spirit of Islam, he maintains, is one of hostility. He asserts that the religion "inspired" the 9/11 attacks. He bemoans the fact that
in the years after 9/11, 34,000 Americans "have become Muslim" and that there are "some 1,209 mosques" in America. Islam, he declares, is
a "faith that fully intends to conquer the world" through violence. The United States, he insists, "has historically understood herself as
a bastion against Islam," but "history is crashing in upon us."
At the end of his chapter on Islam, Parsley asks, "Are we a Christian nation? I say yes." Without specifying what actions should be taken
to eradicate the religion, he essentially calls for a new crusade.
Parsley, who refers to himself as a "Christocrat," is no stranger to controversy. In 2007, the grassroots organization he founded,
the Center for Moral Clarity, called for prosecuting people who commit adultery. In January, he compared Planned Parenthood to Nazis.
In the past Parsley's church has been accused of engaging in pro-Republican partisan activities in violation of its tax-exempt status.
Why would McCain court Parsley? He has long had trouble figuring out how to deal with Christian fundamentalists, an important bloc for
the Republican Party. During his 2000 presidential bid, he referred to Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell as "agents of intolerance."
But six years later, as he readied himself for another White House run, McCain repudiated that remark. More recently, his campaign
hit a rough patch when he accepted the endorsement of the Reverend John Hagee, a Texas televangelist who has called the Catholic
Church "the great whore" and a "false cult system." After the Catholic League protested and called on McCain to renounce Hagee's
support, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee praised Hagee's spiritual leadership and support of Israel and said that
"when [Hagee] endorses me, it does not mean that I embrace everything that he stands for or believes in." After being further
criticized for his Hagee connection, McCain backed off slightly, saying, "I repudiate any comments that are made, including Pastor
Hagee's, if they are anti-Catholic or offensive to Catholics." But McCain did not renounce Hagee's endorsement.
McCain's relationship with Parsley is politically significant. In 2004, Parsley's church was credited with driving Christian fundamentalist
voters to the polls for George W. Bush. With Ohio expected to again be a decisive state in the presidential contest, Parsley's World Harvest
Church and an affiliated entity called Reformation Ohio, which registers voters, could be important players within this battleground state.
Considering that the Ohio Republican Party has been decimated by various political scandals and that a popular Democrat, Ted Strickland,
is now the state's governor, McCain and the Republicans will need all the help they can get in the Buckeye State this fall. It's a real
question: Can McCain win the presidency without Parsley?
The McCain campaign did not respond to a request for comment regarding Parsley and his anti-Islam writings. Parsley did not return a call seeking comment.
"The last thing I want to be is another screaming voice moving people to extremes and provoking them to folly in the name of patriotism,"
Parsley writes in Silent No More. Provoking people to holy war is another matter. About that, McCain so far is silent.
David Corn is Mother Jones' Washington, D.C. bureau chief.
