Today, I had hoped to interview Grant Smith of Irmep, the Inst. For Research: Middle East Policy about the secret agreement signed between the US and Israel on Dec. 12 targeting Iran and its activities in Syria, Lebanon and throughout the Middle East and speak with him about the upcoming conference on March 2nd at the National Press Club in Washington, on the Israel Lobby and American Policy co-sponsored by the Washington Rept. On Middle East Affairs which is routinely ignored by the US media, so-called âalternativeâ as well as the mainstream, but there was a problem with the station's phone and the interview had to be postponed until next month following the conference.
I did review the US-Israel secret plan for Iran, then went on to present two views on Israel's shooting down of the Iranian drone and Syria's shooting down of the Israeli F-16, the first by the Times of Israel's Judah Ari Gross and a very different take by Ha'aretz's Gideon Levy who pointed out Israel's chutzpah when it comes to respect for sovereignty.
I moved from there to the charges brought against Netanyahu for corruption and provided some details on his effort to bribe Yediot Ahranot to give him more favorable coverage exchange for Sheldon Adelson's cutting back the circulation of Yediot's chief rival, the free daily, Israel Hayom.
I then quoted an Al-Monitor reporter on the Turkey-US crisis and the possibility of Turkey attacking US forces over the US support for the Kurds.
Since I was unable to get Grant Smith the phone, I read the article he had posted today online on AntiWar.Com about the efforts of the Israel Project to prevent the showing of Al Jazeera's undercover story about the US Israel Lobby. (https://original.antiwar.com/smith-grant/2018/02/13/will-al-jazeera-air-lobby-aipac-meets/ and also an article about it in The Tablet which describes how a New Jersey Jewish congressman, Josh Gottheimer plans to get Congress and the pro-Israel community to force Al-Jazeera to register as a foreign agent (when apparently it is Gottheimer who should do so,) I then spoke about the efforts of Pres. Kennedy to get the American Zionist Council, AIPAC's predecessor to register as a foreign agent and how his death put an end to the effort which none of his successors has tried to accomplish and the power that the Israel Lobby has not only over Congress but most of our state governments, as well. I also reviewed the speakers for the March 2nd conference on the Israel lobby which can be found on www.irmep.org