by Mohamed Khodr

Mr. Friedman, the self anointed Ambassador of Globalization, has made it a habit of writing chastising Memos to Arab Leaders for rejecting the "generous" concessions formulated by Clinton-Barak.

While I agree with Mr. Friedman that all the Arab leaders are autocratic who see freedom of  expression as threats to their sder=val; spending more on weapons they can't use rather than on education and health, I can't help but notice his biased derision of Arabs to the benefit of Israel.

He claims Arabs are "in pursuit of the conflict" with Israel when in truth the origin of the conflict is that Palestine was forcefully and illegally stolen from its inhabitants to create an Apartheid Zionist state for a people dispossessed from Europe in turn dispossessing Palestinians.

Europe exported and solved its racist "Jewish Problem" through the colonization and dispossession of Palestinians. The Zionist state of Israel prolonged the conflict unjustly through its defiance of U.N. Resolutions, International law, and even official U.S. policy.

Mr. Friedman unabashedly portrays the conflict as "religious" implying Islamic fanaticism while in reality the fanaticism is in Israel that justifies the colonial conquest by force of a land owned by the weaker "others".

Mr. Friedman's memo conveniently ignores the injustice of Zionism, its abuse of human rights, and its exploitation of world opinion due to America's political, military, diplomatic, and media support that ensures Israel's immoral superiority.

I support Mr. Friedman's call for an "honest debate" in the Arab streets about their condition and future. Unfortunately an "honest debate" in America regarding our "special relationship" with Israel that not only has sucked the American taxpayer of hundreds of billions of dollars but has damaged America's credibility and national interests worldwide is taboo, especially in the very Jewish paper Mr. Friedman works for, the New York Times.

Neither the Congress, nor the Executive Branch, nor our media, nor our movies, nor our publishing companies, nor Wall Street will ever be allowed to have an "honest debate" on Israel's lies, wars, massacres, and cover ups for the simple reason that the Jewish lobby owns, controls, intimidates, and bribes our institutions and politicians into submissive silence.

Every American ought to ask their Congressman to explain their votes supporting Israel, on why they vote to give billions annually to Israel which is the 17th richest nation on earth when American children go hungry (Congress has never considered giving $3 Billion to fund the Harvest Hungry Bill to feed Americans which costs less than half of what Israel receives every year), why has Congress never investigated Israel's murderous attack on our naval ship, the USS Liberty, in 1967 killing 34 Americans and injuring 171, why is Congress funding the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. with $35 million every year yet denied funds for the WWII Veteran Memorial, why our government is illegally defying UN Resolution 242 which it introduced in 1967 that could solve the conflict once and for all tomorrow, why, why, why? 

Israel knows that as long as our media continues to influence our opinions with one sided lies we will be silent and ambivalent about murder committed with our money and weapons. Thus Mr. Friedman is being disingenuous in calling for an Arab "honest debate" while not calling for the same debate on Israel in America. 

Obviously, Mr. Friedman is part of the pro-Israel media that single handedly is the greatest obstacle to an "honest debate" and a solution to the conflict. As long as we remain ignorant and silent, Israel is free and protected to continue its murders, building illegal settlements, and demolishing homes away from our "honest" media's coverage.

If America ever finds the courage and independence from Israel to be a world power for justice and balanced policy based on our OWN national interest, the Middle East will have peace.

We must repudiate the media's hysterical antagonism against Islam and dialogue with Islam's 1.3 billion people, for only then can we have an "honest debate" among humanity's civilizations with respect and understanding so that all of us may live in true peace.

A famous, wise Islamic leader in the Seventh Century said: "We fear, What We Don't Know".

Let us overcome fear and prejudice through "knowing" one another unfiltered by a biased media and a pandering government in Washington DC .

It's hard to hate someone you've shared a hug, a meal, and a laugh with.

Our foreign policy should be made by Americans in Washington DC that benefits America, not by a foreign power with thousands of intimidating lobbying Jewish Ambassadors more concerned about Israel than their own country.

Mr. Mohamed Khodr is an American Muslim physician and a native from the Middle East. He has worked in Academic Medicine and Public health with national and international health experience. He is a freelance writer who often writes columns on the Palestinian cause, Islam and on America's Foreign Policy in the Middle East. He lives in the Washington DC area.

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