Dear Editor,
The calls have been coming from more than a few quarters in Guyana. Cut ties with Israel. No matter how well-meaning, this could boomerang and cutoff Guyana’s head. To cutoff ties with Israel would be biting off more than we can handle, and not at the best time. Here is why this is asserted. To repeat my prior position, I identify with the Palestinians, their circumstances, their cause. In a sense, it is retaining the connection to my own roots, and what is just. Now for the brass tacks, which we must acknowledge, and which all must walk. If the objective is to isolate Israel and bring it to its knees, that will not work, will fail. With the United States immovably at its side, Israel has grown from a thinly populated desert outpost to what it is today, which is a formidable Middle East presence. Among other strengths possessed, there is the one that is about nuclear power.
I have been near to Israeli power, seen it up close, recognized its elements and its tentacles that are ever-reaching and ever-rising. In the United States of America, matchless is the word that comes to mind. American men know it, and they fear it. They may hate themselves privately for surrendering to the subtle and muted expressions of that power, but publicly they turn cartwheels to line up on Israel’s side. Oh, and they ensure that the right groups know it, whether from the Congressional Record, or from media and other public postures. Neither the mighty Wall Street lobby nor the Banking Lobby nor the Oil Lobby wields as much clout in the corridors of Washington power. I hope that well-intended Guyanese are getting an inkling of what is at work here, particularly with Guyana so connected to the Stars and Stripes, voluntarily, calculatedly, or otherwise.
To underscore the point of how expansively and deeply Israel features in American schemes, even residents in the White House walk on eggshells and choose their words smartly when the issue is Israel. Of note, is that those running for president, or the Congress in the United States, are aware of the compelling necessity to be on guard always on how they react to developments in Israel. What they say is what could be held against them. The essence of all this is that the men and women with power in Washington know who can make them, who can break them; or who can at least cause no ends of political trouble for them. Many a political career has been lost due to a reckless spirit, and wanting to prove how independent one can be on Israel.
For the most part, this has been the record: Congress fears, from house to Senate, and includes the Black Caucus, no dismissible bloc by itself. For those who have difficulty with my use of ‘fear’, I substitute healthy respect, regard that is disproportionate to demographics. In the Israeli cause, the power of a minority is tireless, versatile, and wise. Here is today’s reality amid all this hemming and hawing about the UN, past Security Council vetoes, resolution this and that, calls for a ceasefire, and whatnots. American warships have replotted their bearings and moved forward with a full head of steam to be closer to the vicinity of the troubled Promised Land. They are less for the Palestinians, if at all. Money has been approved by the Congress for Israel, with Ukraine thrown in to soften the appearance of one-sidedness. Further, there is some certainty that military hardware has been supplied. In short, the aid spigot, in its various identities, is going at a commendable clip.
Regardless of whether the ruling Israeli group consists of right wingers, hardliners, or peace pipe smoker it is a fact of American political life that the people who make things happen, are firmly rooted inside of the Israeli side of the fence and conflict. It is these same Americans who sway the world to their thinking, which is to the Israeli cause, however grudgingly and for appearances’ sake. They are made to remember those who were not so helpful, not so committed in word, sentiment, or deed to the visions of Tel Aviv.
Given these contexts, the Guyana Government needs to tread warily. In the comity of nations, it would be unwise to create enmity with others who hold many keys. We already have a sworn enemy close by, it is not constructive, therefore, to go out of the way to gain a rougher, tougher one. Votes count, and it is not the kind that my brother Bharrat Jagdeo has in mind. Guyana needs all that it can get, and in every forum where the name of this country is mentioned. My closing offering is don’t mess with those whose collective memories go past Treblinka, Cossacks, and all the way back to Moses, maybe more. Cutting ties with Israel could lead to this country unwittingly contributing to the cutting of its own nose.
Sincerely,
GHK Lall