US-Israeli Dual Citizenship: Loyal to Whom?
by DAN EDEN (VIEWZONE)
Monday, April 7, 2008
This sort of
crap has the bad habit of blowing back on the perps and with violence
unimagined.
Only 17% of most Americans believe there was a Holocaust just as 25% of most
modern Britons believe Winston Churchill was a fictional character. If the
rabid Likudists and the vicious Neocons don’t like it here and view themselves
as Israelis first and Americans second, why not encourage them to emigrate? The
means of encouragement are varied but some would certainly be effective.")
Someone wrote and asked me, "Why are there Israeli, but not
Mexican-American Dual Nationals?"
Well, here's my take on this. I'd also like your views and opinions.
Unless we are Native American Indians, all Americans have their origins in some
other country. Both of my parents were from England . They were proud to be
"British" but they were most proud of achieving their American
citizenship. Sure, we had pictures of the Queen and nick-nacks with the Union
Jack on them. My mother even celebrated the traditional 4 o'clock tea time and
was good at making Yorkshire Pudding. In the late 60's my older brother served
in the US Army and did his tour in Viet Nam . When it came down to
"allegiance," we were all patriotic Americans. Period.
The word "allegiance" means that we promise loyalty. It also carries
with it the expectation that this loyalty will be exclusive and unrestrained.
In the case of a declared war or real threat or conflict, for example, our
allegiance to America should preclude any other interest, be it another country
or political ideology.
When they took their oath to become American citizens, my parents had to pledge
their "allegiance" exclusively to America and renounce their allegiance
to "any and all foreign governments." That included Great Britain ,
one of our strongest allies.
Before Viewzone asked me to research the meaning of "dual
citizenship," I had never heard of the term. How could someone be a
citizen of two countries at the same time? But I was just ignorant. Dual
nationalities and citizenships are quite common.
From my internet research, I learned that in 1997, a French Canadian with a
U.S. passport ran for mayor of Plattsburgh , N.Y. He argued that the incumbent
spoke French too poorly to be running a city so close to Quebec . He lost. Also
in 1997, a retired top American official for the U.S. EPA (Environmental
Protection Agency) ran for president of Lithuania . He was inaugurated in
February to a burst of fireworks!
In 1996, Dominicans from New York not only could vote in the Dominican Republic
's presidential elections for the first time, they could vote for a fellow New
Yorker. Multiple nationalities have become so commonplace that some analysts
fear the trend is undermining the notion of nationhood, particularly in the
place with the most diverse citizenry on Earth: the United States .
Debate over the issue intensified in the late 1990s, when Mexico joined the
growing list of poor nations that say it's OK for their nationals to be
citizens of the countries to which they have migrated. Under the law that took
effect in 1998 Mexicans abroad -- most of them in the United States -- will be
able to retain Mexican citizenship even if they seek U.S. citizenship. And naturalized
Americans of Mexican descent will be able to reclaim their original
citizenship. The Mexican government stopped short, for now, of giving
expatriates the right to vote.
Security Issues
Since citizenship carries with it a responsibility to be exclusively loyal to
one country, the whole concept of dual citizenship and nationality raises
questions about which of the dual citizenships have priority. This is extremely
important when the two countries have opposing interests. It can be a deadly
problem when a dual citizen is in a high position within our American
government.
Can one imagine a Japanese citizen serving in the Pentagon during WWII? Or how
about a citizen of the Soviet Union holding a cabinet position in the White
House during the Cold War?
Today's conflicts are centered in the Middle East . America needs to balance
foreign policies towards oil producing Arab nations with our goal being peace
and stability in the region. This places a burden on our government to be
even-handed in our dealings with the Arab world and Israel .
While the Iraq War was waged on lies about Weapons of Mass Destruction and
revenge for 911, the real reason has emerged as a well designed global plan to
improve the power and leverage of Israel .
Added to this policy is yet another potential blow to American interests and
security -- the impending War with Iran . This war will be waged for the
security of Israel and will be paid for by the blood of American soldiers and
the hard-earned money of American citizens whose quality of life is inversely
tied to the cost of petrolium.
Recently, in their much lauded paper, The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy,
Harvard professor, Stephen Walt, and University of Chicago professor, John
Mearsheimer, focused attention on the strong Israeli lobby which has a powerful
influence over American foreign policies (see BBC article). They detail the
influence that this lobby has exerted, forming a series of international
policies which can be viewed as in direct opposition to the interests and
security of the American people.
These acts and policies are more often than not carried out by US government
appointees who hold powerful positions and who are dual American-Israeli
citizens. Since the policies they support are often exclusively beneficial to
Israel , often to the detriment of America , it has been argued that their
loyalties are misdirected.
A few classic examples can be cited here.
Jonathan Jay Pollard was an American-Israeli citizen who worked for the US
government. He is well known because he stole more secrets from the U.S. than
has any other spy in American history. During his interrogation Pollard said he
felt compelled to put the "interests of my state" ahead of his own.
Although as a U.S. Navy counter-intelligence specialist he had a top-secret
security clearance, by "my state" he meant the state of Israel .
Literally tens of thousands of Americans holding U.S. passports admit they feel
a primary allegiance to the state of Israel . In many instances, these
Americans vote in Israeli elections, wear Israeli uniforms and fight in Israeli
wars. Many are actively engaged both in the confiscation of Palestinian lands
and in the Israeli political system. Three examples come to mind:
One is Rabbi Meir Kahane, who founded the militant Jewish Defense League in the
U.S. in the 1960s, then emigrated to Israel where, eventually, he was elected
to the Knesset. Until he was shot and killed at one of his U.S. fund-raising
rallies in 1990, the Brooklyn-born rabbi shuttled between Tel Aviv and New York
, where he recruited militant American Jews for his activities in Israel
against Palestinians. He claimed to be a "dual citizen" of America
and Israel.
Another Jewish- American, James Mahon from Alexandria , Virginia , reportedly
was on a secret mission to kill PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat when he was shot in
1980 by an unknown assailant. When he was shot, Mahon held an American M-16 in
his hand and a U.S. passport in his pocket.
Then there was Alan Harry Goodman, an American Jew who left his home in
Baltimore , Maryland , flew to Israel and served in the Israeli army. Then, on
April 11, 1982 , armed with an Uzi submachine gun, he walked, alone, to
Al-Aqsa, Jerusalem 's most holy Islamic shrine, where he opened fire, killing
two Palestinians and wounding others. Both the U.S. and Israeli governments
played down the incident, as did the media.
Most recently, US Navy Petty Officer, Ariel J. Weinmann, while serving at or
near Bahrain, Mexico, and Austria, "with intent or reason to believe it
would be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of a
foreign nation (Israel), [attempted] to communicate, deliver or transmit
classified CONFIDENTIAL and SECRET information relating to the national
defense, to a representative, officer, agent or employee of a foreign
government." Weinmann was apprehended on March 26 after being listed as
"a deserter by his command," according to the US Navy. The
information he gathered was supplied to Israel .
The examples of Kahane, Mahonm, Goodman and Weinmann raise the question of when
a U.S. citizen ceases to be, or should cease to be, a U.S. citizen. U.S. Law at
one time clearly stated that an American citizen owed first allegiance to the
United States . A U.S. citizen should not fight in a foreign army or hold high
office in a foreign country without risking expatriation. What the heck
happened?
The 1940 Nationality Act
Section 401 (e) of the 1940 Nationality Act provides that a U.S. citizen,
whether by birth or naturalization, "shall lose his [ U.S. ] nationality
by...voting in a political election in a foreign state."
This law was tested many times. In 1958, for instance, an American citizen
named Perez voted in a Mexican election. The case went to the Supreme Court,
where the majority opinion held that Perez must lose his American nationality.
The court said Congress could provide for expatriation as a reasonable way of
preventing embarrassment to the United States in its foreign relations.
But then something very odd happened.
In 1967 an American Jew, Beys Afroyim received an exemption that set a
precedent exclusively for American Jews. Afroyim, born in Poland in 1895,
emigrated to America in 1912, and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1926. In
1950, aged 55, he emigrated to Israel and became an Israeli citizen. In 1951
Afroyim voted in an Israeli Knesset election and in five political elections
that followed.
So, by all standards he lost his American citizenship -- right?
Wrong.
After living in Israel for a decade, Afroyim wished to return to New York . In
1960, he asked the U.S. Consulate in Haifa for an American passport. The
Department of State refused the application, invoking section 401 (e) of the
Nationality Act -- the same ruling that had stripped the American citizen named
Perez of his U.S. citizenship.
Attorneys acting for Afroyim took his case to a Washington , DC District Court,
which upheld the law. Then his attorneys appealed to the Court of Appeals. This
court also upheld the law. The attorneys for Afroyim then moved the case on to
the Supreme Court. Here, with Supreme Court Justice Abe Fortas, Lyndon
Johnson's former attorney and one of the most powerful Jewish -Americans,
casting the swing vote, the court voted five to four in favor of Afroyim. The
court held that the U.S. government had no right to "rob" Afroyim of
his American citizenship!
The court, reversing its previous judgment as regards the Mexican American,
ruled that Afroyim had not shown "intent" to lose citizenship by
voting in Israeli elections. Huh?
While Washington claims it has a "good neighbor" policy with Mexico ,
the U.S. does not permit Mexicans to hold dual nationality. The US makes them
become either U.S. or Mexican -- you can't be both. But the U.S. , in its
special relationship with Israel , has become very sympathetic to allowing
Israeli-Americans to retain two nationalities and allowing U.S. citizens not
only to hold public office in Israel , but to hold US government positions as
well! No other country holds this special exception to our laws of citizenship.
So, you might ask, are there any other dual Israel-American citizens who hold
US government positions that could compromise American security? Yes. Consider
the following list that I obtained on the web:
Michael Mukasey
Recently appointed as US Attorney General. Mukasey also was the judge in the
litigation between developer Larry Silverstein and several insurance companies
arising from the destruction of the World Trade Center on 9/11/2001 .
Michael Chertoff
Former Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division, at the Justice
Department; now head of Homeland Security.
Richard Perle
One of Bush's foreign policy advisors, he is the chairman of the Pentagon's
Defense Policy Board. A very likely Israeli government agent, Perle was expelled
from Senator Henry Jackson's office in the 1970's after the National Security
Agency (NSA) caught him passing Highly-Classified (National Security) documents
to the Israeli Embassy. He later worked for the Israeli weapons firm, Soltam.
Perle came from one the above mentioned pro-Israel thinktanks, the AEI. Perle
is one of the leading pro-Israeli fanatics leading this Iraq war mongering
within the administration and now in the media.
Paul Wolfowitz
Former Deputy Defense Secretary, and member of Perle's Defense Policy Board, in
the Pentagon. Wolfowitz is a close associate of Perle, and reportedly has close
ties to the Israeli military. His sister lives in Israel . Wolfowitz came from
the above mentioned Jewish thinktank, JINSA. Wolfowitz was the number two
leader within the administration behind this Iraq war mongering. He later was
appointed head of the World Bank but resigned under pressure from World Bank
members over a scandal involving his misuse of power.
Lawrence (Larry) Franklin
The former Defense Intelligence Agency analyst with expertise in Iranian policy
issues who worked in the office of Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Douglas
Feith and reported directly to Feith's deputy, William Luti, was sentenced
January 20, 2006, "to more than 12 years in prison for giving classified
information to an Israeli diplomat" and members of the pro-Israel lobbying
group American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
Franklin will "remain free while the government continues with the wider
case" and his "prison time could be sharply reduced in return for his
help in prosecuting" former AIPAC members Steven J. Rosen and Keith
Weissman, [who] are scheduled to go on trial in April [2006]. Franklin admitted
that he met periodically with Rosen and Weissman between 2002 and 2004 and
discussed classified information, including information about potential attacks
on U.S. troops in Iraq . Rosen and Weissman would later share what they learned
with reporters and Israeli officials." (source: sourcewatch.com).
Douglas Feith
Under Secretary of Defense and Policy Advisor at the Pentagon. He is a close
associate of Perle and served as his Special Counsel. Like Perle and the
others, Feith is a pro-Israel extremist, who has advocated anti-Arab policies
in the past. He is closely associated with the extremist group, the Zionist
Organization of America, which even attacks Jews that don't agree with its
extremist views. Feith frequently speaks at ZOA conferences. Feith runs a small
law firm, Feith and Zell, which only has one International office, in Israel .
The majority of their legal work is representing Israeli interests. His firm's
own website stated, prior to his appointment, that Feith "represents
Israeli Armaments Manufacturer." Feith basically represents the Israeli War
Machine. Feith also came from the Jewish thinktank JINSA. Feith, like Perle and
Wolfowitz, are campaigning hard for this Israeli proxy war against Iraq .
Feith was investigated by the FBI under suspicion of leaking classified
information to Israel , being that he was Larry Franklin's boss when Franklin
leaked those documents to Rosen and Weissman of AIPAC. For that he was forced
to leave the National Security Council. Feith was also investigated by the
Senate Intelligence Committee for sexing up 'intelligence' that was used to
justify invading Iraq .
Edward Luttwak
Member of the National Security Study Group of the Department of Defence at the
Pentagon. Luttwak is reportedly an Israeli citizen and has taught in Israel .
He frequently writes for Israeli and pro-Israeli newspapers and journals.
Luttwak is an Israeli extremist whose main theme in many of his articles is the
necessity of the U.S. waging war against Iraq and Iran .
Henry Kissinger
One of many Pentagon Advisors, Kissinger sits on the Pentagon's Defense Policy
Board under Perle. For detailed information about Kissinger's evil past, read
Seymour Hersch's book (Price of Power: Kissinger in the Nixon White House).
Kissinger likely had a part in the Watergate crimes, Southeast Asia mass
murders (Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos), Installing Chilean mass murdering dictator
Pinochet, Operation Condor's mass killings in South America, and more recently
served as Serbia's Ex-Dictator Slobodan Milosevic's Advisor. He consistently
advocated going to war against Iraq . Kissinger is the Ariel Sharon of the U.S.
Unfortunately, President Bush nominated Kissinger as chairman of the September
11 investigating commission. It's like picking a bank robber to investigate a
fraud scandal. He later declined this job under enormous protests.
Dov Zakheim
Dov Zakheim is an ordained rabbi and reportedly holds Israeli citizenship.
Zakheim attended Jew's College in London and became an ordained Orthodox Jewish
Rabbi in 1973. He was adjunct professor at New York 's Jewish Yeshiva University.
Zakheim is close to the Israeli lobby.
Dov Zakheim is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and in 2000 a
co-author of the Project for the New American Century's position paper,
Rebuilding America's Defenses, advocating the necessity for a Pearl-Harbor-like
incident to mobilize the country into war with its enemies, mostly Middle
Eastern Muslim nations.
He was appointed by Bush as Pentagon Comptroller from May 4, 2001 to March 10,
2004 . At that time he was unable to explain the disappearance of $1 trillion
dollars. Actually, nearly three years earlier, Donald Rumsfeld announced on
September 10, 2001 that an audit discovered $2.3 trillion was also missing from
the Pentagon books. That story, as mentioned, was buried under 9-11's rubble.
The two sums disappeared on Zakheim's watch. We can only guess where that cash
went.
Despite these suspicions, on May 6, 2004 , Zakheim took a lucrative position at
Booz Allen Hamilton, one of the most prestigious strategy consulting firms in
the world. One of its clients then was Blessed Relief, a charity said to be a
front for Osama bin Laden. Booz, Allen & Hamilton then also worked closely
with DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which is the
research arm of the Department of Defense.
Judicial Inc's bio of Dov tells us Zakheim is a dual Israeli/American citizen
and has been tracking the halls of US government for 25 years, casting defense
policy and influence on Presidents Reagan, Clinton, Bush Sr. and Bush Jr.
Judicial Inc points out that most of Israel's armaments were gotten thanks to
him. Squads of US F-16 and F-15 were classified military surplus and sold to
Israel at a fraction of their value.
Kenneth Adelman
One of many Pentagon Advisors, Adelman also sits on the Pentagon's Defense
Policy Board under Perle, and is another extremist pro-Israel advisor, who
supported going to war against Iraq . Adelman frequently is a guest on Fox
News, and often expresses extremist and often ridiculus anti-Arab and
anti-Muslim views. Through his racism or ignorance, he actually called Arabs
"anti-Semitic" on Fox News ( 11/28/2001 ), when he could have looked
it up in the dictionary to find out that Arabs by definition are Semites.
I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby
Vice President Dick Cheney's ex-Chief of Staff. As chief pro-Israel Jewish
advisor to Cheney, it helps explains why Cheney is so gun-ho to invade Iran .
Libby is longtime associate of Wolfowitz. Libby was also a lawyer for convicted
felon and Israeli spy Marc Rich, whom Clinton pardoned, in his last days as
president. Libby was recently found guilty of lying to Federal investigators in
the Valerie Plame affair, in which Plame, a covert CIA agent, was exposed for
political revenge by the Bush administration following her husband's revelations
about the lies leading to the Iraq War.
Robert Satloff
U.S. National Security Council Advisor, Satloff was the executive director of
the Israeli lobby's "think tank," Washington Institute for Near East
Policy. Many of the Israeli lobby's "experts" come from this front
group, like Martin Indyk.
Elliott Abrams
National Security Council Advisor. He previously worked at Washington-based
"Think Tank" Ethics and Public Policy Center. During the Reagan
Adminstration, Abrams was the Assistant Secretary of State, handling, for the
most part, Latin American affairs. He played an important role in the
Iran-Contra Scandal, which involved illegally selling U.S. weapons to Iran to
fight Iraq , and illegally funding the contra rebels fighting to overthrow
Nicaragua 's Sandinista government. He also actively deceived three
congressional committees about his involvement and thereby faced felony charges
based on his testimony. Abrams pled guilty in 1991 to two misdemeanors and was
sentenced to a year's probation and 100 hours of community service. A year
later, former President Bush (Senior) granted Abrams a full pardon. He was one
of the more hawkish pro-Israel Jews in the Reagan Administration's State
Department.
Marc Grossman
Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs. He was Director General of the
Foreign Service and Director of Human Resources at the Department of State.
Grossman is one of many of the pro-Israel Jewish officials from the Clinton
Administration that Bush has promoted to higher posts.
Richard Haass
Director of Policy Planning at the State Department and Ambassador at large. He
is also Director of National Security Programs and Senior Fellow at the Council
on Foreign Relations (CFR). He was one of the more hawkish pro-Israel Jews in
the first Bush (Sr) Administration who sat on the National Security Council,
and who consistently advocated going to war against Iraq . Haass is also a
member of the Defense Department's National Security Study Group, at the
Pentagon.
Robert Zoellick
U.S. Trade Representative, a cabinet-level position. He is also one of the more
hawkish pro-Israel Jews in the Bush (Jr) Administration who advocated invading
Iraq and occupying a portion of the country in order to set up a Vichy-style
puppet government. He consistently advocates going to war against Iran .
Ari Fleischer
Ex- White House Spokesman for the Bush (Jr) Administration. Prominent in the
Jewish community, some reports state that he holds Israeli citizenship.
Fleischer is closely connected to the extremist Jewish group called the Chabad
Lubavitch Hasidics, who follow the Qabala, and hold very extremist and
insulting views of non-Jews. Fleischer was the co-president of Chabad's Capitol
Jewish Forum. He received the Young Leadership Award from the American Friends
of Lubavitch in October, 2001.
James Schlesinger
One of many Pentagon Advisors, Schlesinger also sits on the Pentagon's Defense
Policy Board under Perle and is another extremist pro-Israel advisor, who
supported going to war against Iraq . Schlesinger is also a commissioner of the
Defense Department's National Security Study Group, at the Pentagon.
David Frum
White House speechwriter behind the "Axis of Evil" label. He lumped
together all the lies and accusations against Iraq for Bush to justify the war.
Joshua Bolten
White House Deputy Chief of Staff, Bolten was previously a banker, former
legislative aide, and prominent in the Jewish community.
John Bolton
Former UN Representative and Under-Secretary of State for Arms Control and
International Security. Bolton is also a Senior Advisor to President Bush.
Prior to this position, Bolton was Senior Vice President of the above mentioned
pro-Israel thinktank, AEI. He recently (October 2002) accused Syria of having a
nuclear program, so that they can attack Syria after Iraq . He must have
forgotten that Israel has 400 nuclear warheads, some of which are thermonuclear
weapons (according to a recent U.S. Air Force report).
David Wurmser
Special Assistant to John Bolton (above), the under-secretary for arms control
and international security. Wurmser also worked at the AEI with Perle and
Bolton . His wife, Meyrav Wurmser, along with Colonel Yigal Carmon, formerly of
Israeli military intelligence, co-founded the Middle East Media Research
Institute (Memri),a Washington-based Israeli outfit which distributes articles
translated from Arabic newspapers portraying Arabs in a bad light.
Eliot Cohen
Member of the Pentagon's Defense Policy Board under Perle and is another
extremist pro-Israel advisor. Like Adelman, he often expresses extremist and
often ridiculus anti-Arab and anti-Muslim views. More recently, he wrote an
opinion article in the Wall Street Journal openly admitting his rascist hatred
of Islam claiming that Islam should be the enemy, not terrorism.
Mel Sembler
President of the Export-Import Bank of the United States . A Prominent Jewish
Republican and Former National Finance Chairman of the Republican National
Committee. The Export-Import Bank facilitates trade relationships between U.S.
businesses and foreign countries, specifically those with financial problems.
Steve Goldsmith
Senior Advisor to the President, and Bush's Jewish domestic policy advisor. He
also served as liaison in the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community
Initiatives (White House OFBCI) within the Executive Office of the President.
He was the former mayor of Indianapolis . He is also friends with Israeli
Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert and often visits Israel to coach mayors on
privatization initiatives.
Adam Goldman
White House's Special Liaison to the Jewish Community.
Joseph Gildenhorn
Bush Campaign's Special Liaison to the Jewish Community. He was the DC finance
chairman for the Bush campaign, as well as campaign coordinator, and former
ambassador to Switzerland .
Christopher Gersten
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Administration for Children and Families
at HHS. Gersten was the former Executive Director of the Republican Jewish
Coalition, Husband of Labor Secretary.
Mark Weinberger
Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development for Public Affairs.
Samuel Bodman
Deputy Secretary of Commerce. He was the Chairman and CEO of Cabot Corporation
in Boston , Massachusetts .
Bonnie Cohen
Under Secretary of State for Management.
Ruth Davis
Director of Foreign Service Institute, who reports to the Office of Under
Secretary for Management. This Office is responsible for training all
Department of State staff (including ambassadors).
Daniel Kurtzer
Ambassador to Israel .
Cliff Sobel
Ambassador to the Netherlands .
Stuart Bernstein
Ambassador to Denmark .
Nancy Brinker
Ambassador to Hungary
Frank Lavin
Ambassador to Singapore .
Ron Weiser
Ambassador to Slovakia .
Mel Sembler
Ambassador to Italy .
Martin Silverstein
Ambassador to Uruguay .
Lincoln Bloomfield
Assistant Secretary of State for Political Military Affairs.
Jay Lefkowitz
Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the Domestic Policy Council.
Ken Melman
White House Political Director.
Brad Blakeman
White House Director of Scheduling.
I don't know about you, but dual citizenship is fine with me for an ordinary
citizen. But if you hold an official position that demands that you put
American interests above all else -- if you should look transparent and fair to
the rest of the world regarding your formation of Middle East foreign policies,
then this is a dangerous trend. Even if there were no pro-Israeli agenda, the
fact that decision makers have a bias or an allegiance to one of the parties
involved in the current conflict should have raised red flags long before now.
If you think we're being unfair here, ask yourself: How you would react to the
Head of Homeland Security if he or she were a dual national with citizenship in
Iran , Lebanon or Saudi Arabia ? Ask yourself why you don't feel the same about
Israeli dual citizenship. Then you will understand how powerful the Israeli
lobby has been in "adjusting" your acceptance of their special
status.
Hey, I could be way off on this. Let's hear from you.
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED
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