American and Israeli politics have one thing in common, money buys elections. They have many more things in common, simply put, “predictable corruption” and a “rigged process” as well.
Of late something extremely strange happened. The “king makers” for both nations make up a short list. The Adelsons by far front of the list, the Koch Brothers, the war lobby and opiate sellers, George Soros, few surprises there.
In Israel, we had a big change hit, one that turned an election, long rigged for war candidate Netanyahu, who according to writer Barry Chamish is a “fake person,” former furniture salesman fronting for war profiteers, into something unexpected and, as of this writing, undecided.
Part of the issue is that Netanyahu and his wife face prison for corruption charges, some of which originate from, of all things, the Adelson family, who have testified for investigators advocating the removal of Netanyahu and his wife, and we will get into that in a bit, in order to save Israel.
Yet the same Adelsons, year after year, have virtually underwritten America’s war candidates, the fake “Tea Party,” the Neocons, literally buying the worst imaginable candidates for congress and other key offices, flooding elections with money from their gambling empire.
The result of 14 years of what has to be deemed “interference” by the Adelsons in American politics, has tripled Americas’s debt, started wars around the world, begun a massive arms race, abrogated treaties intended to guarantee peace and justice around the world, and significantly lowered Americas standard of living.
The Adelsons believed, and I am sure this is correct, they were doing the right thing, that the maniacs and malcontents they supported who promised to fight wars on behalf of Israel, even if that involved massive injustice and endless deaths, was right based on their loyalty to Israel.
Now it seems the Adelsons have become aware that their dominance of Israel’s politics and their backing of the Netanyahu’s had all been a terrible mistake, one that has cost the lives, were once to examine the ramifications, of endless thousands just as their American political endeavors have.
Here in the US, having seen the break between the Adelsons and Netanyahu’s in Israel, a question is then asked. Will the Adelsons, in an act of conscience or enlightenment, release their financial stranglehold on nearly 250 members of congress that wrongly stay in office supported by their efforts?
Behind that are other questions, perhaps for another time, key among them is needed electoral reform in the US that might well end that nation’s role as “mob enforcer” for the world. The use of the term “policeman,” one the press loves, part of that fake narrative Trump loves to talk about, no longer applies.
Nothing America’s military does is “policing,” not the drone assassinations, not the sanctions, not the piracy, not their endless roll of brutal dictators and toadies. We begin.
The “first couple” of American politics, particularly since 2005 when an extremely dangerous decision by the Supreme Court virtually legalized and “cloaked” with wide protection, outright bribery of politicians, aren’t even American citizens.
Shelly and Miriam Adelson, the king and queen of the world’s largest gaming and “associated adult activities” empire are Israelis.
Shelly, or “Sheldon,” served in the US Army at some point but later, in a public statement, said he regretted serving America and wished he has served Israel. This was a regrettable statement.
As is the case, the first issue we deal with is this, why should we care about two rich people? The first context, based on the political crisis in Israel is this, the Adelson’s were Benjamin Netanyahu’s primary backers and, technically, Israel’s wealthiest citizens as well.
In August 2019, the Adelsons were both questioned by Israel’s Attorney General about both Netanyahu’s. The Adelson’s, who had been not just close friends, the but Netanyahu’s closest personal friends for many years, had an interesting story.
They told investigators that Sara Netanyahu ran Israel and her husband, the prime minister, simply took orders. Then both Adelsons, and Miriam is a licensed psychologist, said the Netanyahu’s were mentally incompetent, violently explosive and extremely corrupt.
Thus, as Benjamin Netanyahu may have lost an election, something he has done twice before. However, he has managed to, perhaps using huge amounts of cash made available to him, correct that “problem.”
He has repeatedly done so through methodologies that establish to the trained political “watcher” that Israel is a dictatorship and that elections can be “engineered” as they seem to be in the US and so many other nations that love referring to themselves as “liberal democracies.”
Taking things a step further, one must understand that the Adelson’s also financially control America’s congress, dozens of state governorships and even local political races.
This is the couple that has only recently discovered that Benjamin and Sara Netanyahu are “not as they seem, that they are insane, violent and corrupt, facts the rest of the world has known for a very long time.
You know, it is assumed that politically powerful and very “involved” billionaires have access to private intelligence, and by that we mean the truth behind the fake news. However, based on transcripts of the Adelson’s testimony regarding their relationship with the Netanyahu’s, its clear that not only do they not have any access to “behind the scenes” knowledge, but they are poorly informed, even more so than the average American.
This is frightening.
You see, without their money and sponsorship, it is likely that
Netanyahu would have been removed years ago. Think how many people would be alive today, how many women and children killed in Israeli bombing attacks, how many homes plowed under, how many olive trees, how much land stolen, the numbers are staggering.
But it gets worse.
Recently, President Trump chided America’s Jews for supporting opposition candidates. America’s Jews are among the nations best educated and informed, politically at least. There are, though admitting so is not politically correct, differences that apply in general ways to ethnic groups though seldom do they analog internet smears.
Jews typically live in urban areas, work in professions mostly, often law or medicine, and have a cultural history of cynicism toward political leaders who make generous promises. Simply put, Jews remember who Hitler was, what he did and see the “little Hitlers” who show up from time to time and tend to oppose them politically.
Trump found this aspect of Jewish culture “treasonous,” and that’s the term he used. In Yiddish we would call that “klug,” meaning clever or wise. Another term is “shmartsn.”
It seems the Adelsons, “good Jews” according to mutual friends, were blind to evil for so long. Do note that this is a couple that made billions in the gambling business around the world, competing with organized crime. I would have thought them to be geniuses.
Compounding the problem is America’s existing political weakness. America’s capitol, Washington, was actually built on a swamp and things only got worse, and it happened in early 19th century, not “recently.”
America’s constitution has, built in, a number of critical flaws that favored special interest.
- Presidents were elected not by voters but by “electors.” Nobody in the US knows what this means though the system is still used. You can lose an election and become president. Trump and Bush (43) are proof and the majority of Americans generally reviled both political leaders throughout their terms of office.
- A Supreme Court, nominated by a president picked by electors and endorsed by senators who were not subject to election until the 20th century could simply make up any law or overrule anything, often on a whim.
- As America added states, regions of land with no population, often owned by mining or rail interests in Europe, new Senators worked directly for banks or industries and represented almost no population at all. Some states, like Montana or Wyoming, barely have enough population to provide candidates at all, or so it seems.
The concern that drives the Adelsons and, to an extent, very powerful Jewish interests around the world is sometimes clear, sometimes not.
It is true that Israel is besieged by neighbors but under Netanyahu, Israel has been the worst neighbor itself, fomenting wars and, most frightening, using political influence to set the United States on a path of international mayhem not seen since Genghis Khan in the 12th and 13th century.
There has been no turn to diplomacy and regional security concerns but rather a clear policy of continual war, typically fought by America and NATO, and a covert policy of take “color revolutions” that have involved not just the Middle East and Africa but Ukraine as well. Even India’s current war footing over Kashmir is driven by a President rumored to be tied directly to the powers behind the same wars, the same revolutions, the same descent that has turned the 21st century into madness and mayhem.
Conclusion
Our story here today involves on family with immense influence and a partial awakening. So much could happen, peace could break out, disarmament, a return to systems of justice such as the ICC and Geneva Conventions, long abandoned or derailed, and hope could reign.
We love to throw the term “oligarch” around, describing those so financially powerful they are above the law, so powerful that, in fact they virtually are the law.
Why do so few “oligarch” respect human values? We are certainly told they do, their names are on hospitals and great charitable foundations, but the underlying truth is far more visible.
At every fundraiser when a mindless political thug screams out for blood, there they sit checkbooks in hand.
Well, it seems the Adelson family may have moved back a bit from this practice, in Israel at least. What would it take to get them to do the same, show some mercy at least, for America?
Gordon Duff is a Marine combat veteran of the Vietnam War that has worked on veterans and POW issues for decades and consulted with governments challenged by security issues. He’s a senior editor and chairman of the board of Veterans Today, especially for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook.”