JOHN KERRY’S EMPTY WORDS WILL NOT WORRY ISRAELIS
Washington, 4 Rabiul Akhir 1435/4 February 2014 (MINA) – The co-founder of the Free Palestine Movement, Paul Larudee said there is no “serious intention behind the words of Secretary Kerry” and Israelis know that they “have nothing to worry about”.
During the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, Kerry said for “Israel there’s an increasing de-legitimization campaign” as he indicated that Tel Aviv could face growing boycotts if talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority fail.
The US Secretary of State John Kerry’s empty words will not worry Israelis while the US “supposedly” has the power to impose sanctions against Israel, it has never taken any serious action against Tel Aviv.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hit back hard at Kerry, saying calls for boycotts of Israel to pressure it to abandon settlement construction in the occupied Palestinian territories were “immoral and unjustified.”
In a phone interview on Monday, Larudee said the US has the power, supposedly, to withhold its aid to Israel, cut back its expenditures, and even impose sanctions against Israel, “but it has never, not since 1956 has it ever used these methods.”
This comes as, Larudee said, Washington easily imposes sanctions against countries like Iran and Syria, Press TV reported as monitored by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA).
“It’s interesting that in the case of countries like Iran and Syria, Secretary Kerry doesn’t use the threat of other people doing something to Iran or Syria in order to compel them to some sort of behavior or agreement but in the case of Israel, he uses the threat that other people will do a boycott against Israel and that the United States does nothing,” said Larudee.
The Obama administration, which put in place the toughest sanctions ever imposed on Iran, has repeatedly threatened Iran with the “military option” while saying it welcomes diplomatic efforts to resolve the West’s decade-old dispute with Tehran over its nuclear energy program.
Meanwhile, following Israelis’ anger over Kerry’s reference to “talk of boycotts” of Israel, the same administration says Kerry’s words have been distorted as he has “a proud record of over three decades of steadfast support for Israel’s security and well-being, including staunch opposition to boycotts.”
Paul Larudee (born April 25, 1946) is an Iranian-born American political activist who is a major figure in the pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli movements. Based in the San Francisco Bay area, he is involved with the International Solidarity Movement and was a founder of the Free Gaza Movement and the Free Palestine Movement.(T/P04/E01)
Miraj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
