Israeli Impact on U.S. Civil Liberties
Traverse City Graduate Speaks on Israel’s Military Diplomacy and Its Effects on Civil Liberties in the United States
On Monday June 4, 2007 at 7:00 PM MidEast:Just Peace will host 1995 Traverse City high school graduate Jimmy Johnson a the Traverse Area District Library. For the past three years Johnson has worked as a researcher for the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) in Jerusalem. His work there included documenting human rights abuses, organizing and practicing civil disobedience and guiding governmental and civil society groups from all over the world in political tours of East Jerusalem and environs. He is the co-author of an upcoming book on Israel’s arms industry. Johnson will speak on the impact of military diplomacy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and how this distant conflict affects civil liberties in the United States.
The event is free. Discussion will follow the presentation.
Synopsis of Topics to be covered:
1 )Israel’s Military Diplomacy: The diplomatic shield of the arms trade
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is destabilizing at a regional level in one of the key geo-political regions in the world. It resonates with Muslims all over the world as one of the last “colonial invasions” of the Muslim world. Negative political developments in the conflict directly linked to spikes in energy prices. Yet Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem & Gaza continues unabated. With such a high cost to the world, how does Israel get away with it?
One of the main reasons is Israel’s military industry and experience. The diplomatic effects of the arms trade and military relationships are an undiscussed secret in world politics. The development, production and transfer of military techniques and technologies warp civilian diplomacy worldwide. As the fourth largest arms exporter in the world in 2006 (on any given year between 3-6), Israel plays an international role disproportionate to its size and resources. All of the main arms exporters reap similar benefits and several also have conflicts they need to shield from international pressure (US -UK/Iraq, Russia/Chechnya). The presentation/discussion will talk about military diplomacy and how it warps civilian diplomacy using Israel as a model.
2) Civil liberties in the US and the Conflict in the Middle East
How do the perpetuation of distant conflicts affect civil liberties at home and create tools of war? Israeli police and intelligence services train their colleagues all over the world. The Israeli military similarly provide technical expertise to a variety of armies, going so far as to build a model Arab town in the Negev to train US forces going into Iraq. Israeli monitoring and surveillance technology is in place on the London Underground, Stockholm’s Public Buses, and countless other destination across the globe. Each of these developments has a plausible security aspect, and an equally strong use against civil liberties and human rights. The only reason Israel can export such technology is due its extensive experience in monitoring and controlling the Palestinians. Just as new tools of control and warfare are being developed by US & UK forces in Iraq, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will continue to work as a laboratory for security systems and techniques of control.