Last night’s debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump was a non-event.
While talking heads are busy debating who won—who cares—both candidates skirted around the real issue: Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.
Neither Harris nor Trump uttered a word of condemnation of Israeli genocide.
Trump accused Harris of not meeting the war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu when he addressed the US Congress on July 24.
It was only partly true.
Harris was not in Congress to hear Netanyahu’s litany of lies.
Her “crime” is that she did not join in the pathetic applause that others indulged in.
Instead, she met him the following day.
The question is: why does it matter whether any American politician meets the zionist war criminal or not unless, of course, the pro-Israel lobby controls the US political system.
The reality is, it does.
It is held hostage by the Israeli lobby led by the unregistered and, therefore, illegal entity, the America-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
It has a stranglehold on US politics.
Politicians tremble before it and comply with its every demand.
American politicians standing atop every dung heap proclaim Israel’s right to “defend itself”.
As an occupying power, Israel has no right to defend itself.
It is in illegal occupation of Palestinian lands.
Instead, the Palestinians have every right to defend themselves “by whatever means necessary.”
This was reaffirmed in his latest legal analysis by UN whistleblower Craig Mokhiber, who wrote: “No, Israel does not have a right to defend itself in Gaza. But the Palestinians do.”
This is based on international law and not one but two UN General Assembly resolutions passed by an overwhelming majority.
Israeli politicians are war criminals.
They must be arrested and put on trial for war crimes.
This is what America should have done when Netanyahu was in the US last July.
If American politicians are serious about ending Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza and the West Bank, there is a simple solution: stop arms shipment to Israel immediately.
Why they won’t do that speaks volumes for their hypocrisy.
Even when Harris knows that cutting off weapons to Israel would help her win the presidency, she refuses to do so.
After the debate, the Institute for Middle East Understanding pointed out that the need to halt the weapons is not only moral and legal—it’s also smart politics.
Polls show that most Americans want to stop arming Israel.
In swing states that will determine the outcome of the election, polling has found that a large number of voters say they’d be more likely to cast a ballot for Harris if she would support a halt.
Last night’s debate merely confirmed that American elections are a farce.
The candidates, regardless of colour or party, are mere puppets in the hands of the pro-Israel lobby.