Absolving empire in Palestine

What are the real reasons behind the US media and state institutions’ apparent pro-Israel bias?

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi caused a stir during a May 20 interview with CNN about Israel’s 11-day military offensive on Gaza by claiming that the Israelis are getting favourable coverage because of their “deep pockets” and “control” over the media. The CNN anchor conducting the interview, Bianna Golodryga, immediately dubbed Qureshi’s remarks “anti-Semitic” – a characterisation later repeated by the majority of US media outlets. Several American politicians, such as US House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, also condemned the remarks. The charge was of course vehemently denied by the Pakistani government, which insisted criticisms of Israel were being conflated with anti-Semitism. The substance of the anti-Semitism allegations aside, the Pakistani FM’s carelessly phrased comments and widespread domestic support for them reveal a pervasive misperception about the nature of the US-Israel relationship – one in which power appears to flow from Israel to the US. This perception about the US-Israel ties misapprehends the material and ideological basis of the relationship in a way that overstates the influence of Israel and its lobby while obscuring – or worse, absolving – the interests and domestic ideologies at the heart of US imperialism. In doing so, this idea also inhibits a more accurate understanding of the constellation of forces behind the occupation of Palestine and prevents a credible assessment of possibilities for resistance.