US Politicians Continue to Appease Pro-Israel Lobby, Misjudge the Brotherhood

US Politicians Continue to Appease Pro-Israel Lobby, Misjudge the Brotherhood

Granger and Lowey are not the only American politicians who voice skepticism – or even a degree of animosity – towards Egypt after the fall of Mubarak. The AIPAC is becoming a key – but not the only – venue for voicing such concerns, anxiety or even threats against Egypt post-revolution, taking aim at the Muslim Brotherhood as usual.

Therefore, the question that is lingering in the mind of ordinary Egyptians; is it really about the Brotherhood or is it Egypt that became no more a friend to America in the eyes of the pro-Israel lobbyists in the US because of its independent policies? The question is valid as long as the compass for those people is Israel’s fears and concerns rather than – or at the expense of – the American interests.

 It is true that such statements by Granger and Lowey explicitly indicate that the pro-Israel lobby is willing to put sticks-in-the-wheel for Obama’s extended hand to the emerging democracy in Egypt; a hand that was extended too late with too little, accompanied by a hidden deep American sorrow for the loss of the strong, though undemocratic, ally in the region.

Such “Granger and Lowey” statements would be easily interpreted by the Egyptian public as another proof that the US is not keen for democracy in Egypt, which threatens the prospects of friendly relations between the US and democratic and free Egypt. 

“If the American would choose for us, they would choose the NDP and State Security no doubt about it”, a young Egyptian once said in the most recent rally in Tahrir last Friday, i.e. one day after Obama’s Middle East speech.

Despite Obama’s well-polished words, it seems that the U is still incapable of changing its old-fashion tone regarding the Egyptian political system-Brotherhood formula, and refusing to recognize the group as a pro-democracy movement, advocating moderate and tolerant Islam and respecting the rule of law. Such “Granger and Lowey” statements are nothing but another proof that the American aid that was previously extended to the Mubarak regime for three decades – including the tear gas canisters launched against the demonstrators – were aimed to sustain the status quo, strengthen and stabilize the authoritarian regime and suppress the calls for democracy despite the claims of the American pressure on Mubarak to democratize.

If the US policy makers are serious about democracy promotion in the Middle East, they’re ought to rein the pro-Israel lobby, and put the interests of the American people as their top priorities above the interests of their political parties and winning elections controlled by self-interest lobby groups.

The US governments have lost the support by a vast majority of people in the Middle East since the creation of the state of Israel, and the US interests in the regions have been seriously threatened by sweeping anti-Americanism especially among younger generations, because of the its blind support of Israeli atrocities and its violation of the international law.