Clinton Re-elected,

so where do we stand?

Traditionally, a second-term president is less susceptible to the influence of lobbies and powerful political action committees. However, in the case of the Clinton White House, whose Middle East policy is formulated and executed by former Israel lobbyists, and "Israel-first" people like Martin Indyk, there is likely to be little change in the shameful subjugation of US interests in the Arab world to those of Israel. What might we be facing in 4 years? Vice President Al Gore vs. Jack Kemp - two proven anti-Arab politicians. Unlike this year's election, where former Senator James Abourezk said, "I'll hold my nose with one hand and vote for Clinton with the other," it is going to take both hands to keep out the stench of these two politicians deeds in selling out to right wing Israeli interests. This could be a tragedy for US relations and interests in the Arab World. The tension from the relentless pressure exerted by the White House to do everything for Israel's benefit will likely result in another outbreak of war adding more tragedy to the outrageous horrors already created by the US Government's shameless pandering to the Israeli lobby.

But let's remember that there are three branches of government, not just one. We have the opportunity to take advantage of the next 4 years to redouble our efforts to work with local and state politicians. The benefits will take years to become apparent, as this is a long and slow process, but the damage done by not taking action is already obvious, even on a state level. One needs only look at cases where local labor unions were investing pension funds into high risk Israeli Government bonds. This is an issue local members took on, and won.