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Zichron Yaacov, Israel --I have a real problem. I am an "alternative" thinker which means I don't accept the mainstream view of what goes on in the world- and thus I get all my information from alternative media sources. Most of those are on the Internet.

That would be okay, if I wasn't a patriotic Israeli Jew and believed Israel had a legitimate right to exist in the Middle East. You see, this puts me into a heck of a bad position in regards to the Internet crowd of alternative thinkers who are virtually unanimous in their condemnation of Israel. Nearly every alternative political analyst believes Israel is "guilty as charge" regardless of whether absolutely no proof is offered to prove such a contention.

Where Is The Proof That Israel Was Responsible For 9-11?

Let's start with one of the biggest claims on the Net- that Israel was responsible for 9-11. While not all alternative thinkers believe this to be the case, many influential and prominent ones do- and a great many web site masters are prepared to put such opinions on their website without questioning whether the charge has any basis in fact.

Remember, I am an Israeli Jew, and an alternative thinker- so I don't just whip out that "anti-Semitic" label as easily as many of the established Jewish organizations in the US. You are allowed to be critical of Israel and blame Israel- but only if you can show us some degree of proof or indication for the charges. When it comes to 9-11, virtually nothing was presented to the public to show that Israel was responsible for the event, yet so many alternative websites felt it was their duty to present the opinions of those that insist (without any proof of any type) that Israel was responsible for this tragedy.

I find it incredible that despite the fact that alternative writers all claim to be "investigating the truth that the mainstream media ignores" there hasn't been any honest investigation into the claim that Israel was behind 9-11.

Let's start with the accusation that 4,000 Israelis and Jews were told not to show up for work that day has been widely quoted in the alternative press to show that Israel knew the attacks were going to take place (knowing what was going to take place and actually being behind them, are one and the same if you are predisposed to believing Israel is always guilty).

Where did that piece of information come from? It first appeared in the Pakistan News Service of September 20th, 2001, which reported: "Nearly 4000 Israeli employed in World Trade Center in New York were absent on the day the incident of air attacks took place in US on September 11…. "No one talked about any Israeli being killed or wounded in the attacks" Arab diplomatic sources revealed to the Jordanian al-Watan newspaper adding that those Israelis remained absent that day based on hints from Shabak, the Israeli General Security Apparatus."

Thus we are to believe that, based on the information on unnamed "Arab diplomatic sources" a cadre of Shabak operators (forgot about the fact that Shabak operates only in Israel, and that the Mossad handles Israeli intelligence affairs outside of Israel) had all the home numbers of all the 4,000 Israelis and Jews who worked at the WTC, called them all, announced themselves as employees of the Shabak, and gave them vague hints about how "you could be harmed if you went to work the next day." Miraculously they reached all 4,000 of these people (not one wasn't home when the Shabak called- but if they were, I am sure the Shabak operator would have left a detailed message explaining the impending danger to that person on their answering machine) and thus all were saved.

Yet not one alternative writer bothered to find even one Jew or Israeli who could testify that, "yes, I got this strange call on the night of Sept 10th warning me not to show up for work the next day". Not a one.

More "proof" is offered in the news item that the Israeli messaging company Odigo, received a message over their network just before the WTC crash. The anti-Israel alternative analysts use this as proof that Israel knew of and arranged the event. Hence Israel is "guilty as charged."

More so called "proof" that Israel was responsible for 9-11 is the "dancing Israelis on a rooftop after the attack" whereby someone noticed (we have no source as to who witnessed the dancing Israelis thus it could very well have been planted on a few alternative web sites to lead all the anti-Israel crowd away from discovering who was really responsible for the attack) that a bunch of Israelis were "celebrating" the attack.

Considering how many Israelis in New York use drugs or get high in some other manner, the likely explanation is that they were inebriated, but even if they did dance and were overjoyed over the event, all that means is that they were demented- not that they had anything to do with the event nor that they were working for the Israeli intelligence agencies or that Israel had anything to do with the attacks.

The next conclusive proof is the "Israeli art students" who were deported right after 9-11. Granted, Israel was running a spy network through the art students and with the guys in the shopping malls demonstrating the toys. Yes, this is true. That doesn't mean they or the Israeli government were behind the attacks. Israel spies on the US for many reasons- just like the US spies on all of its allies. Considering how many "covert operations" the US is involved in around the world (from drugs to arms selling) it is understandable that Israel would want to know about this- for leverage (some call it blackmail) and thus these art students and toy salesman probably had nothing whatsoever to do with 9-11, but some other secret agenda of Israeli intelligence. (As a result of Jonathan Pollard's spying activities, the Israeli government knew just how many chemical and nuclear weapons the Reagan administration had sold Saddam Hussein in the early 1980s and thus the extent of the threat from Iraq. Sometimes spying on allies can be totally justified when some allies have more the one agenda.)

My personal favorite shred of evidence is this one: "Israel had the most to gain thus she was probably behind the attacks".

Think about that one for a moment. That means nobody in the US government had anything to gain by doing a "Sept 11th", and only found out about it after it happened- and thus should have been pissed as shit against Israel for doing it. No. I don't think so. That is not the way it went down. You as an "alternative thinker and writer" must realize this and take account of it and stop accusing Israel of being responsible for what took place. Even if Israel did gain from it- the party was not of Israel's making and it is as simple as that. By blaming Israel you are re-focusing blame away from the real culprits in this game.

The Truth May Be That Israel Knew Of The Impending Attacks- But The US Administration Didn't Want To Listen

The fact is there are ample press accounts published on how many people knew Sept 11th was going to happen- not just Israelis and how many people tried to warn the US government. Could it be that the good guys in Israeli intelligence knew the score and did try to warn the US government- but the warnings were ignored because the Administration knew of the plan and let it go through- or worse- were a part of it? Could be- but that explanation doesn't sit well with the anti-Israel folks in the alternative world. For them, Israel being guilty is simply much easier to fit into their overall world view- regardless of whether no proof exists to justify the charge.

There is only one thing to say about Sept 11th is that Israel did not arrange it. The Israelis would have never- ever- ever tried such a thing without the full support and backing of the US administration. If they did without the Administration's knowledge the CIA would have leaked conclusive proof of this to the press and Israel's image would have been damaged beyond repair. If Israel was involved it would have been in the role of a sub-contractor to the venture- not the project leader. The Administration decides what goes down- not a bunch of Israeli intelligence officials or a thoroughly compromised Israeli prime minister.

As an alternative thinker I would be prepared to accept the fact that Israel carried out the 9-11 attacks- behind the backs of the US administration- and that such evil is a part of the Israeli political and security establishment. It isn't impossible- however unlikely that it is. However without a shred of decent proof to point to this conclusion, I will go on thinking that the "Israel did it" campaign on the Internet was nothing more than a red herring to have people focus away from the real culprits and to instead- focus on Israel.

So many otherwise credible alternative thinkers fell for the bait hook, line and sinker. I'm not one of them.

Just As Israel Wasn't Behind 9-11, The Jews Aren't Behind The Invasion of Iraq

While we're at it, it is about time someone told these anti-Israel alternative thinkers that the Jews are not behind the push towards invading Iraq. Like the 9-11 story, that interpretation merely takes the focus away from who is really behind the initiative.

What we are being told by many analysts in the alternative media world is that two relatively low-level bureaucrats, Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz-because they are Jewish and pro-Israel- are in total control of US foreign policy and have so much influence over Rumsfeld, Bush and Chaney- that they can tell the President, Vice- President and Secretary of Defence what to do. Thus for this reason- the US is planning to attack Iraq.

The Jews or the Israeli government don't control American foreign policy any more than Israel planned and carried out the 9-11 attacks. Like 9-11, even if Israel gains from the attack on Iraq—that doesn't mean it is being planned to placate Israel. No Jews could influence US foreign policy unless they are prepared to play the role of yes-men and puppets to the powers that be who ultimately call the shots.

What the alternative thinkers who claim that Israel/Jews control American foreign policy never explain is what "the Jews" or the Israeli government have over the leaders of the White House that would force these men to do what Israel/the Jews say? If they are blackmailing Bush and Chaney- what would they be using to blackmail these men? If Bush and Chaney felt they were being railroaded into a war just because some powerful Jews and the Israeli government wanted the US to attack Iraq- don't you think they would employ a few smear tactics in the media (not something the men currently occupying the White House aren't familiar with) against Israel and those Jews who are "pressuring America to go to war"? If Bush and Chaney really didn't want to wage war on Iraq why can't they find a way out of the quagmire?

It is time that whole segment of the alternative media on the Internet understood that Jews in America like Perle and Wolfowitz have nothing to use to blackmail Bush and Chaney into forcing the "goyim" to do what "the Jews" want them to do. Might it be- could it be- that the two or three Jews high-profile Jews are being set up to take the fall if and when the gambit fails?

The invasion of Iraq is part of a much, much larger game than simply "serving Israel's interests" or so that Israel can "transfer the Palestinians when the invasion against Iraq takes place". The ultimate game plan is to build an American empire and all that this entails, control of Middle East and Central Asian energy

To think that a few low-level Jewish government officials - regardless of their true national allegiances- are pulling all of Bush, Chaney and Rumsfeld's strings defies all logic. By blaming these two Jews- or "the Jews" in general, alternative thinkers are falling into a trap where the Jews become the target for blame rather than those that are really pulling the strings.
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Joel Bainerman has been writing on Middle East affairs since 1982. His website can be viewed at www.joelbainerman.com and he can be contacted at isratech@netvision.net.il