Pro-Israel lobby powerful

Pro-Israel lobby powerful

I was troubled by the event I witnessed in front of the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta on May 22, 1995. It was an anti-American protest regarding the U.S. veto of a UN resolution on confiscation of Arab land in East Jerusalem. The demonstrators are right as far as the continued expropriation of Arab land by Israel as well as the continuous support given by the U.S. government to Israel is wrong. However, it seems that many of the protesters really do not understand America or Americans.

President Bill Clinton was elected in 1992, but not by a majority of the American people. He just had more votes than President Bush and one other candidate. He does not represent the majority of the American people. The U.S. pro-Israel lobby is very powerful. The media in America is full of pro-Israel and anti-Islam propaganda. This, of course makes it very difficult for Americans to learn the truth about Islam and Israel.

America has it's share of hard core Israel supporters, but the majority of Americans are reasonable people. Once they learn the truth about Israel, their sympathies will be with the Palestinians, not with Israel. Once they learn the truth about Islam, they will not believe the anti-Islam propaganda in the media either. In fact, Islam is spreading very rapidly in America. There are now about eight million Moslems in America today. The truth about Islam also changed my life. I have been a Moslem for over five years now.

The protesters at the U.S. Embassy should not hate America and Americans. America is a great country founded on principles of freedom, democracy and justice for all people. The real problem is Bill Clinton's willingness to submit to the whims of the pro- Israel lobby. In America, he is an unpopular president.

KEVIN J. DUNPHY

Bandung, West Java