apartheid at home and abroad

I may be over-mythologizing, but the presidential announcement that America's new embassy would be located in Jerusalem -- a city that both Israelis and Palestinians lay claim to -- strikes me as a savvy-if-cowardly political stroke.

The relocation of the embassy from Tel Aviv, condemned by Palestinians as blatantly pro-Israel, further dimmed prospects of what President Donald Trump had once touted as plans to negotiate the “deal of the century.” The Palestinians seek Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem as a capital.

So far, Palestinians wielding sling-shots, burning tires, and throwing rocks, have suffered almost 60 fatalities and 2,000 casualties as 'beleaguered' Israel shoots live rounds at Palestinian demonstrators along the Gaza wall... and did I hear someone mention the deploying of Israeli tanks?

The relocation of the embassy to Jerusalem set off Benjamin-Netanyahu-friendly rejoicing. America loves Israel and is willing to prove it, autocrat to autocrat. Netanyahu, who is hip-deep in a corruption scandal can point to a big W(inner) under his aegis and divert attention from his apartheid proclivities that he uses to keep his right-wing supporters in line. The embassy-opening gives him the imprimatur to bomb Syria, which Trump might find advantageous when addressing Russia's warm-water-port interests in Damascus.

But stirring the Israel-Palestine pot, creating conditions for still greater conflict, allows Trump and his compatriots who want to get re-elected to divert attention from the tax plan that sucks money away from America's version of the Palestinians -- the working class. December's tax plan is likely to play a role in upcoming mid-term elections, but if there's one thing that can deflect attention from the tax give-away to the well-to-do, it's so-called-patriotism and war and shit like that.

So ... Netanyahu gets a green light and Trump gets a green light and the U.S. offers a plausible deniability: "Me? Foment war? That's Israel's doing... that's Palestinian adventurism." even as Israel can deflect the spotlight from Netanyahu's corruption as he acts to protect Israel's 'vital interests.'

"Venal" and "vile" hardly seem to cover the bases.