Last week the UN Human Rights Council voted on whether a formal inquiry should be launched into Israel’s offensive on Gaza, which has to date claimed 1,865 lives, including many civilians. While the measure was passed, there was a single ‘No’ vote: that of the United States.

In opposing the resolution, America made it clear that it intends to support Israel’s actions, even in the teeth of otherwise widespread international condemnation. The ‘No’ vote was wholly expected: the US has always used its UN veto power to prevent sanctions being taken against Israel arising from its illegal occupation of the Gaza Strip, West Bank and Golan Heights.
Many of the countries traditionally allied with the US including the EU, Japan and South Korea abstained on the vote. But the question remains: why would the USA feel comfortable being the only nation in the world specifically opposing an investigation into an issue that is very clearly within the remit of the UNHRC? And why would its citizens, with apparent relish, embrace the role of international pariah on an issue half a world away?
The best way to understand US foreign policy is to see it not as an instrument of world peace but as driven by a desire to safeguard America’s material interests. Peace is the goal – because it protects the investments of the United States’ wealthiest citizens. Thus, pragmatism holds sway.
Remember that, after Israel, the United States’ next closest ally in the region is Saudi Arabia. Both countries are the subject of constant international criticism – and yet both operate in a way that suits the interests of the United States. A despot is cruel and merciless when in Libya or Cuba and opposing US interests; much less so in the Gulf States or Latin America.
Similarly, democracy is celebrated unless the wrong person gets elected – see Chile, Venezuela and of course the Gaza Strip. In those instances, the results of democratic elections are dismissed as examples of a corrupt party exploiting an ignorant populace. The reviled leaders of the Soviet Union who kept the world teetering on the edge of nuclear destruction weren’t so scary once they became jet-setting oligarchs. America is traditionally perceived, by its own citizens especially, as a bastion of freedom. The truth is rather murkier.
But does this high level cynicism reflect the views of average Americans? There can be a tendency to be insular, to look to their own interests first. Thus it is easy for the media to drive the agenda. So you hear of an Israeli “retaliation” instead of “attack”, with no mention of the number of dead Palestinians (or “belligerents”). There’s a subtly loaded language that dominates the public conversation. Over time Palestinians are reduced to a faceless people, numbers on a screen.
With the present conflict, however, that status quo threatens to collapse. Pictures of the destruction in Gaza, of limbs in the street, of dead Palestinian children, of Israelis in lawn chairs cheering the devastation, are filtering through. People are seeing the sheer one-sidedness of the conflict. Those with long enough memories may be reminded of when opinion began to shift on Vietnam in the late ’60s. That said, it would be a mistake to underestimate the strength of the Zionist lobby, which is as powerful as the Christian right in America. It’s almost impossible to criticise Israel in America and avoid being labeled as anti-Semite. It doesn’t take long before the Holocaust and September 11 come up.
Perhaps realising that their support of Israel has been a little too unequivocal, White House Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett did over the weekend condemn the Israeli targetting of schools, albeit rather mildly.
“It’s a devastating situation,” she said in an interview with CBS. “Israel absolutely has the right to defend itself, and we are Israel’s staunchest ally. But you also can’t condone the killing of all of these innocent children.”
Ultimately, the rest of the world must keep reminding America that Israeli war crimes are a stain on its reputation too. And the outcry over the injustices in Gaza must ring out louder than ever. Otherwise, we will have to settle for a situation where there really is no justice in the world.