By Eylon
Aslan-Levy
The
Seal of the United States Congress tells an observer a number salient facts
about American politics: the olive branch stands for America’s commitment to
peace; the arrows represent its readiness for war; and the Star of David, which
the Economist has helpfully added to the original design, symbolises the
control of Jews and/or Israel over America’s policies of war and peace.
Peter
Schrank’s cartoon, which accompanies an article on negotiations with Iran in
this week’s Economist, depicts President Obama with his ankle shackled to the
Judaised seal of the US Congress and thereby prevented from shaking hands with
Iran’s President Rouhani, who is being restrained by nefarious-looking,
US-flag-burning compatriots.
The
message is that either American Jews or Israel (and it is unclear which,
because the Star of David is both a Jewish and Israeli symbol) are holding the
United States back from making peace with Iran – and moreover, that they are
doing so through their control of the machinery of the American government,
since the Star of David is incorporated into the official insignia of the US,
alongside the stars and stripes. The Israel Lobby, as the cartoon rather
nefariously hints, is not a separate influence on the US government – it is a
constituent part of it.
