Although you have to tip your hat to Barack Obama for at least trying to expose the lies of Israel’s government, the real hero in his fast-ending presidency is Secretary of State John Kerry, an American hero in every sense of the word. He was a military hero whose record was trashed by well-financed propaganda when he decided to run for president in 2004 against President George W. Bush.

The irony is that while Kerry risked his life fighting on the frontlines to defend America during the Vietnam War, Bush avoided active duty using his father’s clout. Instead, Bush was allowed to “serve” in a military reserve unit stateside. The assignment was so cushy — his father was both a former president and former senator — he did not even have to show up for reserve duty.

CBS “60 Minutes” journalist Dan Rather tried to expose this irony, but was tripped up because many of the original documents were destroyed, and the veracity of some of those Rather used were in question. However, protecting Bush was not enough for Kerry’s enemies. They made vicious accusations that challenged his military service, claiming his heroism was exaggerated.

That is when I recognized that politics in America is not about truth, justice or honesty. It is about who spends the most money to spin a good story, because the American people are the easiest on the planet to manipulate. You can easily buy their minds. They see the world through fictionalized TV and movie dramas scripted by well-financed political propagandists in Washington D.C. and New York.

In other words, if you have the money you can easily buy the morality of the American people. I am always amazed how this reality does not benefit the Arab people, who are among the wealthiest in the world. TV shows and Hollywood movies cast Israel as the victim and the Palestinians as vicious terrorists. Production of these hate-driven shows and films is non-stop.

Unlike the Arabs, Israel understands this reality. It spends millions every year to influence the American news media and produce via their surrogates TV shows and movies that portray Arabs as vicious criminals and Israel as the innocent victim. So why do Arabs not invest their money in trying to influence the American public to see the truth through Israel’s lies?

That is why I just shook my head when Kerry did what a noble and righteous person would do when confronted with a challenge. Last week, for the second time, he told the American people that the real obstacle to peace in the Middle East is Israel, not the Palestinians.
His words were powerful, and this proven military veteran did not shy away from taking on Israel’s right-wing extremists. He called out both the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel’s fanatic UN Ambassador Danny Danon, who openly opposes peace and rejects the two-state solution.

“The two-state solution is the only way to achieve a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians,” Kerry said. “It is the only way to ensure Israel’s future as a Jewish and democratic state, living in peace and security with its neighbors. It is the only way to ensure a future of freedom and dignity for the Palestinian people. And it is an important way of advancing US interests in the region.” Kerry added: “That future is now in jeopardy.”
He also explained why the US “could not, in good conscience, stand in the way of a resolution at the UN that makes clear that both sides must act now to preserve the possibility of peace.”

Kerry called for an “honest, clear-eyed conversation about the uncomfortable truths and difficult choices, because the alternative that is fast becoming the reality on the ground is in nobody’s interest — not the Israelis, not the Palestinians, not the region — and not the US.”

We are not going to get an “honest, clear-eyed conversation” about the Middle East until Arabs step up to the plate and invest money in re-educating the feeble-minded American public, which is spoon-fed fantasies and lies by Israel every day.

Apparently money is more important than the status of Jerusalem, the Holy Land, or the sanctity of our Arab heritage and culture. Because so far the Arab people, one of the wealthiest in the world, cannot seem to invest anything in the truth. So because we are cheap, the truth is portrayed as terrorists and the lie is dressed up as heroic victims.
I do not care how many John Kerrys courageously champion justice in this world, calling out Israel as the true obstacle to Middle East peace. They will not be able to achieve anything as long as the Arab world continues to sit back and do nothing.

• Ray Hanania is an award-winning Palestinian-American former journalist and political columnist. Email him at rghanania@gmail.com.