The Israel lobby is taking newly elected Congressional representatives, CNN-ABC commentator Tara Setmayer, & California “progressive leaders” on propaganda trips to Israel. AIPAC IS using a loophole that violates the spirit of the law… and seems to be functioning as a foreign agent…
018 midterm elections are a mixed bag when it comes to the Palestine/Israel issue: 6 Jewish people are expected to chair important congressional committees; 122 J-Street endorsees were elected (J-Street is pro-2 state solution); some of the many pro-Israel congress people lost their seats, while 3 new pro-Palestine women were elected; it is becoming more commonplace for even Israel supporters to speak critically of Israel.
Bottom line: the US midterm elections have ushered a new dawn in American politics that is defying the unflinching influence held for many years by pro-Israel lobbies and interest groups.
A detailed scoreboard on candidates for Congress shows that 28 pro-Israel PACs and numerous pro-Israel individuals have given candidates millions of dollars in campaign contributions. The scoreboard presents 29 bills and resolutions that were introduced on behalf of Israel. 20 passed into law or on-record statement, many by unanimous consent. The legislation has accrued a total of over 3,300 co-sponsors… Over 80 congressional challengers have also accepted donations from at least one pro-Israel PAC; most from more than one, etc. Read the full summary:
The Forward reports that a hugely popular pro-Israel speaker and writer has been secretly working directly for the Israeli government. It appears that his actions may have violated U.S. espionage laws…
Israel partisans Sheldon Adelson and Michael Bloomberg are the top campaign donors leading up to midterm elections. Adelson, an American billionaire who has said he wished he’d served in the Israeli military instead of the US one, is donating tens of millions of dollars to Republicans. Bloomberg, a billionaire who twice flew to Israel to demonstrate his support of Israel during its massacres of Gazans, is giving tens of millions to Democrats….
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reports that Jewish candidates’ stances on Israel are mixed: Some staunchly defend Israel, some are among Israel’s most outspoken critics, some barely registered on the Israel spectrum… Boldfaced sections show each candidate’s views/actions regarding Israel
In an unprecedented gift of our executive power to Israel, the House has passed for the very first time a law that forces the American president to give Israel a minimum of $3.8 billion per year. We have, in effect, crippled our ability to promote US interests in the Middle East. The new House version is even more generous to Israel than the Senate bill and the 2016 MOU… it amounts to $7,230 per minute to Israel, or $120 per second…
A bill currently before Congress would bind NASA to cooperate with Israel’s Space Agency, despite the latter’s history of espionage against the United States.
A Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff once said: ‘If the American people understood what a grip Israel has on our government, they would rise up in arms. Our citizens certainly don’t have any idea what goes on’… An attack on a U.S. Navy ship… Top officials in a secretive office in the Treasury Department… A U.S. ambassador and his senior assistant… Wars for Israel… Where does it all end?
Phil Weiss reports in Mondoweiss that numerous synagogues around the US not only publicly support Israel, they support the Israel lobbying organization AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. The promotion of AIPAC shows how monolithic the American Jewish community largely still is in support of Israel…