, , , ,
Israel partisans make Perez Democratic National Committee chair, defeat Keith Ellison

Haim Saban called Ellison “anti-Israel” and anti-Semitic. The ADL called on Democrats to reject him. Alan Dershowitz said he’d leave the party if Ellison were elected chair; Jack Rosen of the American Jewish Congress, emailed DNC members the day before the vote saying Ellison threatened the U.S.-Israel relationship. Perez, on the other hand, courted pro-Israel activists: “One of the privileges of my life was getting to travel to Israel and meet someone who is one of my heroes, Shimon Peres. Uncle Shimon, to me…”

Read the rest of this entry

Palestinian children throwing stones got longer sentences than Israeli who killed unarmed man

An Israeli Defense Forces soldier has been sentenced to 18 months in jail on a manslaughter conviction for shooting a Palestinian man in the head after he had already been disarmed and injured by other soldiers. The Independent lists Palestinian children who have received longer prison sentences for throwing stones than Elor Azaria did for killing the unarmed man.

Read the rest of this entry

, , ,
Berkeley event was successful despite efforts against it [Video]

Pro-Israel activists tried to get the event canceled. They put up blog posts and even a Craigslist advertisement attacking Weir, exaggerating inaccurate claims about her by the ADL and, especially, the widely refuted JVP-US Campaign dossier. The posts seemed designed to foment hate against her and possibly provoke violence – now standard practice for Israel partisans trying to block Weir’s events. But some longtime Berkeley human rights activists refused to cave…

Read the rest of this entry

Trump repeats false narrative about Palestinian children

Palestinians’ formative years are scarred by what they witness and experience living under the Israeli military occupation of their lands that has been in place 50 years: Israeli settler violence against them in their homes, destroying their property, theft of their land and burning of their crops… even some instances in which Israeli extremists have burned Palestinians in their homes while they were sleeping.

Read the rest of this entry

,
Israel partisans & critics oppose Friedman, Senate hearings begin Thursday, vote split

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will begin confirmation hearings on Thursday for Trump’s nominee for ambassador to Israel. (Rand Paul could be the swing vote). Friedman, who helps finance Israeli settlements, is opposed by a diverse array of groups; some pro-Israel groups say he would be bad for Israel. Some of his Senate supporters received donations from Sheldon Adelson…

Read the rest of this entry

, ,
Elliott Abrams and Gina Haspel – ghastly choices

Americans dodged a bullet when neocon Abrams was denied. He was a founding co-signer of PNAC, led the charge to invade Iraq after calling for “regime change,” and has endorsed military interventions in Libya, Syria, and as Iran. He called Chuck Hagel an “anti-Semite” because Hagel had criticized Israel. Gina Haspel, new CIA Deputy Director, was reportedly involved in the torture programs. In 2005 she ordered the destruction of the video tapes made of the interrogations…

Read the rest of this entry