In Israel, two Palestinian political parties and one Jewish member of a mostly Palestinian party have been banned from running in the April 9th election; meanwhile a radical Jewish candidate stays in, despite the Attorney General’s recommendation to remove him from the ballot.
IF AMERICANS KNEW joins CODEPINK in outrage against Candidate Kamala Harris’ co-opting of the Selma to Montgomery march. Let’s tell her this is offensive and unacceptable. See CODEPINK’s action alert….
Largely ignored by critics have been Israel’s increasing theocratic tendencies – the growth of Israel’s extremist religious population and the emergence of a class of influential rabbis who endorse the killing of non-Jews and preach genocide…
In Arkansas, a newspaper publisher is in financial straits after refusing to sign an anti-BDS (Boycott, Divest, Sanction) pledge for Israel. He believes that political dissent is protected speech, and that the Arkansas law violates his constitutional rights and his journalistic ethics.
Belen Fernandez writes in the Jacobin that Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent pact with a far-right, anti-Arab party ahead of April’s elections is in keeping with a state that has racism and exclusion baked into its foundation.
Among Congress members’ subsidized trips abroad, Israel is by far the top foreign destination; most trips work to cultivate an Israel-centric perspective of the region, and are paid for by an organization with deep foreign ties. On the other hand, only a handful of legislators visit Palestine. 41% of Americans believe that if their representatives visit Israel, they should also visit Palestine.
Tennessee has just passed a resolution reaffirming Tennessee’s “unequivocal support” for Israel. State Senator Mark Pody pushed for its passage for “biblical” and other reasons..
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) attorney Brian Hauss dissects the accusation from the anti-BDS camp that it is “hypocritical” to support anti-discrimination laws (think: wedding cake), but oppose anti-BDS laws. Bottom line: businesses do not have the right to refuse service to consumers because of who they are. On the other hand, consumers have a First Amendment right to withhold their patronage from businesses in order to express their political beliefs.
Mohammed suffered a stroke, but Israel says he’s not ill enough for his son to get a travel permit to visit him. He needs care, but that is irrelevant. According to Israeli criteria, travel permits are only granted if first-degree relatives are dead or dying.
Ha’aretz reports that Israeli fingerprints are all over the war in Yemen, from cyber spyware to hitmen; Americans are also deeply involved, as well as individuals and companies from other countries…