James Cardin writes in Consortium News that the neocons and the pro-Hillary #Resistance are not such strange bedfellows after all. Indeed, the #Resistance’s newfound enthusiasm for many prominent NeverTrumpers like Kristol and Frum, who push war, helps explain the neocon revival now underway.
The National Association of Jewish Legislators and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) are demanding that President Donald Trump appoint a special envoy in the State Department “to monitor and combat” antisemitism that actually often focuses on activism supportive of Palestinian human rights.
An office in Israel’s Ministry of Strategic Affairs is waging a ‘war’ against the Palestinian rights movement, placing agents in embassies around the world and working to advance anti-boycott legislation, close bank accounts, torpedo events, thwart donations, organize counter-protests. The Director says: ‘In order to win, we must use tricks and craftiness.’
Americans need to know important facts that they aren’t learning in the very filtered reporting we get. We need to know what’s happening in Palestine, and what’s enabling this in the U.S. The latter stories are even more covered up. Some personal anecdotes by Alison Weir, including recent censorship by Truthout management
Legislation against companies boycotting Israel is being enacted in state legislatures, cities, and at the national level. The American Jewish Committee and other Israel advocacy groups tout their successes, including getting all 50 governors to sign an anti-BDS statement.
A former Antisemitism Envoy adopted a new, Israel-centric definition for antisemitism, and then used it to train U.S. diplomats. The envoy position has proved a revolving door to Israel lobbying organizations (see video). Now groups from the ADL to the Southern Poverty Law Center are disturbed that Trump isn’t filling the position.
A former Mossad senior official says Jewish Americans are central to US support for Israel and that alienating this population (as Netanyahu is doing) poses an “existential” threat to Israel. The Israel lobby would “lose its clout,” and it would diminish support from other countries “that cultivate ties with Israel because of its presumed influence in Washington”…
The progressive organization Moveon is featuring Ben & Jerry’s in its latest action alert, even though the ice cream company is being boycotted by three different social justice campaigns for its unethical practices in the Palestinian territories and its treatment of workers & the environment in Vermont.
Israel advocates have created a website and app to defend Israel online and attack critics. App users have already brought the rating of an Australian business critical of Israel down from 4.6 to 1.4. The app leverages the efforts of pro-Israel students who “speak 35 languages, hail from 86 countries and have connections to the pro-Israel community all over the world…”
As promised in our previous post, here are more of the messages composing our tribute to Alison Weir in honor of her birthday. We were waiting to post some of the birthday messages until we could deliver them the old-fashioned way, in person. We’d like to share these now, along with her heartfelt thanks for all the messages and support of peace and justice!