The umbrella body of over 50 mainstream American Jewish organizations works to “advance the U.S.-Israel special relationship” and “bolster Israel’s security and prosperity.” Stark’s sons served in the Israeli army instead of in the U.S. military. Past chairs have been active in American politics and donated to the campaign funds of Israeli politicians.
Since March 30, 2018 Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip–including families, women, and children–have gathered along the Israeli border to highlight their dispossession in 1948 and protest the growing humanitarian catastrophe. From that time through December 16th, 2019, Israeli forces have killed 364 Gazans and injured over 35,000, including women, children, disabled individuals, medics, and journalists. Many have been shot in the back, nearly all were unarmed and posed no risk to the heavily armed Israeli soldiers. During the same period, Gazan resistance forces killed 9 Israelis.
South Carolina is poised to be the first state to pass legislation to adopt an Israel-centric definition for “anti-Semitism.” This will then apply to the state’s campuses, potentially limiting discussion of Israel-Palestine to one-sided information that fosters U.S. policies that provide Israel $10 million per day. The bill has been heralded in Israel as a “a landmark bill” that will lead change across the U.S. and the world, while South Carolina lawmakers appear to have let it through in the belief that it isn’t significant legislation.
As Israel celebrates its 70th anniversary, a child and grandchild of exiled Palestinian refugees describes his remarkable family history – family members harbored Jewish neighbors in 1929, helped Count Folke Bernadotte, after Israel confiscated the family home, Golda Meir lived there… and discusses the continuing injustices endured as Palestinians resist Israel’s violent colonization.
Even before the protest began, Israeli spokespeople framed it preemptively as a Hamas production, even though it was supported by Gaza civil society organizations and all political parties. Civilian Gazans’ willingness to walk to that fence measures their yearning to express themselves as humans and claim their freedom, even at immediate risk.
Canadian Jewish Federations are hardly the apolitical charity organizations they pretend to be: pouring millions into Israel, indoctrinating students, shunning pro-Palestinian positions of any kind, and petitioning for Canada to bring Africans that Israel is trying to expel. It’s time to put pressure on the Canadian government to recognize what is going on and hold CJA accountable.
“Hosanna” means “save us,” but Israeli soldiers descended on Palm Sunday worshipers anyway, grabbing Palestinian flags out of their hands in the middle of their holy procession.
Facebook continues to violate Palestinian free speech, this time by shutting down – without warning – Safa Palestinian Press Agency, a major news outlet. This in spite of the great amount of anti-Palestinian incitement on Israeli Facebook accounts, including that of justice minister Ayelet Shaked. This bowing to Israeli pressure does not bode well for other social media (or for Palestinian free speech).
A documentary called The Lobby, directed by Clayton Swisher, secretly filmed pro-Israel US activists and Israeli government officials. It was completed last autumn, but still hasn’t been shown. Swisher says several “leaders of Jewish American organisations” met with Qatar’s registered agent Nick Muzin “to see if he could use his ties with the Qataris to stop the airing.” Since October, Swisher says, “We’ve faced a series of unexplained delays on broadcasting our project, the likes of which I’ve never experienced….”
Stephen Hawking was critical of Israel and supported BDS, but also visited Israel a number of times and based his revolutionary theory on the works of an Israeli scientist