Alison Weir reports that in 1991 President George H.W. Bush held up a $10 billion loan guarantee to Israel. Bush said he was “one lonely little guy” against powerful forces. He won the battle, but eventually lost the war, a lesson that politicians have remembered ever since (contains videos)…
CNN has fired commentator Marc Lamont Hill for a speech that he gave at the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People at the UN on Wednesday. Pro-Israel groups and individuals immediately criticized Hill, and CNN quickly fired him. See the speech…
Israeli security agency Shin Bet admitted to the use of torture on Palestinian prisoner Fares Tbeish, but claimed the actions were necessary; Israel’s Supreme Court ruled that the “enhanced interrogation” methods were acceptable. This is the second such ruling in the last 12 months. A number of human rights groups have documented “routine use of torture” by Israeli forces, although the practice is against international law.
Troves of looted Palestinian books, documents, photographs and films from as early as the 1930s are sealed in Israel’s archives and libraries. Palestinians see the censorship as part of a wider trend of physical and cultural erasure continues to this day. Concealing the archival record denies Palestinians the tools to communicate their own history.
A United Nations committee is directed to facilitate self-determination among colonized and suppressed people groups. The committee is poised to pass 9 resolutions against Israel. Predictably, the charge of anti-Semitism arises.
It is not hard to dismantle the accusation – using context, fact-checking, and a bit of logic.
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.
Investigations reveal a pattern of Israeli officials stone-walling efforts to stop the perpetrators of massive financial swindles in various countries, from Europe to the US to the Philippines. While some Israeli reporters work to expose the scams, a new one is already underway…
Israeli settler violence – with IDF complicity – is becoming more and more commonplace, even targeting elementary schools. The government has also approved extensive Israeli settlement expansions and Jewish-only roads to be built on Palestinian land, which will result in isolation of Palestinian communities and loss of olive trees.
In addition, Jerusalem has seen an increase in extremist Jewish visits to the Al-Aqsa mosque.
The good news: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, and Rashida Tlaib are Israel-criticizing congressional newcomers. The bad news: other Dem midterm winners join the army of Israel supporters – having vowed to keep America’s commitment to Israel “as fixed and as permanent as the sky” and “make sure that we are supporting Israel into the next generation.” In addition, some key leadership positions will be filled by pro-Israel Jews. Norman Finkelstein sees this as a sign of “a growing divide between US Jews and Israeli Jews.”
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: