An $85 million Israel advocacy organization is taking local American officials identified as “progressive” on propaganda trips to Israel. While no one will divulge the rosters, we have a few names of California participants in these extravagant, influence peddling affairs… and ideas about what to do about them
In an aggressive campaign against a billboard company and its staff, Israel supporters threatened boycott and used the label “anti-Semitism” as a weapon to shut down a positive ad celebrating first responders in Gaza. The ad did not mention Israel. No dialogue, no explanation, just suppression of free speech.
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.
At the November 1st “Friends of the IDF” Hollywood gala, $60 million was raised in one night for Israel’s army. This is on top of $10 million a day in US military aid to Israel. Palestinians are outraged that American artists are supporting a regime that kills innocents and colonizes land.
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.”
Clips from the suppressed Al Jazeera documentary about the Israel lobby in the US; additional footage of Congress people, both Democrats and Republicans, revealing how the lobby pressures candidates to do Israel’s bidding; information about a secret fundraiser for powerful Congress people, and how lobby officials bend the law… and sometimes, it appears, break it.
If IAK’s new Congressional Scoreboards piqued your interest, but you shied away due to less-than-remarkable computer skills, this is just for you. In a few minutes, you’ll be ready to take on Capitol Hill…
A leaked clip from a censored documentary shows an Israeli Embassy official describing how she used fake identities on Facebook. It also reveals that the official, an American citizen named Julia Reifkind, led a pro-Israel group that worked to stir up anti-Muslim, anti-Arab resentment at UC Davis with unfounded allegations of “antisemitism.”
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