H.R. 2748, the Israel Relations Normalization Act of 2021, expands the Abraham Accords, Trump-era weapons and business deals between apartheid Israel and other authoritarian regimes. These deals bribe Arab countries in the region to ignore both Israel’s settler colonialism and constant human rights violations. Last week, the bill passed in both the House and the Senate.
Former president Donald Trump speaks frankly about former Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump said that at an early stage of his presidency, he realized that Netanyahu would be a bigger obstacle to peace than Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. “I thought he was terrific,” Trump said of Abbas, reflecting on their “great” first meeting. “He was almost like a father. Couldn’t have been nicer. I thought he wanted to make a deal more than Netanyahu…”
Richard Falk reports that “Progressive Except Palestine” journalist Thomas Friedman is an unapologetic Israel apologist, putting a positive spin on Israeli actions that can be spun, and simply avoiding comment on issues when it’s convenient.