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Lost in all the coverage of George H. W. Bush was one of his major accomplishments — a willingness to play hardball with Israel. It’s long past time to get back to that sort of conservatism.

By Maj. Danny Sjursen | AntiWar.com | Dec 18, 2018

Here are the inconvenient facts: so long as Israel maintains two sets of political and civil rights for Jews and Muslims in the occupied Palestinian territories (those seized after the 1967 Six Day War), denies Palestinian national sovereignty, continues to build illegal Jewish-only settlements in the West Bank, and maintains a crippling blockade of the Gaza Strip, well, then, there will continue to be regular protests, an ongoing insurgency, and countless Palestinian deaths. Such asymmetrical killings — especially of civilians — will only feed the beast of conflict in a vicious cycle that is now entering its eighth decade.

This article being about the Israel/Palestine crisis — a veritable “third-rail” in American political discourse — it’s necessary to start with a few disclaimers. This author is not anti-Semitic and believes the Israeli state has a right to exist. Now that that’s out of the way, let’s address the controversial caveat: Palestinians, for moral and strategic reasons, also deserve state sovereignty and equivalent civil rights. And, believe it or not, that should be the stated position of all real (small “c”) conservatives.

The reasons are simple — the United States’ one-sided, pro-Israel stance, along with its massive funding of the Israeli military, continue to sully America’s reputation in the Muslim and Arab world. This (accurate) perception of inequity and hypocrisy on the part of the U.S. breeds more “terrorists” than America’s military can kill and directly endangers the homeland. Furthermore, the inextricable linkage between this administration as well as a variety of US military and intelligence agencies with the far right-wing leaders of the current Israeli government risks allowing Prime Minister Netanyahu to drag Washington into more regional wars America neither needs nor can win. It is, to be frank, the ultimate “wag-the-dog” scenario — and the two culprits are Israel and their cynical friend Saudi Arabia.

Continue reading “The conservative case for Palestine”

Senators Sanders and Feinstein urging Senate leaders to not support the Israel Anti-Boycott Act legislation.

By Paul Waldman| The Washington Post | Dec 19, 2018

The bill would prohibit and penalize certain constitutionally-protected political activity aimed solely at Israeli settlements in the West Bank, thereby extending US legal protection to the very settlements the United States has opposed as illegitimate and harmful to the cause of Israeli-Palestinian peace for more than 50 years.

Earlier this week I wrote about the Israel Anti-Boycott Act, a piece of legislation that some Democrats and Republicans are hoping to quietly attach to a budget bill so it can be passed into law. The bill would bar American companies and individuals from participating in certain boycotts of Israel, and, though even its supporters say it would have minimal practical impact, it represents a serious attack on fundamental principles of free speech.

The bill is also part of a broad nationwide movement playing out at both the federal and state level to quash criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud government and its policies toward Palestinians, an effort that Democrats unfortunately have participated in far too often.
Continue reading “Bernie Sanders’s new plan to force a genuine debate in Congress on Israel”

The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement is gaining support in Congress.

By  Michelle Goldberg | New York Times | Dec 7, 2018

People with an uncompromising commitment to pluralistic democracy will necessarily be critics of contemporary Israel. That commitment, however, makes them the natural allies of Jews everywhere else.

On Monday, in an interview with The Intercept, Rashida Tlaib, a Michigan Democrat who in November became the first Palestinian-American elected to Congress, went public with her support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which seeks to use economic pressure on Israel to secure Palestinian rights. That made her the second incoming member of Congress to publicly back BDS, after Minnesota Democrat Ilhan Omar, who revealed her support last month.

No current member of Congress supports BDS, a movement that is deeply taboo in American politics for several reasons. Opponents argue that singling out Israel for economic punishment is unfair and discriminatory, since the country is far from the world’s worst violator of human rights. Further, the movement calls for the right of Palestinian refugees and millions of their descendants to return to Israel, which could end Israel as a majority-Jewish state. (Many BDS supporters champion a single, binational state for both peoples.) Naturally, conservatives in the United States — though not only conservatives — have denounced Tlaib and Omar’s stance as anti-Semitic.
Continue reading “Anti-Zionism isn’t the same as anti-Semitism”

A Senate bill aims to punish those who boycott Israel over its settlement policy. There are better solutions.

By Editorial Board | The New York Times | Dec 18, 2018

Many devoted supporters of Israel, including many American Jews, oppose the occupation of the West Bank and refuse to buy products of the settlements in occupied territories. Their right to protest in this way must be vigorously defended. The same is true of Palestinians. They are criticized when they resort to violence, and rightly so. Should they be deprived of nonviolent economic protest as well?

One of the more contentious issues involving Israel in recent years is now before Congress, testing America’s bedrock principles of freedom of speech and political dissent.

It is a legislative proposal that would impose civil and criminal penalties on American companies and organizations that participate in boycotts supporting Palestinian rights and opposing Israel’s occupation of the West Bank.

The aim is to cripple the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement known as B.D.S., which has gathered steam in recent years despite bitter opposition from the Israeli government and its supporters around the world.

Continue reading “Curbing free speech in the name of helping Israel”

In our country’s history, immigration has never been just about policy. It has always been about who we are and what we are willing to stand up for.

By Pramila Jayapal | The New York Review of Books | Dec 3, 2018

Now it’s more important than ever that Democrats — and any remaining willing Republicans — recapture America’s moral imagination on immigration. Our job is to tell the truth about immigration instead of cowering before falsehoods.

When my parents used all their savings to send me across the oceans from India at the age of sixteen, they made the ultimate sacrifice of separating from their child without knowing if we would ever live on the same continent again. They did so because they believed America was where I would get the best education and have the most opportunity. It took me seventeen years — involving an alphabet soup of visas and the abiding fear that I might not be able to stay in my new home — to get my US citizenship, in 2000. That was a teary and complex moment. Surrounded by people from all over the world, with hands over our hearts, we pledged allegiance to our new country. We knew we were the lucky ones and we were grateful, even as we felt our loss in saying good-bye to the families and countries we had left behind.

Just a year later, in the wake of September 11, I went on to found and lead what became the largest immigrant advocacy organization in Washington state. We organized tens of thousands of immigrants, faith leaders, labor unions, and businesses, engaging in a national conversation on immigration, identity, and the need to reform our outdated laws. Today, more than three decades since I arrived in America, I have the privilege of serving as the first South Asian-American woman in the House of Representatives, and I am one of only twelve members of the 115^th Congress who are proud naturalized citizens.

Continue reading “A new moral imagination on immigration”

Canberra “mistaken” in support for Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem, minister says.

By Reuters staff | Guardian | Dec 16, 2018

The Australian prime minister, Scott Morrison, said on Saturday that Canberra formally recognized West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, but also reaffirmed his country’s support for a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem under a two-state peace deal.

Israel signaled its displeasure on Sunday with Australia’s recognition of West Jerusalem as its capital.

The country’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu remained silent on Canberra’s move at the weekly Israeli cabinet meeting, which he often uses to hold forth in public on diplomatic developments, but a minister close to him said it was a mistake to contradict the notion of Israeli control over the whole city.

Israel captured Arab East Jerusalem in the six-day war in 1967 and, in a move not recognized internationally, claimed the city as its capital. The Palestinians want East Jerusalem as capital of the state they hope to found in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Continue reading “Israel chides Australia’s recognition of West Jerusalem as capital”

Gaza health officials say Palestinians are being hit by army snipers told to aim at the lower body to avoid killing demonstrators.

By Jonathan Ferziger and Saud Abu Ramadan | Bloomberg | Dec 9, 2018

In the past nine months, about 6,500 Gazans have been shot in the leg at demonstrations, and 500 have been permanently disabled. Amnesty International said soldiers are using high-velocity weapons designed to cause maximum harm to protesters who don’t pose an imminent threat.

Shrouded in a cloud of black smoke from burning tires in the Gaza Strip, Mahmoud Malalha was hit in the left leg by an Israeli army sniper.

In the hopelessness of Hamas-ruled Gaza, Malalha’s generation of young men are taught to see their crutches as a badge of honor in the war against Israel. Back from the hospital after multiple surgeries and physical therapy, they are met by family and neighbors bearing cakes and candy, with high fives from their pals and their mothers ululating with pride. Continue reading “In Gaza, maimed legs are a badge of honor-until reality sets in”

The international monitoring force disputes land ownership of settlers and slams restrictions on movement and worship.

By Uri Blau | Haaretz | Dec 17, 2018

‘Normal life,’ especially in Hebron’s Old City area in the Israeli-controlled area of H2, is nowhere to be found . . .

An international observatory task force established two decades ago to monitor the divided West Bank city of Hebron has produced its most exhaustive and damning internal report on Israel’s actions in the city, according to people with access to the report who spoke with Haaretz on condition of anonymity. This is the first time a report by the Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH) is revealed in the press.

The confidential report by TIPH, long regarded as toothless by the Palestinians, cites numerous violations of international law by Israel and seems to confirm Hebron’s status as a city torn by both a civilian and military occupation. Twenty years after the monitoring force was set up to help instill a sense of security and ensure prosperity for Palestinians, the report warns that the city is more divided than ever due to the actions of the Israeli government and Israeli settlers.

Continue reading “Confidential report: Israel regularly breaks international law in Hebron”

As the Israeli army invades Ramallah, fear and anxiety deepen among many Palestinians — but so does solidarity.

By Zena Tahhan | +972 Magazine | Dec 15, 2018

The biggest impact of the past few days has been the deepening of solidarity and cohesion between the people. The people remembered that they are all targets of the occupation. The occupation always tries to divide Palestinians, but suddenly, amid the military closures and crackdowns, the people became stronger as one.
— Fadi Quran, a Ramallah-based activist

The past few days in the occupied West Bank have been particularly difficult. Violence, killings, and military raids are common here, but Palestinian cities are now facing even deeper uncertainty and instability.

The Israeli army imposed a military closure on the city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, and closed major checkpoints between cities.

The closure, raids, and restrictions on movement followed two drive-by shootings carried out by Palestinians this week near illegal settlements. Two Israeli soldiers were killed in one of the shootings, and in the other, several Israeli settlers were wounded, including a pregnant woman whose baby was delivered prematurely and later died.

Continue reading “What an Israeli army closure in Ramallah looks like”

Documents reveal divisions between staff and leadership on anti-BDS legislation.

By Josh Nathan-Kazis | Forward | Dec 13, 2018

Anti-BDS laws are bad for American Jews, diverting ‘community resources to an ineffective, unworkable, and unconstitutional endeavor instead of investing in more effective multi-layered strategies.’

The Anti-Defamation League has emerged as a supporter of controversial legislation targeting boycotts of Israel. But internal ADL documents obtained by the Forward show that the organization’s own staff believed the laws could actually harm American Jews.

In the summer of 2016, ADL staff wrote an internal memo arguing that legislating against the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement was a really bad idea. “Simply put, ADL does not believe that anti-BDS legislation is a strategic way to combat the BDS movement or defend Israel and is ultimately harmful to the Jewish community,” the memo reads. It calls anti-BDS laws “ineffective, unworkable, unconstitutional, and bad for the Jewish community.”

Yet in the two years since the memo was written, the ADL has vigorously supported anti-BDS legislation, including one bill currently moving through the US Congress, and some of those that have passed in statehouses across the country.

Continue reading “Secret ADL memo slammed anti-BDS laws as “harmful” to Jews”