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It is shocking that the main targets of outrage over anti-Semitism are members of marginalized communities on the progressive left who are critical of Israeli policies.

By Jordan Goldwarg and Aneelah Afzali | Common Dreams | Feb 27, 2019

It is important to ask why marginalized community members are the main targets of outrage, and who benefits when marginalized groups are pitted against each other.

As an American Jew and an American Muslim, we find the cycle of attacks on Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, Dr. Marc Lamont Hill, Tamika Mallory, Linda Sarsour, Angela Davis, and others deeply troubling. These attacks reflect a weaponization of the “anti-Semitism” charge against certain individuals (especially Muslim and/or Black leaders supporting Palestinian human rights), which turns progressive allies against each other and ignores the real source of physical threat to our Jewish (and Muslim and Black) siblings.

There is no doubt that anti-Semitism is alive and well. The FBI reported a 37% increase in anti-Semitic crimes from 2016 to 2017 (the most recent year for which data is available). Islamophobia has also increased sharply in recent years, as we face some of the highest levels of anti-Muslim hate crimes in our nation’s history along with hateful rhetoric and policies from the highest levels of our government (such as the Muslim Ban). And Black Americans are still victims of hate crimes more than any other group in our country, with a 16% increase from 2016 to 2017.

Continue reading “Progressives must stop weaponizing charges of anti-Semitism against critics of Israel”

Netanyahu escalating anti–Arab incitement for political dividends.

By Ron Gerlitz | Haaretz | Feb 25, 2019

What motivates political attacks against Arab citizens is the conviction among right–wing politicians, including the prime minster himself, that incitement and threats buy them more political power with voters and within their own parties.

As Israel prepares for elections on April 9, an ongoing campaign of incitement by the government against the country’s Arabs citizens and their political leaders moves into high gear.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has worked mightily to get extreme–right Otzma Yehudit into the next Knesset and boost post–election support for his heading the new government. Wooing an ultra-racist party that channels Meir Kahane in its violent, vitriolic platform targeting Arab citizens and threatening their basic rights – this, Netanyahu views as reasonable political horsetrading, while simultaneously leading the vigorous delegitimization of a blocking majority to his continued rule that would include Arab parties.

Recent dire warnings from Netanyahu accused Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid of harboring dangerous plans: perhaps forming a government reliant on the support of Arab citizens, or even including their representatives in the governing coalition.

Continue reading “Opinion: The real reason for Netanyahu’s ferocious attacks on Israel’s Arab citizens”

Canary Mission posts political dossiers on student activists, hoping it will be more difficult for its subjects to find work after college.

By Josh Nathan-Kazis | Forward | Feb 22, 2019

‘I’m a college sophomore. I didn’t expect to start my second year living away from home by feeling stalked by an international, shadowy organization. Seeing your face, and details about your life, on a website that you know means to slander you is a surreal, disconcerting experience.’
— Sophie Hurwitz, Wellesley College sophomore

Jewish officials in St. Louis are slamming the online blacklist website Canary Mission for posting a dossier on a college student who grew up in the local Jewish community.

“While we advocate strongly for a safe, secure and democratic state of Israel, we unequivocally reject anyone who seeks to shut down discussion and disagreement about the Jewish state through intimidation tactics,” the leaders of the Jewish Community Relations Council of St. Louis wrote in a letter to the editor of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Continue reading “St. Louis Jewish group slams Canary Mission for blacklisting local student”

The Israeli government’s move to withhold $140 million from tax revenues it collects for the Palestinian Authority may be good politics, but it could lead to war.

By Amos Harel | Haaretz | Feb 25, 2019

The planned cut is already making the West Bank nervous. Security officials who talk to Palestinians report that residents are afraid that the PA won’t be able to pay salaries . . . . Some of the money Israel withholds will be deducted from the funds the PA pays to the Gaza Strip, which will have an immediate impact on the economic situation there.

Beneath the surface there’s a ticking bomb that could upend the entire election campaign, even though it has nothing to do with the investigations of the prime minister or the union of the centrist parties.

A series of negative developments on issues relating to the Palestinians – Jerusalem, prisoners, Palestinian Authority funds and the condition of Gaza’s infrastructure – once again are threatening an escalation between Israel and the Palestinians, possibly during the six weeks left until the Knesset election. The Palestinians themselves, and even Jordan, are responsible for some of these developments, but it seems the Israeli leadership is marching into a potential crisis with its eyes wide open.

Continue reading “The ticking time bomb that could upend Israel’s election”

The law cuts cuts $200 million in direct aid to Palestine and all aid to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).

By David Paulsen | Episcopal News Service | Feb 25, 2019

‘The Anti-Terrorism Clarification Act has resulted in the total cessation of aid to Palestinians, with devastating consequences for the Palestinians most in need of humanitarian assistance. This legislation also harms the security of Israel.’
— Rebecca Blachly, director of The Episcopal Church’s Office of Government Relations

The Episcopal Church — raising concerns reportedly shared by officials within the Trump administration and Israeli government — is joining a chorus of voices calling for an emergency update to a new US law that has halted aid to Palestinian security forces.

Congress passed and President Donald Trump signed the law, the Anti-Terrorism Clarification Act, in October as a way to help victims of terrorism, but when the law took effect Feb 1, the Palestinian Authority was forced to refuse $60 million in US aid or else open itself up to exponentially larger financial liability through potential American lawsuits.

The US State Department is now working on a fix to the law that will “maintain security cooperation on one hand and also justice to the families of the victims of terror,” an unnamed Israeli official told the Washington Post. The Israel-based news outlet Haaretz described the Trump administration in December as “scrambling” to find a solution. . . .

Continue reading “Episcopal Church joins calls for fix to US law that cut Palestinian aid”

Now is a time for stocktaking with respect to this conflict that has gone on for more than a century, and assessing what would be the best way forward.

By Richard Falk | Transcend Media Service | Feb 25, 2019

Two conclusions emerge from this analysis: first, a continued reliance on the two-state diplomacy within a framework that relies on the United States as an intermediary or peace broker is now irrelevant and discredited. It is at this point only a distraction. Secondly, despite Israel’s recent gains in acceptance within the Middle East and its one-sided support in Washington, the Palestinian national movement persists, and under certain conditions, will mount a threat to Israel’s future.

While waiting without positive expectations for the Trump ‘deal of the century’ the Palestinian ordeal unfolds day by day. Many Israelis would like us to believe that the Palestinian struggle to achieve self-determination has been defeated, and that it is time to admit that Israel is the victor and Palestine the loser. Recent events paint a different picture. Every Friday since the end of March 2018 the Great March of Return has confronted Israel at the Gaza fence. Israel has responded with lethal force killing more than 250 Palestinians and injuring over 18,000, using grossly excessive force to deal with almost completely nonviolent demonstrations. The world allows these weekly atrocities to go without any concerted adverse reaction and the UN is awkwardly silent.

It would seem that there is a feeling in international circles that nothing much can be done to bring about a peaceful and just solution at this stage. Such a conclusion partially explains the various recent moves in the Arab world toward an acceptance of Israel as a legitimate state, which has included diplomatic normalization. Beyond these developments, Israel has joined with Saudi Arabia and the United States in a war mongering escalation of an unwarranted confrontation with Iran. In addition, Israel and Egypt are collaborating on security issues at the border and in the Sinai, as well as in developing off shore oil and gas projects.

Continue reading “Can we imagine peace for Palestine?”

Please join our brothers and sisters at the Mideast Focus Ministry for their First Friday Film series.

	Date:	Friday, Apr 5, 2019
	Time:	7:00 – 8:30 pm
	Location:	St. Mark’s Cathedral Bloedel Hall 1245 10th Ave E Seattle, WA 98102
	Information:	Event information here →
	Tickets:	Free Admission

Event Details

This is Home is an intimate portrait of four Syrian refugee families arriving in America and struggling to find their footing. Displaced from their homes and separated from loved ones, they are given eight months of assistance from the International Rescue Committee to become self-sufficient. As they learn to adapt to challenges, including the newly imposed travel ban, their strength and resilience are tested. It is a universal story, highlighted by humor and heartbreak, about what it’s like to start over, no matter the obstacles.

After surviving the traumas of war, the families arrive in Baltimore, Maryland and are met with a new set of trials. They attend cultural orientation classes and job training sessions where they must “learn America” — everything from how to take public transportation to negotiating new gender roles — all in an ever-changing and increasingly hostile political environment. Their goals are completely relatable: find a job, pay the bills, and make a better life for the next generation. Continue reading “Film: This is Home — A Refugee Story (Apr 5)”

State tells court it will retroactively legalize structures in Alei Zahav, invoking new legal mechanism for the first time.

By Yotam Berger | Haaretz | Feb 10, 2019

According to a Civil Administration document submitted in the past to the High Court, there are at least 1,048 structures built on West Bank land mistakenly thought to be state lands. According to the same document, 1,122 additional structures in the West Bank were built in breach of planning laws more than 20 years ago.

The state informed the Jerusalem District Court that it will retroactively legalize structures built in part on private Palestinian land in the West Bank settlement of Alei Zahav.

In doing so, the state will for the first time invoke a legal mechanism the attorney general approved in December, senior sources say. Alei Zahav is a secular settlement located close to Route 5, which links Ariel and the Greater Tel Aviv area.

According to the legal mechanism approved in December, it is permissible to retroactively authorize illegal construction on private Palestinian land if the land was allotted “in good faith,” meaning if the state erroneously believed that it was state lands when it allotted it.

Continue reading “Israel says will legalize West Bank homes built on private Palestinian land”