As Vice President Mike Pence began his speech to the Israeli Knesset this morning, Palestinian lawmakers protested the Trump administration’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, waving posters that said, “Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine.” They were forcibly removed from the chamber– reportedly all 13 members of the Joint List– as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stood to cheer their removal.
Head of the Joint List Aymen Odeh said on social media the action was a “legitimate protest, against the Trump-Netanyahu regime’s exaltation of racism and hatred, who speak of peace solely as lip service.”
Protesting Arab Knesset members wave signs before being removed by security during Pence's speech in Israel's Parliament. pic.twitter.com/xForw9XQeb
— NBC News (@NBCNews) January 22, 2018
Proud to lead the Joint List in strong, legitimate protest, against the Trump-Netanyahu regime’s exaltation of racism and hatred, who speak of peace solely as lip service.
Our protest today in the plenum is in honor of all who oppose the occupation and dream of peace.
— Ayman Odeh (@AyOdeh) January 22, 2018
The astonishing moment caused Andrea Mitchell, NBC diplomatic correspondent, to remark on the discrimination of Israeli democracy: “Can you imagine Capitol Police dragging members of the congressional black caucus off the House floor?”
Pence went on to speak to an all-Jewish legislature and vowed that the Trump administration will move the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem by the end of 2019. The move is not a blow to peace, Pence said. “We have chosen fact over fiction, and fact is the only basis of a lasting peace,” he said. The decision does not affect “final status issues” in peace negotiations, or affect the ultimate boundaries of the capital, not does it preclude the creation of a Palestinian state, Pence said; and he called on Palestinians to return to the bargaining table.
“If both sides agree, the United States will support a two state solution,” Pence said. Netanyahu did not applaud this statement, though he continually applauded other statements by the vice president.
In a religiously-themed speech aligning the United States closely with the Zionist project of bringing Jews to a national home in Israel, Pence drew standing ovations for his fiery comments about Iran. He seemed to threaten regime change when he offered a message from the American people to the “people of Iran: we are your friends, and the day is coming when you will free from the evil regime that suffocates your dreams and buries your hopes.”
He also said that the Iran nuclear deal is a “disaster” that has allowed Iran to continue to develop nuclear weapons. The U.S. will no longer certify that deal and will soon act to resume sanctions on Iran, unless the deal is “fixed.”
Coupled with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s refusal to meet with Pence, and Abbas’s speech to a friendly European Union gathering in Brussels today, Pence’s speech marks a new moment in U.S. middle east policy in which it is openly aligned with Israel in defiance of world opinion. While Pence referenced earlier meetings on his trip with “great” U.S. allies King Abdullah in Jordan and Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Egypt, King Abdullah told him that Jerusalem must also be the Palestinian capital, and Palestinian leaders do not regard the U.S. as an honest broker for negotiations, ending a 25-year period of peace processing in which they have accepted the U.S. role, even if those negotiations have done nothing to end the occupation or deliver a Palestinian state.
Those goals seemed more distant than ever. Pence made no reference to Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Jerusalem, let alone to the occupation. He referenced the bible and said American presidents going back to Washington and Lincoln had supported Zionist aspirations of Jewish return to Jerusalem. He was applauded by U.S. ambassador David Friedman, who is himself a settler advocate.
For his part Netanyahu gave a speech in which he called Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital “one of the most momentous decisions in the history of Zionism.”
Diana Buttu, a Palestinian lawyer and negotiator, condemned the tone and substance of Pence’s appearance in comments distributed by the Institute for Middle East Understanding:
“Pence is a dangerous religious fanatic who supports Israel unconditionally because of his Christian Zionist ideology. His visit to Israel is effectively a victory lap for promoting international disorder and religious extremism. Moreover, his scheduled visit to holy sites in occupied Palestinian East Jerusalem is a major provocation, particularly so soon after Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
“In the wake of Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as part of Israel, in violation of international law and seven decades of official US policy, and after Israel killed more than 16 Palestinians in protests that ensued, Pence is sending Israel the message that it will be rewarded for its decades of illegal behavior.”
In Haaretz, Sam Bahour writes that Pence has confirmed that the U.S. is out of the peace process.
He … repeated, mantra-like, the claim that the U.S. decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital was justified as “fact”. The word “Palestinian” was barely mentioned, and “Palestine” – not at all.
Pence also said the U.S. would support a two-state solution, but only if both sides support it – echoing Trump’s comments at his Jerusalem announcement. The meaning? The U.S. is abandoning the two-state solution. A sovereign Palestinian state is no longer a necessary and critical aim of U.S. foreign policy.
Donald Trump, it appears, will do nothing to stop or rebuke Israel’s accelerated settlement building…
Diana Buttu is a realist. Bring on “the end times,” say Pence, while Bibi beams at his Left Behind tool.
And the fact – as explained by Trump – is this:
“Pence’s speech marks a new moment in U.S. middle east policy in which it is openly aligned with Israel in defiance of world opinion”
How is this a new moment? Seems to me to be more of the same. Yes a scab has been picked (Jerusalem) but it’s largely symbolic. And what are Europeans doing about this, exactly? Their approach seems to be to pat the Palestinians on the head and say we’re with you and then backstab them with arms deals with Saudi Arabia. I also noticed Theresa May, at a gala dinner with Bibi, “proudly” recalling Britain’s vital role in creating Israel. It’s amazing the things the Brits are proud of.
the most shameful and embarrassing news i’ve watched (so far) today – pence in the knesset and the arab MK’s being dragged out of the knesset by the rabid guard dogs, but not before they grabbed every placard and destroyed them, to a cheering mob of violent zionist thugs as democracy dies in broad daylight, made so much easier now with a feculant orange blimp in the white house and his holy roller pence walking on water in the knesset.
wtf – andrea mitchell finally sees what everyone else does –
Oops, spoke too soon andrea – your zionist minders have a few words for you:
Lahav Harkov
@LahavHarkov
Replying to @mitchellreports
Hi, I’m an expert on the Knesset and I was in the room during this incident. You have several points wrong here. I’d be happy to explain them to you.
3:27 PM – Jan 22, 2018
Lahav Harkov
@LahavHarkov
Wrong on several points. 1, they are not “THE 13 Israeli-Arab members” – there are others. 2, it is always against the Knesset rules to hold up signs or use props and there are examples spanning decades of ppl being removed bc of it. 3, ushers, not security guards led them out https://twitter.com/mitchellreports/status/955423549988229120 …
3:26 PM – Jan 22, 2018
Seth Frantzman
@sfrantzman
Replying to @mitchellreports
Where did you get the number 13? The 13 members of the Joint List are not all Arab. Dov Khenin is Jewish. Isn’t he still in the Knesset and a member of the Joint List? #think
4:40 PM – Jan 22, 2018
Omri Ceren @omriceren
Oh for crying out loud Andrea. A member of the congressional black caucus was removed from the House floor just a few years ago just for a dress code violation, let alone for disrupting a session, which is what these clowns were doing.
So yeah I think I can imagine it happening. https://twitter.com/mitchellreports/status/955423549988229120 …
4:02 PM – Jan 22, 2018
These zionist watchdogs are a real prickly bunch, no?
““If both sides agree, the United States will support a two state solution,” Pence said. Netanyahu did not applaud this statement, though he continually applauded other statements by the vice president.”
netanyahu applauding the creation of a 1SS and with it , the end of the presently constituted ,” Jewish State “, ie Supremacist Colonialist Apartheid undemocratic entity.
Of course our zio troll , nathan does not have the foresight to see this which is why he spends most of his time here accusing others of calling for the end of Israel or as he likes to refer to it , The Jewish State.
better take it up with your leaders Nathan , they are the ones ushering in the end of your beloved , one and only Jewish State.