Category Archives: Israel Lobby

‘Fuck it, I Love Israel’ — Artists 4 Israel bombards Ibiza with hasbara condoms

Posted on June 19, 2013 by Max Blumenthal
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These are exciting times for an affluent Zionist hipster. This Spring, Craig Dershowitz, the tattooed, 32-year-old founder of Artists 4 Israel, arranged for the distribution of thousands of condoms bearing pro-Israel messages at the Spanish island dance bacchanal known as Ibiza. With a tattoo sleeve on his arm depicting revisionist Zionist godfather Vladimir Jabotinsky, his “favorite Jew,” Dershowitz has also brought pro-Israel graffiti artists to college campuses across the U.S. and even to the West Bank city of Hebron where they painted next to Israel army posts and on the the homes of Palestinians while soldiers stood by and watched.

Posted in Israel Lobby, Israel/Palestine, Occupation, US Politics | 14 Comments

State officials in California sign letter denouncing BDS movement on college campuses

Posted on June 18, 2013 by Alex Kane

Over 30 California state legislators have signed on to a letter criticizing the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement and the passage of divestment resolutions on California college campuses. The legislators’ letter, which states that the BDS movement is “divisive,” was authored by State Senator Darrell Steinberg and Assemblyman Bob Blumenfield, who both worked with the Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California (JPAC) on the statement. Above, California officials participate in a panel at JPAC’s advocacy day this year, where the group urged legislators to back the anti-BDS letter.

Posted in Activism, BDS, Israel Lobby, Israel/Palestine, US Politics | 14 Comments

Exile and the Prophetic: Bought and sold

Posted on June 17, 2013 by Marc H. Ellis

If you want to break the political cycle of injustice and war, you can’t focus only on the politically ambitious. They’re just a mirror of our own condition. If we’re willing to be bought and sold, why shouldn’t they enjoy their brief time at the top?

Posted in Israel Lobby, US Policy in the Middle East, US Politics | 11 Comments

Looking for ‘a new devil,’ Israeli leaders and supporters left scrambling after election of moderate Rouhani

Posted on June 17, 2013 by Nima Shirazi

Hassan Rouhani’s unexpected victory in this weekend’s Iranian election has sent Israeli hasbara into a tailspin. The desire for an Iranian bogeyman is so intense in the warmongering mainstream of Israeli and neoconservative discourse that any attempt to mask their pre-election desires, and post-election frustration, has been futile. Their entire game plan has been on display — every Iranian leader is a ‘New Hitler’ and every ‘New Hitler’ must be stopped. The whole point is to stave off any possible reconciliation or even minor deflation of tensions between Iran and the West, namely the United States, so as to maintain permanent Israeli hegemony over the region and American largesse and diplomatic cover.

Posted in Iran, Israel Lobby, Israel/Palestine, Israeli Government, Middle East, US Policy in the Middle East | Tagged | 50 Comments

Cory Booker’s connection to Zionism steeped in religious fundamentalism and ties to the Jewish community

Posted on June 12, 2013 by Max Blumenthal
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If Newark Mayor Cory Booker succeeds in his bid for the Senate, and there is little reason to believe he will not, he could become one of the most outspokenly pro-Israel members of Congress. While Booker has benefited handsomely from the support of wealthy pro-Israel donors, according to a longtime associate named Ben Karp, the candidate’s politics on Israel derive more from his religiously inspired philo-Semitism than any gratitude to his funders, “I’m 100 percent sure that Cory Booker’s Zionism is genuine . . . He’s more likely to generate hasbara than to recite it.”

Posted in Israel Lobby, Israel/Palestine, US Politics | Tagged | 26 Comments

Anthony Weiner spoke at 1993 anti-Rabin rally where participants called for Israel PM’s assassination

Posted on June 5, 2013 by Max Blumenthal
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New York City mayoral hopeful Anthony Weiner spoke at a pro-Israel rally on December 13, 1993 in New York that was organized by a far-right pro-Israel millionaire named Manfred Lehmann, who headed a group called the World Council for Israel. Weiner accepted Lehmann’s invitation to speak, joining the longtime Jewish Defense League terror cell leader and NY State Assemblyman Dov Hikind on stage before a crowd of 300. According to political science professor Ofira Selikar, “some participants described [Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak] Rabin as ‘worse than Hitler” and demanded that he be killed.” There is no record of the remarks Weiner made at the rally.

Posted in Israel Lobby, Israel/Palestine, Israeli Government, US Politics | Tagged | 31 Comments

Why Palestine is different

Posted on May 25, 2013 by Sam Bahour

Secretary of State John Kerry is making an all-out effort to restart peace negotiations between Israel and Palestine. Many well-intentioned people with hands-on experience in resolving other longstanding, global issues, like those of Ireland, South Africa, and U.S. civil rights have engaged in the Palestinian-Israeli issue. While there is always a great deal to learn from other global experiences, the case of Palestine is different and unless Secretary Kerry recognizes this all efforts will be in vain. Three issues related to this conflict that are crucial to understand are: historic guilt, colonial responsibility, and the U.S. “special relationship” with Israel.

Posted in Israel Lobby, Israel/Palestine, US Policy in the Middle East, US Politics | Tagged | 135 Comments

AIPAC promotes Netanyahu on two states (and ignores the statements from the rest of his government)

Posted on May 24, 2013 by Philip Weiss and Adam Horowitz

AIPAC is promoting Netanyahu as supportive of the peace process, but the statements of the rest of his government paint a very different picture.

Posted in Israel Lobby, Israel/Palestine, Israeli Government | 3 Comments

The etymology of anti-Semitism

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Katie Miranda

A cartoon from Katie Miranda looking at the changing meaning of the term “anti-Semitism.”

Posted in Activism, Israel Lobby, Israel/Palestine, US Politics | Tagged | 20 Comments

Exile and the Prophetic: Disappearing Massad, disappearing Palestine

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Marc H. Ellis
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Al Jazeera pulled Joseph Massad’s article – “The Last of the Anti-Semites” – from their website yesterday. Massad’s article is disappearing. Like disappearing Palestine, it will reappear. Neither are going away.

Posted in American Jewish Community, Israel Lobby, Israel/Palestine, Media, US Politics | 12 Comments

Barbara Boxer’s visa bill for Israel comes under concerted attack

Posted on May 18, 2013 by Alex Kane

In the wake of the horrific Nour Joudah case, in which an American teacher was refused entry to Palestine to resume her job this year, activists are ramping up their campaign to thwart the United States-Israel Strategic Partnership Act. The legislation would “codify into law U.S. acceptance of Israel’s discrimination and allow it to continue to deny visas to U.S. citizens,” according to a letter sent by a coalition of Palestine solidarity groups.

Posted in Activism, Israel Lobby, Israel/Palestine, US Policy in the Middle East, US Politics | Tagged | 93 Comments

Exile and the Prophetic: Joseph Massad strikes again

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Marc H. Ellis

Joseph Massad’s contribution to the 65th anniversary of the Nakba, published on Al Jazeera’s website, is called “The Last of the Semites.” The subtitle is telling: “It is Israel’s claims that it represents and speaks for all Jews that are the most anti-Semitic claims of all.”

Posted in Israel Lobby, Israel/Palestine, Nakba, US Politics | 15 Comments

Coalition says investigations into campus Palestine activism chill student speech rights

Posted on May 16, 2013 by Alex Kane

A coalition of civil rights and advocacy groups have charged that prolonged federal investigations of Palestine solidarity activism on campuses are chilling students’ constitutional rights. The letters, sent to the DOE civil rights division in San Francisco and the DOE’s assistant secretary for civil rights, are a response to the spate of Title VI civil rights complaints that have been filed by Jewish students who advocate for Israel.

Posted in Activism, Israel Lobby, US Politics | 18 Comments

Im Tirtzu protests ‘nakba bullshit’ at Tel Aviv University

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Allison Deger

For the second time in two years, students at Tel Aviv University (TAU) commemorating the 1947-49 Palestinian expulsion and the destruction of villages were met with a counter-protest. At last year’s event over 1,000 amassed on campus, ending in clashes incited by members of Knesset. Again this year, the youth-based “new Zionist” group Im Tirtzu bottom-lined the demonstration, distributing a counter analysis pamphlet titled “Nakba Harta” or “Nakba-Bullshit”.

Posted in Activism, Israel Lobby, Israel/Palestine, Israeli Government, Nakba, On the ground reports | Tagged | 36 Comments

‘Newseum’ folds under pressure, will not include Gaza cameramen in program honoring fallen journalists

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Adam Horowitz

Last week we reported that Israel supporters were pressuring the Newseum (above) to drop two Palestinian journalists, Mahmoud al-Kumi and Hussam Salama, from its yearly event honoring reporters killed in the line of duty. Although the Newseum originally defended their inclusion, this morning the Washington, DC-based museum announced that al-Kumi and Salama would not be a part of today’s ceremony stating, “Terrorism has altered the landscape in many areas, including the rules of war and engagement, law, investigative and interrogation techniques, and the detention of enemy combatants. Journalism is no exception.”

Posted in Gaza, Israel Lobby, Israel/Palestine, US Politics | Comments Off

San Francisco bus ads condemn Israeli apartheid: backlash begins

Posted on May 11, 2013 by Cecilie Surasky

American Muslims for Palestine launched an ad campaign this week on San Francisco buses condemning Israeli apartheid. Predictably, local branches of the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee, as well as the Jewish Community Relations Council, immediately issued a statement in effect calling the ad hate speech for using the word ‘apartheid’.

Posted in American Jewish Community, Israel Lobby, Israel/Palestine, US Politics | 40 Comments

‘Newseum’ comes under pressure from Israel supporters for honoring Palestinian journalists killed in Gaza

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Adam Horowitz

On May 13th, the Newseum in Washington, DC will be holding an event to honor “newspeople who died or were killed in the pursuit of news” in the past year. Among the 84 journalists who died are Mahmoud al-Kumi and Hussam Salama who were killed in Israel’s attack on the Gaza Strip this past winter. Their inclusion in the ceremony has sent parts of the Israel lobby into overdrive as both worked for Al-Aqsa television which is affiliated with Hamas. The neocon think tank Foundation for the Defense of Democracies is threatening pull an annual policy summit out of the venue in protest.

Posted in Gaza, Israel Lobby, Israel/Palestine, Media, US Politics | 19 Comments

Exile and the Prophetic: Henry Siegman — Elder Jewish (prophetic) statesman

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Marc H. Ellis

At the Middle East Policy Council event, Siegman declared that the Middle East peace process is “probably the greatest scam in modern diplomatic history, and future historians are going to be absolutely in awe in how that was pulled off.” For Siegman, this isn’t a recent development.

Posted in American Jewish Community, Israel Lobby, Israel/Palestine, Occupation, US Policy in the Middle East, US Politics | 6 Comments

Senator Boxer’s far-fetched defense of the visa waiver exemption for Israel

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Mike Coogan

Senator Barbara Boxer’s recent letter in the Los Angeles Times defending legislation that would allow Israel in the Visa Waiver Program while give it a pass on key requirements was a disingenuous and poorly reasoned attempt to mollify critics of the provision.

Posted in Israel Lobby, Israel/Palestine, Israeli Government, US Policy in the Middle East, US Politics | 7 Comments

Lapid makes pilgrimage to Tel Aviv home of Sheldon Adelson

Posted on May 4, 2013 by Ira Glunts

Is this the beginning of a beautiful relationship or what? Sheldon Adelson championed Newt Gingrich and then Mitt Romney during the US presidential election, in an effort to ensure Israeli control of the occupied territories forever, and has long supported Benjamin Netanyahu for the same rightwing goal. But he appears to be covering his bases, meeting with Yair Lapid, the centrist meteor in Israeli politics. Lapid was careful not to criticize Israeli settlements during the recent campaign, and has partnered with rightwinger Naftali Bennett. No wonder he’s meeting with Adelson

Posted in American Jewish Community, Israel Lobby, Israel/Palestine, Israeli Government, Neocons, US Politics | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Shareholders respond to TIAA-CREF refusal on divestment vote

Posted on April 30, 2013 by We Divest Coalition

(Ed. note: On background read TIAA-CREF asks feds for OK to dodge Israeli divestment vote at annual meeting) Press Release:   Yesterday, lawyers for the We Divest Coalition filed two letters (see here and here) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange … Continue reading →

Posted in Activism, American Jewish Community, BDS, Israel Lobby, Israel/Palestine, US Politics | 12 Comments

UC Berkeley student president announces he will not veto divestment bill

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Annie Robbins and Adam Horowitz

UC Berkeley student president Connor Landgraf has announced that he will not veto the divestment bill that bill passed last week that divests ASUC funds from companies affiliated with the Israeli military and encourages the UC system to do the same.

Posted in Activism, BDS, Israel Lobby, Israel/Palestine, Occupation, US Politics | 13 Comments

Palestine and the Left

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Jacobin Magazine

Read the introduction to Jacobin magazine’s special section on Palestine and the Left.

Posted in Activism, BDS, Israel Lobby, Israel/Palestine, Israeli Government, Middle East, Occupation, One state/Two states, US Policy in the Middle East, US Politics | 17 Comments

Nour Joudah returns to U.S., but continues to fight Israel’s arbitrary denial of entry

Posted on April 19, 2013 by Alex Kane

The Quaker-affiliated Friends School in Ramallah is like an oasis, complete with a spacious courtyard and a tennis court. It’s easy to forget about the Israeli occupation while visiting there. But the case of Nour Joudah, a Palestinian-American English teacher at the school who was denied entry to the West Bank this year, shatters the feeling that the Friends School is worlds away from a conflict situation. Even if Israel is not patrolling the streets of Ramallah, the state’s actions still have a profound impact on the city and its residents, as Joudah being denied entry shows. Above, Joudah poses with students from her class.

Posted in Israel Lobby, Israel/Palestine, Israeli Government, US Politics | 7 Comments

In landmark case on Israel and Jewish identity, British tribunal says anti-Zionism is not anti-Semitism

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Philip Weiss and Adam Horowitz
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Math lecturer Ronnie Fraser, assisted by Jewish groups, wanted a British court to condemn anti-Israel speech as anti-Semitism because an affinity to Israel was an intrinsic part of his and others’ Jewish identity. The court rejected Fraser’s case saying his pro-Israel advocacy constituted political activism and added “a political activist accepts the risk of being offended or hurt on occasions.”

Posted in Israel Lobby, Israel/Palestine | Tagged | 67 Comments