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Sanders says he’d leverage aid to change Israel’s racist policies but ‘the fault is not all with Israel’

Democratic presidential candidates Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) were both questioned about their potential policies towards Israel this week by members of the progressive Jewish organization IfNotNow.

At a campaign event in Berlin, New Hampshire on August 13, Bryn Mawr College student Emma Glazer asked Sanders why he felt compelled to end the occupation. In response Sanders explained:

It’s a funny thing. All that I have ever said on this issue, is that U.S. foreign policy should be even-handed. That’s all. Even-handed…we respect Israel. Israel has every right in the world to live in peace and security, but so do the Palestinian people. So do the Palestinian people. And as somebody who is proudly Jewish, to be critical of a right-wing Netanyahu government in Israel is not to be antisemitic…And by the way, the fault is not all with Israel, you got very poor and corrupt Palestinian leadership, but what the goal of the United States has got to be is to bring people in the region together, the Palestinians and the Israelis to create a kind of workable peace which works for both parties not just one…the United States government gives a whole lot of money to Israel and I think we can leverage that money to end some of the racism that we have recently seen in Israel.

Glazer released a response to Sanders’ comments:

As a proud Jewish Vermonter, I am heartened to hear Senator Sanders ground his opposition to Netanyahu’s right-wing, racist policies in his Jewish identity and offer a new approach to ending the occupation. I am disgusted that the right, which has spent years furthering an ideology of violent antisemitism and white nationalism, continues to spread the lie that any criticism of Israel is antisemitic. It is increasingly clear that American Jews, and Americans in general, don’t want their tax dollars going to support racist government policies, whether it be family separation in the U.S. or endless occupation in Israel/Palestine. 

https://twitter.com/IfNotNowOrg/status/1161356366725963776

At a Working Families Party event that same day, Elizabeth Warren was asked about how she’d pressure Israel to end the occupation by IfNotNow co-founder and organizer Dani Moscovitch. Moscovitch pointed out that while the situation has been quite bad under the Trump administration, Israel’s racist policies remained entrenched while Obama was president as well. Warren told her:

So, I think of this as starting with our values and that is recognizing the dignity and worth of every human being. I believe that Israelis and Palestinians want a chance at self-determination and a chance at building a future for themselves, for their children, and for their grandchildren. The way we will do that…the way they will do that is a two-state solution. Our role is not determine what the two-state solution is, but it is to push them in that direction. Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu have [pulled us] in the opposite direction…but you’re right, for a long time everyone has mouthed the words “two-state solution”, but no one has been willing to push hard. I believe that what we can do best for peace in the Middle East is to push the current government in Israel toward negotiations for a two-state solution. And we get a two-state solution, that is the end of the occupation, that means that the parties then have self-determination and are able to build a future going forward. Each of them, for their own children and their own grandchildren, but it’s going to take a willingness to push and to push hard.

Muscovitch responded to Warren’s answer on Twitter, “It’s a start! But it’s not a plan. [Elizabeth Warren] you have so many incredible plans putting forth a bold vision for structural change in this country. Do you have a plan to pressure the Israeli government to end the military occupation of millions of Palestinians?

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And what does he mean by “leverage”?

File this under “C” for corruption:

https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/un-religious-freedom-monitor-working-israel-lobby

“UN religious freedom monitor working with Israel lobby” Electronic Intifada, August 13/19, by Ali Abunimah

“the United Nations expert charged with monitoring religious freedom around the world is being accused of ignoring Israel’s systematic violations of the rights of Palestinians to observe their faith.

“Ahmed Shaheed, the UN special rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, is also working closely with Israel lobby groups to produce a report that may stigmatize support for Palestinian rights as anti-Semitism.

“Shaheed is an academic and the former foreign minister of the Maldives.

“’Since his mandate, in November 2016, Mr. Shaheed has been very vocal, outspoken and active on important and crucial topics such as anti-Semitism,’ the organization Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor said Monday.

“’He’s also been disproportionately vocal on freedom of religion in Iran, in comparison with his silence on issues of freedom of religion of Shia minorities in countries like Saudi Arabia, for instance.’

“But Euro-Med Monitor observes that it has ‘failed to find a single statement by Mr. Shaheed pertaining to the continued Israeli violations of Palestinians’ rights to freedom of religion at the Temple Mount/al-Haram al-Sharif, even on occasions where Israeli authorities completely closed down the gates of the [al-Aqsa] mosque in the face of Muslim worshippers in July 2017, or more recently.’

“Israeli occupation forces violently attacked Muslim worshippers and closed the al-Aqsa compound in Jerusalem to Muslims on Sunday, the first day of Eid al-Adha.

“At the same time, it allowed some 1,700 Jewish worshippers, organized by groups whose aim is to destroy the al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock, to enter the site.

“Israel also habitually imposes restrictions on the freedom of religion of Christians.

“Moreover, the most recent visit to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories by the office of the special rapporteur on freedom of religion was more than a decade ago.

“Working with Israel lobby”

“’We find this seriously alarming when one of the most relevant authorities on the issue of freedom of religion stands completely silent and turns a blind eye to grave and systematic Israeli violations against Muslim worshippers at al-Aqsa mosque,’ Anas Jerjawi, director of Euro-Med Monitor’s Palestine office, said.

“Jerjawi also charged that Shaheed ‘is close to pro-Israeli lobbying groups such as the European Jewish Congress, World Jewish Congress and others.’

“’This raises more questions concerning the objectivity of his conduct when he simultaneously refuses to criticize or at least document Israel’s violations against Palestinians’ right to freedom of religion.”

“In May, Shaheed teamed up with the World Jewish Congress and Jewish communal organizations in Europe to plan the ‘first ever’ UN report on anti-Semitism.

“The World Jewish Congress lobbies in support of Israel, including justifying its attacks on Palestinian civilians as ‘self defense’ and opposing BDS, the nonviolent boycott, divestment and sanctions movement for Palestinian rights.

“The lobbying organization aims to ‘activate the prodigious wealth of Jewish talent in the field of public relations to counter adverse images of Israel and its people, in the media, on the internet and by articulate spokespersons who attack it.’

“Shaheed aims to submit his report on anti-Semitism to the UN General Assembly in September.

“In a call for evidence for his report, Shaheed explicitly asks for examples of anti-Semitism ‘as enumerated in the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA’s) Working Definition of anti-Semitism.’

“This is significant because the controversial IHRA definition, promoted by Israel and its lobby, conflates anti-Jewish prejudice, on the one hand, with criticism of Israel and its racist state ideology, Zionism, on the other.

“Zionism is racist because it holds that Palestinians expelled from their homeland before, during and after Israel’s creation, should not be allowed to return to their homes just because they are not Jewish.

“In keeping with this Zionist ideology, Israel views Palestinians as a ‘demographic threat’ which must be controlled by means ranging from racist and discriminatory laws to habitual massacres.

“Last week it was revealed that the IHRA definition was used by a British local authority to ban a charity bike ride raising money for Palestinian children from using its public parks.

“In internal emails, officials in the London borough of Tower Hamlets cited the organizers’ opposition to Israel’s well-documented crimes against Palestinians as anti-Semitism.

“In response to this incident, Antony Lerman, former director of the Institute for Jewish Policy Research, renewed his warnings that the IHRA definition is being used for blatant censorship.

“Lerman writes that it is the ‘very vagueness of the IHRA that has licensed a free-for-all of interpretation, delighting opponents of Palestinian demands for equal rights, the right of return for refugees, an end to ethnic cleansing and acknowledgement of the Nakba.’

“But now, the UN’s expert on freedom of religion is adopting this arbitrary, vague and sweeping definition as the basis for his report.

“Anti-Palestinian tweets” [Quoted in the article.]

“Shaheed used his Twitter account before assuming his UN role to express bias in support of Israel.

“He echoed an Israeli talking point that the UN singles Israel out, when in fact the world body has never once imposed sanctions on Israel for numerous egregious violations of international law:

“He even took aim at the government of the Maldives for helping rebuild the destroyed homes of Palestinians in Gaza.

“Shaheed has also boasted about his ‘overtures towards Israel.’

“Notably, Shaheed is a senior fellow with the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, a think tank chaired by Irwin Cotler, one of the most prominent figures in Canada’s Israel lobby.

“Euro-Med Monitor says it has ‘attempted on numerous occasions to get in touch with Mr. Shaheed, in the quest of motivating him to undertake necessary actions in accordance with his position and the responsibilities assigned to him.’

“But the human rights group says all its letters ‘remain entirely unanswered and ignored.’

“The group has also written to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, urging the body to investigate Shaheed’s conduct and to replace him if necessary.”

I like Elizabeth Warren, but it doesn’t matter how hard we push Israel (or what carrots we can use to convince them) to sit down for negotiations. It matters how hard we are willing to push once we get them there.

“very poor and corrupt Palestinian leadership” – yes. It’s often said that power corrupts. So, I think, does powerlessness. You may have noticed that in organizations with very little power in the wider world, the leaders, and would-be leaders, fight hard for what power there is.

As for Elizabeth Warren, I would ask her the question I’ve asked Canadian political leaders: What’s your Plan B? When you can no longer pretend to think there’s ever going to be a Palestinian state, what then?
People who support, or say they support, two states actually support the status quo, i.e. Israel’s continuing theft of land, water, livelihoods, and lives.

The fact is that Warren, while very strongly progressive on domestic policy, is weak on foreign policy. When she has addressed foreign policy in the past, she comes across as a hawk, very much like Hillary and other major women politicians over the years, both here and abroad. This appears to be an attempt to counteract the pervasive (though unfounded) notion that women are not as tough as men and, therefore, would render us weak in the international arena. Tulsi Gabbard is the notable exception to this general rule, since she has been in combat – even been awarded for bravery during her service – and has nothing to prove in this regard. Instead of looking for more wars in which to embroil our country, she is combating the US’ hunger for imperialistic, regime change wars, and is taking a tremendous amount of heat for it.

I’m afraid that Warren cannot be trusted to resist the enormous pressure by the military industrial complex and the Israel lobby, to drag us into yet another war, including one with Iran. Until I see or hear otherwise, I’d be a bit suspicious of the other women candidates’ ability to resist such pressure as well.